Emojis in work emails? Is it a thumbs up or a thumbs down? A smiley face or an angry face?

The Mailsuite team decided to answer these questions in its latest piece of research. Using data from Censuswide on over 2,000 U.S. employees, it took a detailed look at how workers are using emojis in the 21st-century workplace.

Here’s a breakdown of what Mailsuite found out.

It’s a big thumbs up for emojis in work emails

Gen Z’ers love g off their work emails with a big thumbs up. The universal sign for “everything is OK” is officially the most popular work emoji for this digital generation, with over 50% including one in a work-related message.

The reason behind emojis in work emails

Over 4 in 10 U.S. workers use emojis to enhance their work communication with colleagues and line managers. More than 31% say they include an emoji to make themselves appear more approachable, fostering a positive and friendly work environment.

But emojis aren’t all about good intentions. Of those surveyed, 6% itted to using emojis ive-aggressively.

How U.S. workers perceive emojis in work emails

Nearly half of U.S. workers are happy to receive an emoji in a work email. They believe it makes work messages feel more friendly and personable.

However, some don’t appreciate a smiley face sign-off. 13% said emojis in the workplace are cringe-worthy. And around 6 out of 10 workers went even further; they said emojis in an email make the sender appear less intelligent and less competent.

Who do U.S. workers send emojis to?

Communicating in emojis is widely accepted among work colleagues and coworkers, especially those on the same rung of the corporate ladder. For instance, 81% of Gen Z regularly send emojis to their coworkers, indicating a high level of peer acceptance.

Sending emojis to customers

Generation Z is highly comfortable sending emojis to customers or clients. More than half (56%) have sent a thumbs up or smiley face to a customer or client via email, showing their confidence in this form of communication.

Receiving emoji emails from managers

Managers are coming around to using emojis in top-down communication. But it’s still more of an emerging trend than the corporate norm. The Mailsuite research shows that around 30% of managers feel comfortable expressing positive with an emoji.

48% of workers would send an emoji to a line manager. However, that figure drops to 35% when asked if they would send one to a senior manager or CEO.

Sending emojis up the corporate chain

Once again, Generation Z is the most enthusiastic when sending emoji emails up to senior management. They are twice as likely to include an emoji in an email to senior managers than Boomers.

Emojis in lead generation

Emojis are more about building existing client relationships than warming up new leads, according to the Mailsuite research. It showed that most U.S. workers are happy to send emojis to an existing client, but they would think very carefully before firing one off to a new or potential client.

The best time to send an emoji from your work email

When asked about the best time to send a work email emoji, 82% of Generation Z said it’s during a conversation with an established client.

Almost 30% of Generation X say emojis are the best way to give some constructive to a colleague.