Should you use emojis in work emails? A Wall Street Journal writer says no based on a 2020 Computers in Human Behavior study about how women interpret the symbols.

Psychology researchers at Wayne State University found that women interpret negative emojis more negatively than do men. For example, the lead author described reactions to the thinking emoji: “Men see that as slightly positive, women as slightly negative.”

However, college students were the subjects in this study, and the authors say the results are consistent with the emotional negative bias. They describe the bias and explain that it is greater in women than in men: “young adults exhibit greater attention and memory for negative over positive information.” The bias lessens as people turn middle-aged, and then a positivity bias is more prevalent.

So, you might consider the age of your coworkers as you decide whether to use emojis. One function of emojis is to convey subtle emotion when words alone fail. But they may be just as confusing and open to interpretation as text.