Young workers explain why they find it weird to respond to work messages with a 'thumbs up' emoji

From posting handwritten letters that take days to reach their destination to connecting instantly with people who live thousands of miles away through online chats, we have come a long way with our modes of communication. In fact, the creation of emojis has almost replaced the use of words. Sometimes, we find that all it takes is one emoji to convey our emotions while responding to someone's message. But not every emoji is agreeable to everyone. A Reddit user shared how using the "thumbs up" emoji seemed unsettling and some younger people rallied around this perspective. The since-deleted post sparked a debate on the platform as some found nothing wrong with using the emoji.

In the post from 2021, the Reddit user spoke about how one could only use a few emojis to respond to messages at work and the 'thumbs up' emoji was a common one. "Am I not adult enough to be comfortable with the thumbs-up emoji reaction?" they asked. "I started an 'adult' job where we use Microsoft Teams to connect with each other for work. Currently, there are only a few emojis you can use to react to a message. Most people at work use the 'thumbs up' emoji. I don't use it much. I either use 'heart' reactions or reply, even if it's a short 'Great!' or 'Thanks!'" they explained.

When they asked fellow Reddit users, "Anyway, I think it's normal to 'thumbs up' messages, but I still feel like it's such an unsettling response. Does anyone else feel this way?" it brought in varied responses. Agreeing with the unorthodox perspective, u/FallenHeartsGalaxy wrote, "It probably feels unsettling because it's impersonal." u/SasiBan added, "I understand what you mean. My last workplace had a WhatsApp chat for our team to send info to each other and most of the people there just replied with a thumbs-up. I don't know why, but it seemed a little bit hostile to me, like an acknowledgment but kind of saying, 'I don't really care/am not interested.'"

However, 40-year-old u/AdditionalAttorney wondered if it was a generational difference and asked, "Why do you feel like it's unsettling? Honest question, because that's literally how I respond to 90% of the messages." Speaking for younger people, 24-year-old u/HuaAnNi explained, "The thumbs-up emoji is used to be passive-aggressive. It's super rude if someone just sends you a thumbs-up. I also had a weird time adjusting because my workplace is the same. So, yeah, it's a generational communication culture difference. Everyone my age in the office doesn't do it, but the Gen X people always do it. It took me a bit to adjust and get it out of my head that it meant they were mad at me."

u/MyNameIsSkittles disapproved of this notion and said, "It's not passive-aggressive at all. It seems to be a younger generational thing. You guys changed the meaning for some reason." But u/johnouden stated an example to help older generations comprehend how young workers felt about the thumbs-up emoji. "It's not that odd to see it as passive-aggressive. Just imagine how would it feel to go into your boss's room, say something and then see him turn to you, look you in the eye and give a thumbs up," they explained. This Reddit thread proved that the "thumbs up" emoji can be hostile or passive-aggressive to some and a totally acceptable response to others.