All posts tagged: Judged

The Real Reason Emojis Get Judged at Work

The Real Reason Emojis Get Judged at Work

Published by Jenni Sidey

“Using Emojis at Work? You’re Not Going to Like This Study!” That’s the headline of a recent Gizmodo article about new research from the University of Ottawa. With a headline like that, you may be worried that the message you sent yesterday afternoon with a smiley face 🙂 at the end could land you in hot water with the recipient. Yet, as is often the case with science reporting, the findings are much more nuanced than the online headlines would lead you to believe. In fact, the real takeaway from the work led by Dr. Erin Courtice and colleagues is that emojis at work aren’t inherently bad, but the ways we express ourselves in the workplace are shaped by unspoken rules. Failing to follow those rules could result in penalties, but following them might improve how you are perceived by colleagues. Courtice and colleagues ran a simple yet elegant experiment in which 243 undergraduates were asked to evaluate hypothetical or simulated workplace instant messages (IMs). Each message varied in tone (positive, negative, neutral), emoji type …

men are judged for being single too

men are judged for being single too

Published by Sam Flores

Reports of widespread “dating burnout” and a cultural shift towards heteropessimism – a feeling of disappointment or despair at the state of relations between men and women – have caused panic in the media and dating apps. Cultural debates have emerged around an alleged “rise of lonely single men” and what it means for society and future generations. Some have suggested that male singleness is a social problem partly caused by women’s supposed reluctance to “settle” in heterosexual partnerships. For women, singlehood has largely been rebranded as a time for self-love and personal growth. The “single positivity” movement has removed much of the stigma around being a single woman (at least in one’s 20s). Women are allowed to embrace freedom and reclaim singlehood as a chosen identity. My research on singlehood in Manchester found that single men had equally chosen to be single and were happily so. But they did not feel they could embrace this positivity. Instead, they remain polarised by harmful masculine ideals that misrepresent single men as either carefree bachelors or socially …

European nations are now being judged not just on how much they spend, but on military credibility – and the UK is falling short | World News

European nations are now being judged not just on how much they spend, but on military credibility – and the UK is falling short | World News

Published by Sam Flores

The UK and its European allies are scrambling to get serious about their own defences as Donald Trump, Xi Jinping and Vladimir Putin shape a new world order. You can expect to hear multiple declarations from European leaders, including Sir Keir Starmer, about their respective plans to ramp up spending on defence and security at a major security conference in Munich over the next three days. But the key indicator to track is evidence of the rhetoric becoming cold, hard fighting reality. It is certainly what the United States will be looking for – a form of scrutiny that became clear at a separate meeting of defence ministers from the NATO alliance in Brussels on Thursday. Elbridge Colby, the US under secretary of war policy – a deputy to Pete Hegseth who chose to miss the gathering in what some insiders saw as a signal of the US reducing the priority it places on its NATO membership, though others denied this was the case – delivered a striking speech to allies. He said Europe must …

The Finalists for a Literary Prize Judged By Librarians

The Finalists for a Literary Prize Judged By Librarians

Published by José Betancourt

This content contains affiliate links. When you buy through these links, we may earn an affiliate commission. Welcome to Today in Books, our daily round-up of literary headlines at the intersection of politics, culture, media, and more. 2026 Libby Book Award Finalists The finalists for the Libby Book Award, which honors the best books of the previous calendar year as selected by librarians, have been announced. We’ve got a whopping 20 categories for the awards along with a brand new Reader’s Choice award, and there are two finalists for each category. Two of 2025’s big books made the Adult Fiction finalist list: Atmosphere by Taylor Jenkins Reid and Buckeye by Patrick Ryan. In Adult Nonfiction, we’ve got two more by-now-familiar titles: A Flower Traveled in My Blood by Haley Cohen Gilliland and A Marriage at Sea by Sophie Elmhirst. My kingdom for even one BIPOC-authored book in the two major categories and the Reader’s Choice award, but you will find more diversity across the remaining categories. Alchemised by SenLin Yu made it into more than …

Surprising Ways You’re Being Judged During Video Calls

Surprising Ways You’re Being Judged During Video Calls

Published by Jenni Sidey

Video conferencing has become commonplace in today’s work environment. Video calls are convenient, save money, and provide the psychological benefit of face-to-face communication. They enable the hiring of remote workers and facilitate easy connection with international colleagues. But scientific studies are revealing that engagement over video platforms is not without its disadvantages. I am a biomedical scientist and author of Pleased to Meet Me: Genes, Germs, and the Curious Forces that Make Us Who We Are, a book that explores hidden forces that influence our behavior. As in the business world, we have seen steep inclines in the use of video conferencing in academia for job interviews, online classes, team meetings, and international symposia. I’ve been monitoring research that exposes the potential downsides of video calls so that we can use this technology more wisely. How to stop video calls from dampening your creativity Intuition might have you thinking that face-to-face contact is better at getting the creative juices flowing than a voice-only phone call. A 2022 study led by business professor Melanie Brucks, however, …