That reluctance to talk on the phone is frustrating employers and, according to some, holding young people back in their careers. Clair Madden is a social researcher and the author of the book "Hello Gen Z: Engaging the Generation of Post-Millennials”. She says phone calls don't fit in with the way gen-z uses their devices.
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00:00 When you are using a device in that way, you're in control of who you're communicating to,
00:06 when you are, how you are. As soon as you answer a phone, you sort of lose that control
00:11 and it can be quite exposing. Because what if someone asks me something I don't know
00:14 the answer to? Or it can also feel a bit emotionally intrusive for them and they think, I don't
00:19 want to engage in that right now. Whereas they're in control when it's messaging and
00:23 that kind of thing. Gen Z are so used to anything being more convenient or efficient, they'll
00:28 find a faster way. And sometimes it's, well, it's faster to email or text. But then there
00:34 can also be a confidence gap when it comes to Gen Z's talking on the phone or not having
00:39 that barrier of the screen where they can find the answer before answering and that
00:43 kind of thing. So it can be a confidence gap side of things to build for our Gen Z's. It's
00:48 easy to assume that because they use their devices a lot, they don't really want the
00:52 face to face, but that's not true. In the research that I do with Gen Z's, they constantly
00:56 talk about, they want a relational culture in the workplace. They place a really high
01:01 priority on the social side of things, on having approachable leaders, on people having
01:07 time to get to know one another at work. And I think that we've substituted the depth of
01:14 relationship for that breadth of connection in our online space. And it's not satisfying
01:18 the deeper needs our Gen Z's have.
01:20 Interesting. How did COVID play into this? Because of course, that was a time when a
01:25 lot of people were forced to work from home and a lot of the communication was done via
01:31 screen or text.
01:32 That's right. And for Gen Z's, it happened at a really impressionable time of their lives
01:36 and their careers. And so many were forced into remote working at the very start of their
01:41 careers when they didn't have the pre-established relationships that the older generations did.
01:46 So they were actually longing to get into face to face work environments where they
01:51 could build those relationships, have those mentors, have those moments in the office
01:55 where you're learning from people who are around you. So it did happen at an important
01:59 time for our Gen Z's. And as a result, they really do want the face to face as well as,
02:05 of course, flexibility, but the relational supportive workplace culture is a high priority
02:10 for our young people.
02:11 The fact that Gen Z would prefer text-based communications and not pick up the phone,
02:15 is that holding their careers back?
02:17 It can be a source of intergenerational conflict in the workplace because older generations,
02:23 often their managers or bosses, can be a bit perplexed, frustrated by, "Did you call the
02:28 client?" And they said, "Oh, I just sent them an email." But did you call them? Because
02:32 that might be the normal way for their older generation. And it does build a different
02:35 type of rapport when we talk to someone or meet them face to face than just what texts
02:40 and emails can do.
02:42 So I think that it can create a bit of tension, but also, yeah, the rapport that we can build
02:50 if we do find that confidence to connect with someone beyond just a text, it can really
02:55 strengthen our relationships with clients, co-workers and the like.
02:58 So what's the solution here? And do all generations need to really come to the table on this?
03:03 Yeah, I think it's looking at using the right tools and communication methods for the right
03:08 context. So sometimes it is more efficient to just use a digital-based text or whatever.
03:13 But there are times where actually building that relationship can be really valuable,
03:18 or what you can clarify over a phone or a face-to-face meeting can be so much more than
03:22 the back and forth and the tone that can be missed and everything in other forms of communication.
03:28 So I think the opportunity is to teach our Gen Zs offline interpersonal communication
03:34 skills and don't just assume that while they might be confident in some context that they
03:38 have that same confidence offline, we need to actually explicitly teach them those skills.
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