25 Gen Z Workplace Habits Older Coworkers Have Some Complaints About
I’m a millennial, which means I’ve reached the age where I can’t believe the year on the “You must have been born on or before this date” sign at the liquor store. Every time I see it, that year gets closer and closer to the year I graduated college.
Still, some of these complaints about Gen Z coworkers feel pretty universal. Showing up late and leaving everyone else to do your work will annoy people regardless of when you were born.
These older coworkers in this thread shared the Gen Z workplace habits that get under their skin, and the complaints range from reasonable requests to things that sound suspiciously like wanting everyone to say good morning a little louder.
I agree with a few. On others, I’m siding with whoever just wants to microwave their leftovers in peace.
1. A Thumbs-Up Apparently Requires A Follow-Up Meeting
“One that really surprised me was when a Gen Z colleague said thumbs-upping her message was rude and passive-aggressive. I thumbs-upped it to acknowledge I’d seen it and agreed without having to write back. I had no idea it could be taken any other way.”
2. Nobody Asked You To Do The Age Math, Kayla
“Telling me how old they were when I tell them something about myself. For example, I was talking about a trip I took, and she said something like, ‘Oh wow, that was like four years after I was born.’ Are you trying to hurt me, Kayla? WHAT DID I DO TO YOU?!”
3. The Printer Was Broken For Years. The Fix Took Hours.
“My biggest pet peeve with Gen Z is that they seem unwilling to work through problems. I was running behind and asked my Gen Z coworker to replace a part for me while I went to another location. He got the new part and just laid it on top because he ‘didn’t know how’ to install it.
“I was like… ummm, ask someone to show you? Or just… try to do it using common sense and problem-solving? Google it if all else fails?
“I was at another location recently, and their printer had been ‘broken’ for YEARS. I spent 20-ish minutes working on it, realized it wasn’t something I could fix, put in a ticket, and it was fixed within several hours. All of the Gen Z employees there had just decided to work without a printer because no one even tried to fix it.”
4. The Conversation Ends With A Blank Stare
“The Gen Z stare is very real. In the workplace, there’s a certain measure of ‘performative positivity’ that needs to be employed to maintain a positive work environment. Even if you’re having a [bad] day, you have to make some attempt to connect positively with your colleagues. I know, it’s stupid, but it keeps things running smoothly.
“I’ve found that with Gen Z employees, they would rather stare blankly at you than participate in whatever you have to say. If they don’t find what you said interesting to their personal or professional experience, they’ll just stare for an awkward amount of time and maybe say, ‘Mm, yeah.’”
5. This Email Has Strong “Do Not Click The Attachment” Energy
“One of the issues that really gets to me is that the younger generation often can’t spell anymore and commonly uses incorrect grammar.
“One time, I had a younger colleague who sent an email to a client with several grammatical and spelling errors, and I decided to tell her outright that if I were the recipient, I would assume that this was a phishing email and would bin it. I feel there is no excuse for being illiterate in a professional position.”
6. Unfortunately, This Assignment Cannot Be Passed With A C
“The biggest problem I’ve run into is an issue with submitting subpar work and getting annoyed when you tell them it still has to be done correctly. They don’t get why you can’t just give them a C and be done.
“No, I need it to be to the professional industry standard you claimed you were educated at and could perform when you were hired!”
7. “Here You Go” Is Doing A Lot Of Heavy Lifting
“A behavior that I mostly notice from folks under 30 that drives me kind of crazy is when someone gives me something and just says, ‘Here you go,’ or doesn’t even say ANYTHING.
“Take a second to explain what you’re giving me, what you expect me to do with it, and whether there will be more like it. Just something like, ‘Here’s this week’s TPS report. Double-check the info on Page 6 and send it to Kelly by noon for approval,’ or whatever, even if it seems obvious!”
8. The Shift Starts Late And Ends Early
“Showing up 15–30 minutes late every day and leaving 30 minutes early, even after being talked to about it.”
9. Your Coworker Has Received Your Message And Chosen Silence
“Responding to messages. I don’t understand why it is so hard. The Gen Zers I interact with almost never respond to text messages or questions.
“I know they aren’t trying to be disrespectful, and we’ve discussed it before, but even just an ‘OK’ or ‘Yes, sounds good’ can go a long way, much preferable to complete radio silence.”
10. The Break Room Has Developed Avoidance Hours
“The biggest difference I find from our regular crew (the youngest person is in their 30s) and the college students that work here in the summers is that the students talk a lot and at a loud volume.
“Some of my coworkers change the time they take their lunch break to avoid being in the break room at the same time as the students, lol.”
— u/todds-
11. That Is A Lot Of Personal Information For A Coworker
“Oversharing. Please stop talking about your struggles with neurodivergence, your blood sugar, and the mean things you say to your girlfriend. We don’t know each other like that, and, crucially, I did not ask.
“Obviously, I don’t want anyone to feel bad about themselves or like they can’t banter among themselves in the office, so I let them get on with it.”
12. The Work Is Shared. The Scrolling Is Personal.
“Maybe this was just an issue at my job, but the Gen Zers I worked with were constantly on their phone. I’m not anti-phone at work; I had mine handy like most other people, but if there wasn’t a patient actively in front of them, they’re staring at their phone.
“Doing it a bit doesn’t bother me… we all need a little mental break sometimes, but when there’s work to do (that is everyone’s job to help with), and you’re scrolling TikTok instead of helping, it’s pretty annoying.”
13. Apparently, Saying Hello Is A Generational Thing
“This is so nitpicky, but I hate that Gen Z kids don’t announce themselves when they walk into a room. Gen X and Millennials I know were taught to do that and regularly walk into a meeting or space, or even a Zoom meeting, and say hi or good morning or SOMETHING.
“Gen Z doesn’t do it! They just slither in and sit, and it’s so odd to me. The older I get, the more I find it rude.”
14. Being 27 Now Comes With Retirement Jokes
“Some things I have witnessed: filming TikToks when they think no one is watching, sharing too much of their personal problems that involve their family and relationships, calling out frequently, and thinking anyone 27 years of age and up is just old.
“I constantly hear the terms ‘pushing 30’ and ‘pushing 40’ when, quite literally, there is so much growing up to do and other things to focus on rather than age.”
15. Holding The Door Has Become A Test Of Patience
“Not holding doors or being quick to walk through a door I’m holding open. [Please] move.”
16. HR Has Become The First Stop For Every Disagreement
“Complaining to HR about every LITTLE thing. There’s no sense of conflict resolution skills, so the workplace can start to feel like high school all over again with peers ‘tattling’ on others.”
17. There Is Plenty To Do, But Someone Has To Assign It First
“I’m an elder Millennial, and most of my colleagues are Gen Z. I love them; they’re intelligent, funny, kind people, but they have no sense of initiative. They stand around bored a lot of the time.
“There are things to do, things that aren’t hard and wouldn’t take much effort, but would occupy some time, be helpful to their colleagues, make the place look better, and make their shifts go by faster, but they just stand there. Unless they’re specifically given a task, they just don’t do anything.”
— u/adsj
18. The Office Fridge Is A Shared Resource
“A general lack of awareness of how you interact in space with others. Taking up an entire shelf in the fridge is rude, talking loudly is rude, turning your desk into your living room is inappropriate and unprofessional.”
19. The Headphones Stay On For The Entire Office Tour
“One thing I’ve noticed that seems to be unique to Gen Z is walking around the office with headphones on. It’s pretty typical to have them on at your desk while listening to music or on a call.
“It seems like only the Gen Z folks do this while heating up food, going to the restroom, etc. It minimizes their opportunities for more casual, peer-to-peer connections, from what I can tell.”
20. The Work Email Needs A Little Less Group Chat
“Using slang or abbreviations in work emails. Those should be the most professional writings you do. Don’t assume people know what you mean.
“Pretend every email will be read by your boss and/or HR. Be specific and concise. Always proofread before sending.”
21. Try A Quick Search Before Calling For Backup
“They give up the second something becomes too hard. If something doesn’t work, they immediately ask someone what to do instead of doing a quick Google search for a solution.
“However, don’t spend too long trying to find the answer yourself because there may be an easy solution, and you don’t want to waste too much time going down the wrong path.”
22. Step One: Follow The Steps
“This is weird, but I don’t think they know how to follow a sequential list of instructions. Random small instructions thrown at them that help them solve one very specific problem seem good, but sitting down and following a list of sequential instructions seems completely foreign to them.”
23. The In-Person Connections Are Getting Less Attention
“I teach Gen Z students in grad school, and overall, I’ve observed that younger people seem to place less value on building and maintaining in-person relationships and communication.
“It’s almost as if the only relationships most valued are those that happen online, and everything else is taken for granted.”
24. Things Get Serious When They Get Personal
“Some people are way too informal, like they don’t take anything seriously, and when they do, it’s now personal.”
— u/lux414
25. One Coworker Thinks The Pandemic Played A Part
“They aren’t really social. I think COVID really didn’t work well for them. Many lack basic workplace etiquette.”