Ahlert, MiaBerghammer, Anja2025-12-092025-12-092025-12-082750-0721https://doi.org/10.56250/4090https://repository.iu.org/handle/123456789/4159Emotions play a part in today's and tomorrow's workplaces. Emotions are central to contemporary work-places and will remain so. There is evidence that conversations between leaders and their employees are increasingly replaced by digital interactions. This study examines how the perception of emotions differs between digital and face-to-face situations. To investigate this, a qualitative interview study was conducted with seven executives from diverse industries. The results show that emotion perception relies on multiple cues, with nonverbal signals being particularly important. The executives acknowledged the challenges, and, in some cases, the opportunities associated with digital formats. This study found no clear evidence that digital formats lead to more misunderstandings than face-to-face interactions. Although the two contexts differ, emotions can be perceived in both. The findings highlight the importance of emotional awareness, reflective practice, and deliberate meeting design to minimize uncertainty and misunderstandings, including the targeted use of digital meetings.deemotion perceptionnonverbal cuesleader–employee communicationhybrid workDiscussion Paper0009-0003-0997-7299