The Emojis Americans Use the Most in Work Emails

We partnered with Mailsuite to survey 2,013 office workers based in the U.S. about how they use and perceive emojis in work emails: when emojis are appropriate, which ones to use and what they really convey.

Some key findings included:

• Thumbs up (👍) is the most used emoji in the American workplace, and 54% of workers have used it.
• 56% of those who use emojis at work say it’s “to be friendly” — the most common reason for using emojis in work emails. However, 26% of recipients agree that emojis make an email “unprofessional.”
• A small percentage of those surveyed (6%) admitted to using emojis in work emails “to be passive-aggressive.”
• 65% of workers find it acceptable to send emojis to a client they’ve known a long time, but just 26% think it’s appropriate with new clients.
• Gen Z and Millennial Americans are generally more likely to find it acceptable to use emojis in work emails to colleagues, customers and managers compared to their Gen X and Baby Boomer counterparts.

You can explore the different visualizations from this report here.