They FaceTime at their desks, show up in sweats or other inappropriate office attire, and expect a promotion by lunchtime. Some of them even bring their parents to job interviews.
To put it mildly, their older coworkers aren’t impressed. The latest crop of Gen Z workers is attempting to redefine workplace norms, and they’re running into some resistance along the way.
There are several possible explanations for why Gen Zers are struggling to adapt to the corporate workplace. Perhaps it’s because they’re the first generation to grow up entirely online. Or maybe it stems from a lifetime of being coddled—made to feel exceptional by parents, teachers, and other adults. The disruption of remote learning during the pandemic certainly didn’t help. Whatever the cause, many Gen Zers are entering the workforce with little understanding of how to behave in a professional environment.
In a recent article, The San Francisco Standard’s Zara Stone took a closer look at this startling behavior — and how bewildered Bay Area bosses are scrambling to deal with it.
Stone noted that “the generational divide has become starker in the past few months, as return-to-office policies have brought in Gen Zers for the first time — in many cases after years of working and attending school remotely.” Uncertain about how to navigate this new workplace reality, Stone reports that many Bay Area employers have brought in etiquette experts to train young employees in basic professional conduct.
Stone spoke to Marin-based etiquette coach Rosalinda Randall who has seen a spike in inquiries over the last couple of months.
The requests come from tech campus managers, winery execs, and even country clubs. All are a variation on the same complaint: Gen Z employees are treating the office like an extension of their homes.One supervisor told Randall a new hire repeatedly left food wrappers scattered on the communal lunch table, assuming janitors would clean it up. “Their manager didn’t know how to handle it, as they didn’t want to sound like a parent,” said Randall.
According to Randall, this niche has become quite lucrative.
She charges clients up to $2,500 for 90-minute workshops for employees, covering everything from how to make eye contact to where to stick your name tag (always on the right) to how to ask for — not demand — things from your boss.She tailors her presentations toward clients’ biggest complaints. One Bay Area tech firm asked her to address personal hygiene, because two new hires did not shower or change their shirts for weeks. “They didn’t want to deal with it, so they hired me,” said Randall. She made her presentation to all new hires and added slides to hammer home the hygiene point.
Etiquette coach Melissa Franks has also experienced an uptick in business. Employers often feel like they’re being forced into “parent mode” by many new hires, she said. They resent what they see as “special accommodations and extreme levels of hand-holding.”
Franks encourages companies to develop “cultural blueprints” for young workers — basically, a playbook that details everything from appropriate office attire to email signoffs and gets as granular as outlining ideal “meeting behavior”: 70% observing, 25% asking clarifying questions, and 5% contributing ideas.
Randall said this conflict isn’t confined to the corporate world.
Hospital managers have told Randall that newly hired nurses are showing signs of apathy and entitlement, that they bristle at overly chatty patients or try to shirk “dirty” tasks. “They demand to be released from bedpan duty,” she said. “They don’t like it, so they think they shouldn’t have to do it.”
Stone noted that some companies have set up in-house etiquette training programs. Additionally, a handful of local universities have begun holding etiquette seminars for upperclassmen who will soon be entering the workforce.
While it’s great that employers are finding ways to deal with these problems, I’m still marveling at the fact that Gen Zers need to be taught not to take voice calls, or respond to texts, during job interviews.
Elizabeth writes commentary for Legal Insurrection and The Washington Examiner. She is an academy fellow at The Heritage Foundation. Please follow Elizabeth on X or LinkedIn.
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