topic Re: Professional or not? in Community Chat

Professional or not?

Laura14 — Thu, 21 May 2026 16:14:34 GMT

I just received an email from my new payroll rep of two days.

I've patiently waited for two days with no communication or solution for a tech issue with their system and a holiday deadline approaching.

Unusual. Usually, they are much more professional and communicative than this.

I finally asked for an update this morning.

Eventually, I got back "Escalating this up the chain to a supervisor "

Yes, the unhappy face was included in her response. This is not a coworker or someone I know.

I've known her for two days after she introduced herself as the new contact for our company. This is our third email.

I think her mom is still making her lunch, and obviously she is brand spanking new to not even have a clue as to how to help me which is fine. We all learn, but does anyone else get emails from the people they do business with, happy and sad faces and all?

I think she thought she was sending a text to a friend.

Does your water bill come with if you have a higher amount?

Does the electric company stamp when you run your AC too much?

I keep trying to blend in with the younger generation but, frankly, I expect a thumbs up icon on my direct deposit email next week.

If so, I'm putting that on my Linked In profile. Fluent in emoticon is a skill.

See what all you retired people are missing?

I honestly want to know if this is something everyone else is seeing out in the workplace now too? I try and stay on top of trends.

Re: Professional or not?

beckyb1012 — Thu, 21 May 2026 16:22:11 GMT

I bet her mom came with her to sit in on her interview. Good luck getting the issue resolved quickly.

Re: Professional or not?

Desertdi — Thu, 21 May 2026 16:23:50 GMT

After 15 years and three company locations, my nametag wore out. I went to my HR office to order a new one, and they informed me that there was no one in the system with MY NAME...

(no new tag...but they kept paying me)

Re: Professional or not?

Laura14 — Thu, 21 May 2026 16:27:38 GMT

@beckyb1012 wrote:
I bet her mom came with her to sit in on her interview. Good luck getting the issue resolved quickly.

@beckyb1012

Re: Professional or not?

juliekb — Thu, 21 May 2026 16:37:34 GMT

The payroll company is trying to help you. Just trying to get you your answers and ultimately your paycheck. The sad face goes along with this sentence helps to understand the intended tone. 👍I think you have to let this one go, Laura.

Re: Professional or not?

Laura14 — Thu, 21 May 2026 16:49:13 GMT

@juliekb We're not taking it too seriously.

I just showed the 27 year old owner, and asked him if I was old. He was appalled like me for the same two seconds, before we both fell out laughing and shaking our heads.

He wants me to send her a note that instead of the thumbs up emoji on his next paycheck, he wants the big bag of money icon attached to his.

Re: Professional or not?

Tori3569 — Thu, 21 May 2026 17:27:15 GMT

@Laura14 wrote:
@juliekb We're not taking it too seriously.

I just showed the 27 year old owner, and asked him if I was old. He was appalled like me for the same two seconds, before we both fell out laughing and shaking our heads.

He wants me to send her a note that instead of the thumbs up emoji on his next paycheck, he wants the big bag of money icon attached to his.

It happens frequently at my company which is a huge corporation. We are known for a friendly atmosphere so I have never considered it an issue. Every so often on our emails, but our texts are loaded!

Re: Professional or not?

occasionalrain — Thu, 21 May 2026 23:20:33 GMT

I worked for a friendly company, we didn't post emojis, ever. I never use them nor do my friends.

They are juvenile and reflect poorly on the sender, seemingly unable or too lazy to form a sentence.

Re: Professional or not?

Tinkrbl44 — Thu, 21 May 2026 18:57:16 GMT

@Laura14

Well, it could be partially to defuse her embarrassment.

The new person doesn't know what she's doing yet?

Hoping you'll laugh and be patient?

IMO, it's not very professional, but every corporate culture has to be taken into consideration, too.

Re: Professional or not?

Laura14 — Thu, 21 May 2026 19:44:52 GMT

My boss is now communicating with me in all emojis.

Re: Professional or not?

Mom2Dogs — Thu, 21 May 2026 20:44:04 GMT

@Laura14 I feel your pain.

When my husband and I owned our business, I would need to email customers about their form work if I had questions about layout, size etc. Even when I would bullet point questions, they would give a generic answer.

Don't get me started on approvals to proceed with work...I swear they just gave a quick glance and approved the job...and if there was an error we were expected to fix for free!

Like you I would have been a bit taken aback by the icon! You have no idea how many times I had to tell a vendor on the phone to slow down as they talked so fast I could not understand what they were talking about.

....guess I am old.

Re: Professional or not?

tansy — Fri, 22 May 2026 00:27:53 GMT

Hmmm...I am a fan of emojis 🥹

Re: Professional or not?

Goldengate8361 — Fri, 22 May 2026 01:31:19 GMT

@Laura14 thst was definitely rude and inappropriate. That would not happen where I work. I think a sincere sense of humor, however, is always handy when people do stupid things at work. I would cut her some slack and not take anything seriously. I use emojis quite a bit at work....and I'm very professional.😎

Re: Professional or not?

San Antonio Gal — Fri, 22 May 2026 05:00:21 GMT

@Laura14 - I don't see anything wrong using emojis to add to a sentence even if it's just your 3rd email. It adds a human touch.

I understand you being frustrated about the issue not being resolved yet, but I don't understand the issue you have with her using an emoji.

How long do you have to know someone in a workplace environment until you find it acceptable to use an emoji?

Re: Professional or not?

Snowpuppy — Fri, 22 May 2026 06:43:30 GMT

I think workplace emoji's are a female thing. A female supervisor uses a smiley face to hide their contempt. Their emoji's don't convey what you might think.

My supervisor at Megacorp is a young guy. While he can be fun to joke with in person, never in writing.

As far as HR, I feel your pain. They tried to use AI to replace HR staff. When that didn't work, they moved people into those slots who have no experience.

I spent 4 months waiting for an insurance form to be processed. When they finally found the form, oh, sorry. You signed on the wrong line. Submit a corrected form to us.

Re: Professional or not?

Laura14 — Fri, 22 May 2026 09:15:14 GMT

@San Antonio Gal It's honestly who she is and the position she holds.

If I was someone's brand new payroll rep, which handles any company's biggest expense and the very serious HR and payroll law that goes with it, first impressions matter.

Especially when I have a serious issue that she should also realize has a very strong sense of urgency to it.

I don't need . Mr. UnHappy does nothing for me or my employee who has accepted a job offer and can't start because of her company's tech issue. After now 4 days of non-response, unacceptable.

Can you imagine my new hire's POV about me and our company right now? Should I pass along the and say I'd love for you to start making a living with us, but .

She's not bringing me my toilet paper for the rest rooms, and forgetting to drop it off. This is someone's paycheck and my owner's liability under several labor laws that we pay her to protect us from.

I have a great sense of humor and light decorum. But I also do my job. Unfortunately, she does not.

I think I may have solved the issue between me and my fellow GenX new hire. We'll see when I get into the office later today.

If so, she's getting a 😡 and 🤌 email and I may even request a new rep.

Re: Professional or not?

AngelPuppy1 — Fri, 22 May 2026 09:19:27 GMT

Probably not the best thing, but I would give her a little bit of grace. She is probably nervous and not sure of herself yet. She probably thought by putting the emoji in the message that she making the situation seem not so serious. If she keeps doing that, then I would say, she needs to be told that it's not really professional in this setting.

Re: Professional or not?

CalminHeart — Fri, 22 May 2026 11:31:42 GMT

@Laura14 wrote:

I don't care as long as they can fix the problem.

Re: Professional or not?

Pittfanatic — Fri, 22 May 2026 11:50:45 GMT

@Laura14 I was an HR Director for one of the largest school districts in the country. We had over 8,000 teachers, over 17,000 total empoyees. I was responsible for teacher recruitment and certification. When I spoke at colleges (all over the country) to seniors who were about to graduate and become new teachers, this was one of the things I would mention to them. You are not texting your friend. You are looking for a job or you are asking for information. Be professional about it. I don't know you. At some point writing became too familiar. It's fine if you are texting old friends. It is not fine in the workplace.

Re: Professional or not?

SloopJohnB — Fri, 22 May 2026 12:41:22 GMT

@Laura14 wrote:
I just received an email from my new payroll rep of two days.

I've patiently waited for two days with no communication or solution for a tech issue with their system and a holiday deadline approaching.

Unusual. Usually, they are much more professional and communicative than this.

I finally asked for an update this morning.
Eventually, I got back "Escalating this up the chain to a supervisor "

Yes, the unhappy face was included in her response. This is not a coworker or someone I know.

I've known her for two days after she introduced herself as the new contact for our company. This is our third email.

I think her mom is still making her lunch, and obviously she is brand spanking new to not even have a clue as to how to help me which is fine. We all learn, but does anyone else get emails from the people they do business with, happy and sad faces and all?

I think she thought she was sending a text to a friend.

Does your water bill come with if you have a higher amount?

Does the electric company stamp when you run your AC too much?

I keep trying to blend in with the younger generation but, frankly, I expect a thumbs up icon on my direct deposit email next week.

If so, I'm putting that on my Linked In profile. Fluent in emoticon is a skill.

See what all you retired people are missing?

I honestly want to know if this is something everyone else is seeing out in the workplace now too? I try and stay on top of trends.

Maybe it's the new "23 is the new 13". 🤷❤😋. Lol