By Shane Chauhan
July 2025, Issue 1
www.eunaworkforcecare.com
As Gen Z (born late 1990s to early 2010s) enters the workforce in larger numbers, they’re challenging long-established professional norms. Many managers have gone so far as to call them the “nightmare generation,” citing behaviors that clash with traditional expectations—from questioning hierarchies to redefining what “professionalism” even means.
This generational shift is forcing companies to reconsider how work, culture, and management should evolve. Recent surveys highlight some eyebrow-raising trends among Gen Z workers.
According to the San Francisco Standard and a 2024 Intelligent.com study, 12.5% reportedly ignore dress codes, take video calls from beds or desks, or even bring parents to interviews. Other common etiquette lapses include showing up to meetings in pajamas, ghosting managers mid-project, and expecting rapid promotions soon after joining.
Companies are now grappling with how to address these challenges without stifling Gen Z’s energy. The result is a workplace in flux, negotiating the balance between tradition and change.
Corporate Response
In response to these shifts, companies are investing heavily in workplace civility training. Rosalinda Randall, an etiquette coach, reports a 50% spike in demand for sessions that cost up to ₹2.1 lakh ($2,500) for 90 minutes. These workshops now cover everything from professional hygiene and email etiquette to respectful interaction with colleagues, aiming to smooth over generational clashes.
Organizational Adaptations
To address these shifts, many companies are developing internal “playbooks” that clearly define expectations for meetings, Slack etiquette, and team communication. These guidelines aim to reduce misunderstandings, set consistent standards, and help bridge the gap between Gen Z’s informal style and traditional workplace norms.
They also serve as onboarding tools to align new hires quickly. By making expectations explicit, companies hope to foster smoother collaboration across generations.
Balanced Perspective
While critics highlight Gen Z’s clashes with traditional workplace etiquette and expectations, others argue that their approach represents a necessary evolution in how we think about work. This is a generation demanding more than a paycheck—they want purpose, flexibility, and authenticity. Those values can feel disruptive to established hierarchies and norms, but they also hold the potential to make workplaces more human, adaptive, and forward-thinking.
Rahul Attuluri, CEO of NxtWave, offers a compelling counter-narrative. He argues that Gen Z isn’t simply looking for jobs—they’re driven by a desire to create a meaningful impact. He describes them as intensely curious, rapid learners who are highly product-aware and unafraid to build, break, and rebuild without waiting for permission.
This mindset, he suggests, isn’t a liability but an advantage. It positions Gen Z to lead innovation, challenge stagnation, and push organizations to adapt in ways they might otherwise resist. Instead of seeing them as a “nightmare generation,” companies may benefit by recognizing the opportunity to harness their independence and vision for the future of work.
This generational clash goes deeper than surface-level complaints about dress codes or meeting manners. It’s really about how work itself is being redefined.
Gen Z has grown up in a world shaped by constant connectivity, remote work norms, and an expectation of transparency from institutions. They question why work should happen in rigid ways, why hierarchy should be unquestioned, or why feedback should be sugarcoated.
At the same time, their critics often see this as entitlement or lack of resilience. But perhaps it’s also a demand for workplaces to be more human, more flexible, and more honest about what they offer employees.
For companies, this tension is both a challenge and an opportunity: to clarify expectations without stifling new ideas, to maintain professionalism while allowing authenticity, and to balance experience with the fresh perspectives Gen Z brings.
Navigating this isn’t about “fixing” Gen Z, but about rethinking how work can evolve to meet the needs of a new generation without losing what still matters.
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