Most Inappropriate Emojis at Work, From ‘Peaches’ to ‘Eggplants’

Workplace communication has evolved into a more loose and casual way of speaking that often goes beyond words. Conversations once only meant for social media or chatting with a friend have worked their way into professional workspaces.

WordFinder, a subscription-based dictionary service, conducted a survey to find out how emoji impact tone and emotions in professional emails and messages. To get these insights they surveyed over 1,000 employees who work from home (WFH). They explored the nuances of emoji use in their work communications to uncover patterns in their perceptions. Additionally, they examined whether emojis should be reserved for fun or if they hold deeper significance in conveying emotions, clarifying messages, or even shaping workplace relationships.

The survey revealed that 44 percent of WFH employees think using emojis in work communications is unprofessional. It also found that Gen Zers and millennials are more comfortable using emoji than their older colleagues.

If you’re curious about how often emojis are used at the workplace, the study points out that only 8 percent of people always use them. On the other hand, only 29 percent never use emojis, and 63 percent sometimes use emojis. It’s worth mentioning that 84 percent of those surveyed often use emojis when communicating with peers versus clients (20 percent) and supervisors (39 percent).

According to remote workers, a beer mug is the most inappropriate emoji to use at work. The face with rolling eyes takes the top spot when it comes to the most passive-aggressive emoji. Meanwhile, the most confusing emoji, according to the survey, is the upside-down face.

Looking at gender perspectives, women ranked the eggplant and peach emoji as the most inappropriate choice. However, men considered the beer mug and kiss mark emoji the least suitable for work.

The survey also examines how remote workers handle messaging and their response expectations. Take a look at the complete findings here.

Emojis are here to stay. In fact, pretty much every age group uses emojis now. Whether you're a Gen Z or a grandparent of a Gen Z, you've probably used emojis on a regular basis. So, which emojis can make people like you? Okay, these aren't guarantied to win homecoming court or anything. But, these emojis tend to be the ones that personally make me happy, and they're among the most popular emojis that people use, too.

Adobe's most recent emoji report, the "Future of Creativity: 2022 U.S. Emoji Trend Report," released last fall, surveyed 5,000 emoji users from the United States. They discovered that the emojis enhances "our everyday lives, especially when it comes to self-expression, relationship building, and mental health. The versatility of emoji allows for endless possibilities to connect with each other, as their meanings evolve and inclusivity expands."

Paul D. Hunt, typeface designer and font developer at Adobe, and Kamile Demir, computer scientist at Adobe and Adobe representative on the Unicode Emoji Subcommittee, discussed their emoji thoughts on the new report. "Emoji give people the resources they need to be able to express themselves and show their emotions, whether it be on social media or messaging apps. They allow people to convey more than just words on a screen and connect more deeply to others," Demir said.

One other reason why emojis are so popular is because the online connection can be very cold. Hence, emojis give a human aspect to those online and digital communications. "When we spend so much time behind screens, those desires increase without the in-person markers of tone, facial expressions, and body language," Adobe states. Emojis help bring emotion and life to an otherwise very stale form of conversation. Ready to get your emoji on? Read on for some facts about emojis and what emojis are most popular- and could make people like you more.

According to Adobe, 73 percent of those surveyed think that just using an emoji in your messages makes you cooler, friendlier, and funnier. This applies both in the workplace and in your personal life!

According to Adobe, a whopping 91 percent of people in their emoji survey said that the emoji brings levity to conversations. Moreover, moreover 60 percent of those surveyed believed emojis can boost our overall mental health.

According to Adobe, there are certain emojis that are perfect when dating. They are totally no surprise. The three emoji that will make you more appealing to a lover are 😘, 🥰, or 😍. I use all three of those!

If you're trying to put your best foot forward, don't use emojis that will turn someone off in a dating situation. The emojis that are most likely to turn people off are 💩, 😠, and 🍆, according to Adobe. Yeah, those are gross.

The most misunderstood emojis, according to Adobe, are 🤠, 🍒, and 🙃. I mean, who doesn't get a cherry? It's a cherry emoji. Nothing to misunderstand here. And, the cowboy surprises me, too. It's a cowboy, plain and simple.

Here we go! According to the report, emojis users' top five favorite emojis are 😂, 👍, ❤️, 🤣 and 😢. I would use the crying one sparingly. But, it totally makes sense that the laughing fact would be No. 1. That's such a popular emoji!