A warm smile can be very helpful in the workplace. When you first meet others with a smile, this will make you look more efficient and interested in others.
However, the German journal "Psychology of the Day," published a study warning that the inclusion of smiling symbols in e-mails does not have the same effect, and can in fact, have the opposite impact, according to the German news agency.
Emoticons in e-mails do not bring warmth and may make their users appear less efficient.
But this only applies in the workplace, as emoticons do not appear to have a negative impact in personal emails.
This study, entitled "The Dark Side of Smile Symbols", was prepared by three researchers from universities in the Netherlands and Israel.
