How to talk to your younger coworkers: Tips and tricks

Today the workplace is a hotbed of people of all ages interacting with one another. Because of this there have been concerns of miscommunication. In an article written by Corporate English Solutions for the British Council website (citation), there are many different factors as to why there seems to be such a language barrier and to what are some of the ways that we can work together to understand one another better. What follows is an excerpt:

And Santosh and Dani had some common Gen Z soft skills gaps  when they joined, particularly in business writing and presentation skills. At times, all of this together caused misunderstandings and delays, which impacted the roll-out of our new learning initiatives.’

Like previous generations, Gen Z’s communication styles have been influenced by the era they grew up in... The biggest influences? Technology, global connectivity, diversity, and the rapid evolution of online platforms.

McKinsey describes Gen Z as a ‘hypercognitive generation very comfortable with collecting and cross-referencing many sources of information. 

‘Straight away the team noticed that they (Gen Z Coworkers) preferred instant messaging to emails and that their messages were super short – often sentence fragments using punctuation in non-traditional ways like “Got it thx!”, and abbreviations such as “kk” and “G2G…”.

I noticed our team’s communication gradually changing’, highlights Min. ‘Their writing became more concise and to the point, more efficient than previously. They began to use more gender-neutral language, contributing to a more inclusive environment. (citation).

Between generations, much of the language used has changed drastically. With the introduction on Gen Z into the workforce they have become both a problem as well as a reason for change. Gen Z is the first generation to have grown up on technology as well as social media. This has greatly influenced the way they talk and interact with others.

From here, a misunderstanding can arise. Older Generations of workers may view Gen Z’s approach as abrupt or unprofessional, particularly when their soft skills like business writing or presentations are still developing. These misunderstanding can cause "delays, which impacted the roll-out of our new learning initiatives"

In particular the article reminds us of some things to help with communication:

• Establish open dialogue regarding communication preferences;
• Clarify norms for when to adopt formal versus informal styles;
• Co-create a “living language guide” documenting common slang, acronyms, and communication expectations;
• Offer both formal training and mentorship that pair different generations;
• Nurture a continuous learning culture attuned to evolving communication trends

Avoiding your coworkers is not the solution. As much as some of us want to. In order to foster a sense of community, open communication and being open to learning the habits of others leads to a more happier and more efficient workplace.

References.

Corporate English Solutions. (February 20, 2024). Language transformation: Navigating Gen Z's communication style in the workplace. British Counsil. (https://corporate.britishcouncil.org/insights/language-transformation-navigating-gen-z-communication-style-workplace)

PeopleImages. (October 19, 2017). IStock https://www.istockphoto.com/photo/i-need-everyone-to-give-me-their-best-ideas-gm863497498-143258863