This article has been reviewed according to Science X's editorial process and policies. Editors have highlighted the following attributes while ensuring the content's credibility: For all the talk about generational differences at work, some of the biggest differences show up in surprisingly ordinary moments. Take being late for work.
A Gen Z employee in her 20s I spoke with works at a small, locally owned cafe and restaurant run by an older Gen X owner. When she realized she was going to be late one day, she texted him. To him, being late was serious enough to warrant a phone call, and a text felt too casual and impersonal.
She saw the same interaction very differently. "He's super busy, so I felt a call was going to take up too much time," she told me. I thought it was more considerate." Both thought they understood what respectful workplace communication looked like.
They just had completely different definitions of it. I study workplace culture and communication, and I see this type of misunderstanding as increasingly common in multigenerational workplaces. It is becoming more pronounced as Gen Z moves further into the workforce.
The oldest members of Gen Z are now approaching 30, while the youngest are in college and high school. What's distinctive about the older members of Gen Z is that many went through college, internships or their first jobs during the COVID-19 pandemic, when much of our communication moved online and masks often covered half our faces. And there's a new twist now, as artificial intelligence changes how we communicate all over again.
The result isn't necessarily that Gen Z employees communicate better or worse with their bosses and colleagues than previous generations did. I argue that they have simply learned to do so in a very different environment. The cafe example is an easy one to dismiss as younger workers preferring texting and feeling that phone calls are for important occasions only.
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