If you’ve ever felt pressured to use the latest colloquialisms to fit in at the office, you’re not alone.
A new report exclusively shared with ESSENCE revealed that there is a generational rift on how to casually communicate at work. Language tutor platform, Preply recently released the findings of its survey that explored how people speak now, and the results were surprising.
Nearly 1 in 4 Gen Z respondents shared they struggle to understand older co-workers –– Gen X has the most difficulty understanding their co-workers’ slang terms, the report stated. Also, it was found that more than a quarter of Millennial respondents said they adopted younger slang in order to mesh their Gen Z colleagues.
“Unfortunately, slang plays a big role in widening the generation gap. Over half (53%) of baby boomers found themselves mystified by their kids’ and grandkids’ slang, and 30% of Gen X confessed to having trouble understanding their younger co-workers,” the report states. “Conversely, 25% of Gen Z said the struggle was real to understand older co-workers. To close the gap, over one-quarter of millennials were learning new slang to connect with the young people they work with.”
This isn’t the only generational divide in the workplace. According to a March 2023 report from Eures, millennials tend prefer job flexibility, Gen Z prefer job stability hit as they were hit harder by unemployment.
The report continued, “Millennials tend to value a healthy work−life balance, Gen Z tend to be more career-driven and financially motivated. So if your company’s employees consist mostly of millennials and Gen Z, you would do well to focus on benefits that contribute to work−life balance and on monetary incentives.”