Email like a grown-up

[George K]

(I could have said "adult," but...)

Using emojis in work email, texts may damage standing with colleagues

The researchers conducted a series of experiments with hundreds of Americans and found that employees who use pictures and emojis in emails, Zoom profiles or even company logos on T-shirts are perceived as less powerful than those who stick to using words only.

"Today, we are all accustomed to communicating with pictures, and the social networks make it both easy and fun. Our findings, however, raise a red flag: In some situations, especially in a work or business environment, this practice may be costly, because it signals low power," wrote study authors Elinor Amit and Shai Danziger, of Tel Aviv University, Israel, and Pamela Smith, of the University of California, San Diego.

"Our advice: Think twice before sending a picture or emoji to people in your organization, or in any other context in which you wish to be perceived as powerful," the study authors added.

Best to save the smiley faces and other popular images for friends and family.

In one experiment, participants were asked to imagine going to a company retreat. Half were told that an employee wore a T-shirt with the company's name written on it, while the other half were told the worker wore a picture logo.

The respondents attributed more power to the employee who wore the T-shirt with the written logo.

In another experiment, participants were asked to choose one of two co-participants to represent them in a competitive game that suited people with high social power.

They were told that one co-participant represented themselves with a pictorial profile, while the other represented themselves with a written profile. The co-participant with the written profile was chosen by 62% of the participants to represent them.

[Aqua Letifer]

@George-K said in Email like a grown-up:

(I could have said "adult," but...)

Using emojis in work email, texts may damage standing with colleagues

"Our advice: Think twice before sending a picture or emoji to people in your organization, or in any other context in which you wish to be perceived as powerful," the study authors added.

What actionable takeaways do they have for those who aren't sociopaths?

[Horace]

Dick picks are the ultimate power move. Just ask Lyndon Johnson.

[George K]

@Horace said in Email like a grown-up:

Dick picks are the ultimate power move. Just ask Lyndon Johnson.

[Copper]

@George-K said in Email like a grown-up:

(I could have said "adultbig boy," but...)