Teamwork
Emojis Can Help Teams Communicate and Collaborate Better—Really
They’re an effective way to establish a more conversational tone.
Illustration: Yann Bastard for Bloomberg Businessweek
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Using emojis in work correspondence is complicated. It’s easy to look unprofessional or even rude if, say, you’re slapping a thumbs-up on every Slack message as a substitute for a thoughtful response. Generally speaking, emojis are OK in conversations with colleagues, but not always with clients. In chats or emails, they help set a tone of humor or levity and soften criticism when co-workers can’t hear the tenor of your voice. But which ones should you use? And when? We reached out to professionals, and here’s what they had to say:
Direct Hit
Use it to say: “You nailed it!” or “Stay on target!”