Should emojis be used in workplace communications? 👹👺👻
New University of Ottawa study provides deeper insight into the complex relationship between verbal and nonverbal cues in technology-mediated communications
When people interact in person, subtle signals like facial expressions, body language and tone of voice play a crucial role in communicating intent and meaning, whereas written communications lack these non-verbal cues and can lead to misinterpretation or assumptions. The advent of emojis became a popular tool to provide context to written messages and they work in many settings. But how are they perceived in workplace communications? Not so well.
Researchers from the SUniversity of Ottawa examined how emojis impact perceptions of competence and appropriateness for those who utilize them in professional settings. For this small-scale study, participants read workplace instant messages that varied in tone and emoji use.
Here is what the researchers found:
- Messages with no emojis were clearly the winner, making the sender appear more competent and professional.
- Positive emojis enhanced impressions when paired with a neutral or positive message.
- Negative emojis were consistently considered inappropriate for workplace communication as they made senders seem less competent, especially when the message itself was already positive or neutral.
- Gender dynamics were at play as women judged negative messages from other women more harshly than negative messages from men, rating them as less appropriate.
“This study highlights the importance of being mindful about the potential impact of emojis on professional interactions,” writes lead author Erin L. Courtice from the School of Psychology at the Faculty of Social Sciences at uOttawa. “Emojis are not simply neutral add-ons to text messages; they can influence how others perceive us, particularly in terms of competence and appropriateness. By understanding the nuances of emoji use, professionals can leverage these digital tools to enhance their communication and build stronger workplace relationships.”
Emojis are not a salvo for covering up errors
Positive emojis do not soften bad news or critical feedback – instead, they may create a sense of dishonesty and insincerity when used in a negative message. Negative emojis should generally be avoided because they produce low perceptions of overall competence even if the crux of their meaning is clear and understood in an appropriately framed message.
Researchers found that employing an emoji is not always beneficial: for example, adding a positive emoji to a positive sentence did not increase a perception of appropriateness. The tone of the message was seemingly more important, as mixed signal messaging can potentially affect an employee’s willingness to collaborate on future projects and affect professional trust.
“Future research should consider how emojis function within broader communication patterns, examining outcomes such as conversation flow, rapport building, conflict resolution, and team cohesion in digital workplace environments,” writes Courtice, who collaborated with professor Isabelle Boutet whose research program studies both how humans analyze social cues conveyed by faces, and how digital communication is enhanced by emojis to communicate emotions and social traits.
The full research team included: Erin L. Courtice, Megan Lawrence, Charles A. Collin, and Isabelle Boutet.
Journal
Collabra
Method of Research
Survey
Subject of Research
People
Article Title
Emojis at Work: The Effects of Emoji Use on Perceptions of Competence and Appropriateness
If you’re a perfectionist at work, your boss’ expectations may matter more than your own, research finds
University of Florida
If you’re among the 93% of people who struggle with perfectionism at work, new research suggests that your experience may depend less on your own high standards and more on whether those standards meet your supervisor’s expectations.
Researchers from the University of Florida Warrington College of Business found that whether perfectionism helps or harms employees depends largely on whether employees’ personal standards align with their supervisors’ expectations.
Specifically, they looked at the connection between employees’ self-oriented perfectionism, or the expectations of flawlessness they set for themselves, and supervisors’ other-oriented perfectionism, which reflects the extent to which they set excessively high standards for and critically evaluate their employees’ performance.
Using data from more than 350 employees and about 100 supervisors, the researchers found that perfectionism’s impact depends on whether employees’ standards align with what their supervisors expect and how clearly those expectations are understood.
When employees’ personal standards are aligned with their supervisors’ expectations, they tend to experience less role ambiguity, meaning they have less uncertainty about the expectations and standards for their role, why those standards matter and the consequences of not meeting them. This clarity in their work is linked to better performance, lower burnout and higher job satisfaction.
“Problems between employees and their supervisors are more likely to arise when these expectations don’t match,” explained Brian Swider, Beth Ayers McCague Family Professor.
The most difficult situation occurs, Swider and his colleagues found, is when supervisors expect higher levels of perfectionism than employees expect from themselves. In these cases, employees reported greater uncertainty about their roles, along with worse work outcomes including higher burnout and lower job satisfaction.
“If you’re an employee who struggles with perfectionism at work, our findings suggest that understanding your supervisor’s expectations may be just as important as managing your own tendencies towards perfectionism,” Swider said. “Talking to your supervisor about priorities, standards and how your performance will be evaluated can help reduce uncertainty and ensure you both share a clear understanding of what success looks like.”
The researchers have similar recommendations for employers: help your employees by clarifying expectations through regular feedback and performance conversations to reduce role ambiguity, as doing so can provide employees with a better understanding of role expectations and enhance mutual understanding of those standards. The researchers also recommend that organizations should consider how employees and supervisors are paired, as mismatched expectations can increase stress, reduce job satisfaction and ultimately impact performance.
The research, “The influence of employee-supervisor perfectionism (in)congruence on employees: a configurational approach,” is published in Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes.
Journal
Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes
Method of Research
Survey
Subject of Research
People
Article Title
The influence of employee-supervisor perfectionism (in)congruence on employees: a configurational approach
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