House or car? Bengaluru techie’s simple emoji hack solves housemaid’s WhatsApp dilemma amid hybrid work confusion

Hybrid work has changed how people communicate, but for one Swiggy Instamart designer, it led to an unexpected language barrier with his housemaid.

Sargam Prakash, a senior designer at Swiggy Instamart in Bengaluru, shared on LinkedIn how his housemaid struggled to know whether he was home or at the office. Due to a language barrier, she only communicated via WhatsApp voice notes, as she didn't read or write English. Prakash explained she would often send him messages just to confirm his whereabouts.

"My housemaid has a difficult time because it’s not always clear if I’m at home or at the office (hybrid work). She uses WhatsApp but doesn’t speak, read, or write English. So, she sends me voice notes asking if I’m home—or a simple ‘Hi,’ which her kids have taught her.But I’m not always in a position to listen to or reply with voice messages, especially when I’m in meetings or deep in focus," he explained in the post.

So to simplify things, Prakash devised a system using emojis: a house 🏠 for “I’m home” and a car 🚙 for “I’m at work.”

"It’s simple, and surprisingly effective! I find it amusing how we’re using emojis not for quirky fun chats, but for serious communication — it’s become an inclusive tool that’s making both of our lives easier!"

His post quickly gained traction, drawing both appreciation and scepticism from LinkedIn users. Some users praised the creativity, while others questioned its efficiency.

One user humorously pointed out, “You are in deep focus, yet you can unlock your phone, open the chat, tap on the type box, tap on the emoji icon after the keyboard opens, probably send the emojis from the recently/frequently used ones! Interesting, given you were deeply focused.”

Others offered suggestions to refine the system. “Hi Sargam Prakash, you can use the office 🏢 emoji instead of the car emoji 🚗 😅,” one user recommended.

Another user shared a personal connection, recalling a similar approach in an app they had developed: “This reminds me of a feature I had built in the first app I ever worked on. It was a messaging app where the two parties were usually of different generations… Emojis are a language that in some use-cases communicates better than words.”