As young workers strive to express their authentic selves, many convey themselves in a casual manner. However, this informal approach may not align with the expectations of companies that prioritize a different view of professionalism.
When Anna secured a position in the art department of a prestigious London-based hedge fund immediately after graduating in 2022, she found herself the youngest member of her team by a significant margin. Undeterred by the age gap, Anna, who had graduated at the top of her class, was eager to learn from her more experienced colleagues. While the feedback she received was mostly positive, there was one recurring issue: her boss expressed concerns that her casual language and informal demeanor were undermining her credibility.
Despite these criticisms, Anna initially dismissed them, believing that her strong relationships with clients, fostered through her personable approach, were more valuable than adhering to a strict formal style. However, four months into her role, she was unexpectedly let go. Her manager attributed her dismissal to a perceived "lack of professionalism," citing her frequent use of filler words like "like" and "totally" as contributory factors. Anna's supervisor conveyed that her communication style did not reflect the intelligence expected of someone working at a top-tier hedge fund and that her overall demeanor did not align with the firm's image.
Anna was deeply upset by the termination, as no one had provided prior guidance on her language use, with her informal communication style reflecting that of many others in her age group. This situation illustrates a broader trend of older generations looking down on younger ones, often assuming they are less prepared or serious, particularly in a professional context. However, experts note that the current conflict over the working language of Gen Z goes beyond typical intergenerational disagreements, serving as a symbol of the substantial changes in life and work over recent years and a precursor of future developments.
As new employees join the workforce, they encounter the challenge of establishing their professional identities, including defining their speaking styles and overall conduct. In previous years, this task was not as arduous, as the workplace traditionally demanded a level of formality in which employees were expected to adhere to established norms dictated by older leaders.
Younger people often get their news from social media, introducing them to casual language (Credit: Getty Images)
Yet these old ways – which establish a largely homogenous work culture – aren't sitting right with a new generation of workers who prize individuality. The post-pandemic rise of remote work and its blurred lines between the personal and professional has contributed to a shift toward a less formal work environment as well.
"With new technologies and shifting values, younger people increasingly want their work and personal identities to be one and the same," says Christopher G Myers, associate professor at the Johns Hopkins Carey Business School, US, and an Academy of Management scholar. "They don't want to have a fake work voice and persona. They want to be natural – they want to be themselves."
For some members of Gen Z, the notion they must adhere to someone else's standards seems artificial and at odds with their values of authenticity and self-expression, says Michelle Ehrenreich, who directs the communications program at Boston University's Questrom School of Business, US. "The upcoming generation has been told, 'Be yourself! You're you, and you're wonderful!' But there's a tension when they start working in a more corporate environment," she says.
Bringing these attitudes and experiences to work means directly bucking the conventions that have been governing workplaces for decades. And that's not what most employers are looking for – companies largely don't usually want workers' unvarnished selves in the workplace, says Ehrenreich. Instead, employees are expected to speak and carry themselves in a way that matches the organization's culture.
This can be especially difficult for Gen Z, lots of whom lack the professional lexicon of past generations. Gen Z's social media upbringing has left many with limited exposure to formal communication, says Caroline Goyder, a London-based communications and speech consultant who trains a mix of corporate clients.
The upcoming generation has been told, 'Be yourself! You're you, and you're wonderful!' But there's a tension when they start working in a more corporate environment – Michelle Ehrenreich
Instead of watching or listening to mainstream news broadcasters with a more formal style, for instance, they've grown up with a variety of social media influencers, she says. In the US, in late 2023 data from Pew Research Center shows roughly a third of adults younger than 30 regularly get news from TikTok. "Influencers tend to use warm, friendly tones and informal, high-energy speech patterns, such as bouncy-up talk, to make themselves seem more approachable," says Goyder – a far cry from the buttoned-up vernacular of the Baby Boomer, Gen X, and even millennial workplace.
The disconnect presents a problem for the youngest workers. Although communication standards can vary among industries, company sizes, and roles, Ehrenreich says certain traditional rules of professional conduct remain essential in many situations.
Some data has shown professional success hinges on personal polish. A 2018 study published in Harvard Business Review showed that weak executive presence and poor communication style are the two most critical factors that can stall career progress. Even though the workplace has changed since this research was conducted, Ehrenreich believes the conclusions are still highly relevant today. To help young people succeed in employment, she works with students at Boston University to refine their communication skills, focusing on tone, eliminating filler words, and improving eye contact as well as posture and body language.
Although it's true an informal approach in the workplace can help build connections, if employees are perceived as too casual, it can have the opposite effect. (Just ask Anna.) "You can't run a committee or make hard, serious decisions without balancing strength and warmth, formality with approachability, and task and relationships," says Goyder.
Gen Z may not have to change themselves to succeed in the workplace – but they may want to change their language for now (Credit: Getty Images)
Although Gen Z will still need to be aware of traditional "professional" language – and must adhere to it for now, at least if they want to keep their jobs – the issue isn't black and white in a changing world of work.
In the aftermath of the pandemic, dress codes are looser, hours are more flexible and people work from home more often. All of this means communication too, is evolving in offices around the world. In the UK, an August 2023 survey by Barclays showed nearly three-quarters of respondents say that Gen Z is changing the formality of language in the workplace.
Gen Z's casual speaking style could be an indicator of professional changes to come. "The approach that we take to our interpersonal communication is constantly evolving," says Myers. These changes may slowly find their way into the workplace – but Myers says it often "lags behind and is slower to adopt some of these new ways of being".
He adds that while younger professionals are expected to adapt to professional standards, senior leaders must also appreciate that language conventions and employee needs change over time. Leaders should be open to embracing a less formal approach that perhaps allows for more personal expression, he says. For instance, although they may still want to prioritize keeping "critical moments of communication at work" formal, there may also be situations, such as internal chats or team meetings, "where there isn't as direct a business case to be made, policing language might not be worth it", he says.
You can't run a committee or make hard, serious decisions without balancing strength and warmth, formality with approachability, and task and relationships – Caroline Goyder
Taking a long view, as Baby Boomers and Gen X gradually cede the reins of leadership to younger generations, a more casual tone may permeate the workplace. "Maybe when older generations move on, things will change," says Ehrenreich. "But at the moment, the people in charge have expectations that they enforce."
As for Anna, she's found a job in television, which she says is much better suited to her personality and skills. When she thinks back on her abbreviated stint at the hedge fund, it's with a mixture of embarrassment and enlightenment. "I've done a lot of self-reflection," she says. "I shouldn't have been hired; it wasn't the right job for me."
It was, however, a learning experience. She says she still strives to be her "true authentic self" at work, but that she's also focused on getting better at how she presents herself. She's actively working on limiting "like" and "totally" from her vocabulary and figuring out how to make the most of her time with executives. "If I am in a meeting with someone senior, I sit up a bit straighter and smarten up my language. I am not fundamentally changing the way I speak, but I talk a bit differently."
This, says Ehrenreich, is the smart approach – at least for now. "You've got to be able to flex your style if you want a big corporate job. It's not about changing who you are, it's about adapting."