Workplace culture a glimpse of the future

The first time I got a red rose emoji sent to me, I didn't know what to make of it.

It came from my Chinese boss, a young technopreneur, who was thanking me for something nice I did at work. Why would he send me a red rose? It was ridiculous to think it was a romantic overture; the guy is 27 years old!

In the following days, I received a lot more red rose emojis from different co-workers and that's when it dawned on me. In China, a red rose emoji conveys sincere thanks. Nothing more is intended.