A new global survey suggests a growing generational divide in how people talk at work, one that’s playing out in emojis. According to workplace software company Atlassian, nearly 9 out of 10 Gen Z employees believe emojis make communication more effective.
The study, conducted with YouGov, surveyed 10,000 office workers across the US, Australia, France, Germany, and India.
The goal: to understand how today’s workforce connects, especially in digital spaces. The result is clear, Gen Z treats emojis not to make the message look fancy but as part of the message that is to be conveyed.
NOT EVERYONE AGREES
Less than half of Gen X and Baby Boomer employees see a place for emojis in the office.
This mismatch, the report notes, could fuel wider workplace tension, especially as written communication, like chats and emails, becomes more common.
Nearly 93% of respondents say they communicate regularly through writing; 44% said it’s their main mode of contact.
The debate isn’t just about tone. It cuts into time.
Around 48% of Gen Z workers say they waste hours every week trying to figure out what colleagues meant in unclear messages.
They’re also four times more likely than older peers to face confusing communication on a daily basis.
WHY GEN Z RELIES ON EMOJIS: A NEW LANGUAGE FOR A POST-PANDEMIC WORKFORCE
What makes emojis important to younger workers? The report calls it ‘digital body language’. It’s not just what is said, but how, punctuation, speed of replies, tone, and, yes, emojis.
Gen Zers use these markers to sense mood, urgency, or connection in a space where face-to-face cues are missing.
Dominic Price, Work Futurist at Atlassian, said the shift is unavoidable. “Emails, DMs, Slack threads, Zoom chats, it’s all digital now.
And for a lot of us, that shift has been a learning curve.”
India’s changing workforce explains part of the trend.
According to a BCG-Snap Inc report, Gen Z makes up 25% of India’s workforce, a number projected to reach 47% by 2035.
Many of the Gen Zs started working during or after the pandemic, and for them, work began online.
And it turns out emojis may even shape motivation. Gen Z respondents said they were 2.5 times more likely to feel encouraged by emoji reactions compared to older workers.
Nearly two-thirds also said they were more likely to read messages that included emojis.
Communication means that Gen Z prefers to tell, shows us how the priorities to feelings and emotions are given in the messages.
