Emojis Lower Perceived Workplace Competence

A controlled study (University of Ottawa, published in Collabra) found that instant messages without emojis were judged more competent and appropriate than identical messages with emojis; negative emojis consistently reduced perceived competence, and women judged other women using emojis more harshly. The experiment used simple positive (😀) and negative (😠) emojis paired with message valence to isolate effects. — If small digital cues shape evaluations of competence — and do so in gendered ways — employers, HR policies, and remote‑work norms should reckon with emoji use as a material factor in career signaling, bias, and workplace civility.