An emoji can be worth a thousand words.
And with some, they can be fighting words.
As more Americans have adopted remote or hybrid models of working, millions are dependent on Slack for interoffice communication — and workers are finding subliminal ways to digitally express frustration.
While outright saying that you don’t approve of someone in an office setting can be tricky, a few emojis can be used as a way to secretly tell people that we don’t like them, according to a New York Times article, which declared that “we’re living in the age of Slack rage.”
The thumbs-up emoji — which was previously canceled by Gen Z for being “passive-aggressive” — has been perceived as a “digital eye-roll” at the recipient and “might unintentionally breed conflict,” the Times wrote.
Another emoji that has the potential to start an online quarrel is the eyeball emoji, which, according to the Times, can be used to say “I’m looking at this” or give the person “side eye.”
Online jargon could also cause friction, with many declaring the use of “KK” instead of the proper “OK often reading as “ugh” or “whatever.”
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One of the failings of working remotely is that when one person sends a message, the recipient cannot hear the person’s tone and the message could be perceived as something it is not, according to Anil Dash, a blogger and executive of the collaboration platform Glitch.
“Slack is very different from most tools used in the workplace,” said Dash. “It is intentionally very flat.”
Alison Weissbrot, an editor at Campaign Live, said that whenever she notices the conversation in her Slack channel getting heated, she attempts to defuse it with emoji use.
“I know this is lame and canceled but I love the crying laughing emoji,” the 30-year-old said. “I also love the face gritting its teeth. If I mess up, I’ll be like, ‘Oops,’ with the gritting teeth.”
Along with the thumbs-up, Gen Z has expressed frustration with the crying-with-laughter emoji and the slight-smile face, which many declared as “slightly passive-aggressive” and “highly performative.”
Some emojis, though, may seem innocuous, but carry different meanings for recipients. The red heart emoji has varying connotations for some, and many brand those who use it as “officially old.”
“To me, the heart is reserved for friends and family, and has a more intimate meaning of love, while thumbs-up is just simple agreeing,” one person wrote on Reddit. “I actually find a heart emoji weird for work messages.”