 Quote, for younger people, the thumbs up emoji is really passive aggressive, a 24-year-old Redditor wrote. It's super rude if someone just sends you a thumbs up, they added. So I also had a weird time adjusting because my workplace is the same. Older workers appeared flummoxed by the reaction, noting that they use the thumbs up in work-related chats to signal I approve or I understood and I will obey.