A notice of resignation. Photo: IC

An employee in Central China was recently fired for replying to a message from his apparently stern boss with an OK emoji in their company's WeChat work group, sparking a heated online discussion about texting courtesy.

According to the report on btime.com, the manager sent work assignments in the WeChat work group and one employee replied with just the OK emoji to signal he had received and understood the boss's message. The simple reply enraged the manager.

"If you understand my message, you should answer that you got it instead of a casual emoji. Don't you know the rule," the manager scolded the employee in the work group.

The manager later told the employee to fill out termination paperwork.

The employee said that he too was now irate. "Colleagues think the manager went too far."

Other employees have faced workplace criticism for giving what their bosses considered a lazy reply.

Btime.com