BUSINESSES URGED TO CREATE EMOJI POLICY

Emojis blur the lines between friendliness and misconduct, and context, culture and relationships matter

- WENDY JASSON DA COSTA

A SINGLE peach can ruin a career. The roll of the eyes, a friendship. Emojis are now globally accepted as part of everyday language, a go-to tool when words fail us. But what happens when they say far more than was intended?

This week a group of lawyers debated a loaded question; whether or not emojis are acceptable in the workplace.

During a webinar, they examined how emojis can blur the lines between friendliness and misconduct, and why context, culture, and relationship dynamics matter when using emojis at work. Cliffe Dekker Hofmeyr employment lawyers Anli Bezuidenhout and Yvonne Mkefa agree that a workplace policy on emojis is definitely needed.

They were joined by forensic and legal linguist Dr. Zakeera Docrat who explored the impact of emojis on workplace communication, legal boundaries, and cultural sensitivities.

“Four thousand years on and we are back to the same language,” said Docrat, referring to the symbols our ancestors used centuries before language as we know it.

She said context was the most important issue when using emojis.

Docrat was the expert who was called to testify in court about the central role played by emojis in the sexual harassment case against Eastern Cape Judge President Selby Mbenenge.

She used the winking emoji as an example saying that it can mean different things depending on the context.

“Is it suggestive or is it agreement? And if it's agreement, then why, if it’s a colleague, are you not just sending the thumbs-up emoji?