[lewisflude]

I know this might sound stupid, but I really find that softening the boundaries/traditional barriers between work/home really helps improve my quality of life.

I like feeling slightly relaxed at work, and I feel like I'm way more productive than in an environment that feels cold, corporate or artificial.

Having said this, I think that it's really important to listen to the cultural signals that arise from your work environment. I wouldn't be lax, or use emoji/gifs in an environment where it didn't feel appropriate.

[huffmsa]

I mentioned it elsewhere, but I'm far and away the heaviest giphy user in my slack groups for internal conversation with teammates I'm comfortable and familiar with.

But any external conversations or conversations where money is on the table, emojis and gifs are too ambiguous.

[lewisflude]

Talking to someone you don't know, it's definitely better to err on the side of simplicity. I wouldn't use gifs/emojis unless I'd had some indication the person I'm talking to would be receptive to it!