Think twice before inserting emojis into business e-mails. Smiley faces and similar emoticons could create an impression of incompetence and reduce information-sharing in work e-mails‚ a study with about 550 participants from 29 countries found. "In initial interactions‚ it is better to avoid using smileys‚ regardless of age or gender‚" said lead author Ella Glikson‚ from the department of management at Ben-Gurion University of the Negev. Participants in one experiment had to read a work-related e-mail from a stranger and evaluate the competence and warmth of that person. The messages were similar but some had smileys and others not. "Our findings provide first-time evidence that‚ contrary to actual smiles‚ smileys do not increase perceptions of warmth and actually decrease perceptions of competence." The readers also responded in more detail with content-related information to the e-mails without smiles.
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