Uses of Emojis in WhatsApp Communication among Male and Female Employees in the Malaysian Banking Community
Nor Farah Nadia Zamri and Naginder Kaur
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Abstract:
Recently, emoji use in WhatsApp has become more extensive in Malaysian online interactions, reflecting the rise in the popularity of emoji use and communicative importance. Emojis can improve interactivity among interlocutors in digital conversations, particularly text messaging. However, few studies have examined their role in Malaysian workplace communication, especially regarding gender differences and speech act categories, highlighting a research gap. This quantitative study employed Searle’s (1979) Classification of Speech Acts to evaluate gender preferences and functions of emojis in WhatsApp among 430 banking employees in Malaysia. Participants were selected using purposive sampling and the data were analysed using IBM SPSS, with significance levels set at p<.05. Data were gathered through an online questionnaire and analysed using SPSS. It was discovered that female employees are more likely than male employees to use emojis with speech acts like Expressives, Representatives, and Directives. Female employees also perceived emojis as applicable for all types of speech acts in text messages. The results showed significant implications for workplace communication, where emojis serve as pragmatic tools to convey relational meaning, enhance interactivity and project illocutionary force that was previously achieved only through words, highlighting their role in shaping engagement and clarity in workplace digital communication.
Keywords:
CMC, emojis, functions, gender differences, preference, speech acts, WhatsApp communication
Citation: Nor Farah Nadia Zamri and Naginder Kaur (2026). Uses of Emojis in WhatsApp Communication among Male and Female Employees in the Malaysian Banking Community. Horizon J. Hum. Soc. Sci. Res. 8 (1), 66–77. https://doi.org/10.37534/bp.jhssr.2026.v8.n1.id1355.p66
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