Emojis at work: does a thumbs-up mean the same to every generation?

Alastair Greener FPSA Generational communication expert, author and President of the PSA UK and Ireland 2026 Published 9 October 2026 · 5 min read

The generations use emojis at very different rates, though a 2025 study found they read face emojis in much the same way. In our 2024 survey of 4,067 people, 43% of Gen Z use emojis or stickers in messages all the time, against 13% of Baby Boomers, and 26% of the Silent Generation never use them. At work, the safest approach is to know your recipient, agree what common emojis mean and use words for anything that matters.

A 2025 study found that the generations read face emojis in much the same way; the bigger difference is how often they use them. In our Communication Habits and Preferences 2024 survey, 49% of Gen Alpha use emojis or stickers constantly and 26% of the Silent Generation never use them. In between, 43% of Gen Z use them all the time, against 13% of Baby Boomers.

So when an emoji causes trouble at work, look first at habit and context. A thumbs-up that one colleague sends without a second thought can land on another's screen as curt, casual or, in one Canadian case, legally binding.

How often does each generation use emojis?

We asked everyone in our survey how often they use emojis or stickers when texting or messaging. Frequent use falls steadily with age, although "sometimes" is the most common answer for every generation except the youngest.

Uses emojis or stickers in messages	All the time	Sometimes	Rarely	Never
All respondents	30%	50%	14%	7%
Gen Alpha	49%	44%	3%	3%
Gen Z	43%	48%	7%	2%
Millennials (Gen Y)	39%	51%	8%	2%
Gen X	24%	55%	16%	5%
Baby Boomers	13%	50%	22%	14%
Silent Generation	6%	42%	26%	26%

Source: Communication Habits and Preferences 2024. Base: all 4,067 respondents. Gen Alpha were aged 8 to 12 when surveyed in 2024.

Some people predicted that once older generations started using emojis, the young would abandon them. Our figures suggest otherwise: the youngest generations are still the heaviest users. Our guide to how each generation prefers to communicate ranks the generations on other habits too.

49%of Gen Alpha use emojis or stickers constantlyCommunication Habits and Preferences 2024

43%of Gen Z use emojis or stickers all the time, against 13% of Baby BoomersCommunication Habits and Preferences 2024

26%of the Silent Generation never use themCommunication Habits and Preferences 2024

Do the generations read emojis differently?

Less than you might think. In a study published in Computers in Human Behavior Reports in August 2025, Vera Kempe and Limor Raviv asked 394 people aged 13 to 76, most of them in the UK, to describe 24 face emojis. They found no generational differences in how the faces were interpreted, and "the most commonly provided emoji interpretations did not differ across generations".

What varies is context, and some emojis carry several meanings at once. In 2023 I wrote about the winner of Most Popular New Emoji in Emojipedia's 2022 World Emoji Awards, Face Holding Back Tears. I had no idea there were awards for emojis, but it makes sense. To add to any confusion, Emojipedia says it can express "sadness, anger, embarrassment, admiration, and gratitude". The sender knows which one they meant. The reader has to guess.

Why does a thumbs-up cause so much trouble?

There has been a lot of talk about emoji misunderstandings, and the thumbs-up is the usual example. To one person it means "great, thanks"; to another, arriving alone after a long message, it can feel like a brush-off.

At work it can mean more than either. In June 2023 a court in Saskatchewan, Canada, ruled that a thumbs-up sent in reply to a photo of a flax contract counted as accepting it, the law firm DLA Piper reports. The seller said the emoji only confirmed that he had received the contract, not that he agreed to its terms. The court disagreed and awarded the buyer the damages it had claimed, about C$82,000.

The case had nothing to do with age, yet the lesson applies to every generation. As with words, make sure you understand who is on the receiving end of your emoji and how they might interpret it.

How can teams agree emoji norms at work?

Know your recipient. Someone who uses emojis all the time may read an emoji-free message as cold. Someone who never uses them, like 26% of the Silent Generation in our survey, may simply be writing the way they always have. Neither is being rude.

Agree what the common ones mean. If your team reacts to messages with a thumbs-up, decide whether it means "seen" or "agreed". For approvals, decisions and anything with money attached, write the words.

Match the channel. Emojis may suit a team chat and jar in a client email, a complaint response or a message about someone's performance. When in doubt, mirror the other person: if they use emojis, you can; if they don't, leave them out.

Ask rather than guess. Emoji habits vary inside every generation. If you are not sure how a colleague reads your reactions, ask them. Our overview of how each generation likes to talk and the Generation Alpha guide have more on the habits the youngest generations bring with them.

So, do you use emojis at work, and have yours ever been misunderstood?

Frequently asked questions

Is it unprofessional to use emojis at work?

Not necessarily. Many teams use emojis in internal chat to acknowledge messages and keep the tone friendly. They are riskier in client emails, formal documents and sensitive conversations such as feedback or complaints. The safest approach is to agree team norms, mirror the style of the person you are writing to, and use words for anything that matters.

What does a thumbs-up emoji mean at work?

It usually signals approval or acknowledgement, but people read it differently, and a lone thumbs-up can feel curt. It can also carry weight: in 2023 a Canadian court treated a thumbs-up reply to a contract as acceptance. Teams should agree whether a thumbs-up means "seen" or "agreed" and write out approvals in full.

Which generation uses emojis the most?

In our 2024 UK survey of 4,067 people, Gen Alpha used them most: 49% use emojis or stickers constantly. They were followed by Gen Z at 43% and Millennials at 39% all the time, then Gen X at 24%, Baby Boomers at 13% and the Silent Generation at 6%. 26% of the Silent Generation never use them.

Do older people understand emojis?

Mostly, yes. A study published in August 2025 asked 394 people aged 13 to 76, most of them in the UK, to describe 24 face emojis and found no generational differences in how they were interpreted. The bigger difference is in how often people use them: in our 2024 survey, 43% of Gen Z use emojis all the time, against 13% of Baby Boomers.

Browse the figures from our two UK studies of how the generations communicate.

See the statistics