OMG! You might have thought that the humble emoji was just a handy wee visual to pop into a message to save words and delay the onset of texter’s thumb. But that would be to underestimate the power of the smiley.

A study has found that adding emojis to an email can make young people happier at their work.

Lead author of the research Dr Ben Marder, of Edinburgh University, tested out the effect of smiley emojis in staff-student communications to see if it increased commitment and satisfaction.

Volunteers were asked their feelings about emails from staff of varying levels of seniority that included smiley emojis, compared with ones that didn’t.

Revealing the findings, Marder, a senior lecturer in marketing, explained: “Our students are generation Z, and they are digital natives, growing up in a world of text-ese and emojiis and this is the normal way of online communication.

“They will become a major part of the workforce soon. Our findings show that using smileys in general emails, supervision emails and online feedback leads to more positive teacher evaluations and a more favourable response if students are invited to undertake a task. Although there is a very small drop in the perceived competence of a staff member if they use smileys, this is outweighed by the warmth they give off.”

But if you’re not generation Z, beware these seemingly innocent 10 words: “small drop in the perceived competence of a staff member” … because these are words that can open up a whole world of pain. If you are of a more mature disposition and want to get down with the kids, choose your emoticons wisely.

Marder said: “Of course, there are some situations in which emojis would not be suitable, but I think in the vast majority of cases, the use of smileys is completely advantageous.

“Smileys are the most used emoticon by a long way. We would definitely not use winkys, that would be a mistake. Winkys are a slightly dangerous emoticon to use.”

The emoji minefield does not end there. Cautionary tales of emoji misuse include the woman who mistook the pile-of-poo emoji for chocolate and the texter who responded to news that a fox had killed their friend’s hens with a chicken drumstick. Meanwhile, stories of tears of joy mistaken for tears of sadness abound. And if you’re sharing the news that it’s moussaka for dinner, just don’t go near that aubergine emoji.

But get used to these colourful wee characters, because they are not just a passing fad. They are now embedded in the digital language and are here to stay. The tears-of-laughter emoji was even named “word” of the year in 2015 and emojis are increasingly being used in formal communications.

They represent the first language born of the digital age, designed to add emotional nuance to text, and Marder pointed out that mixing emojis with normal messages will become more widespread generally.

So embrace these handy symbols and spread some cheer. Just think before you wink 😉.