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‘Slay, serve, survive’: How gen Z is rewriting the rules of work

With hustle culture falling out of fashion, younger people are lightening the office mood – starting with their out-of-office messages

“Gen Z are used to informality in their communication and socialising styles, often preferring a more witty approach to messaging that gets straight to the point, and says something about their priorities,” says Mervyn Dinnen, author of two books about workplace culture and an HR specialist. And it’s a topic that will be brought into the spotlight with the return next month of the hit TV show Industry, which depicts the generational divide between characters including rule-breaking young trader Harper Stern and her more traditional superior Eric Tao. There are more bureaucratic differences, too, such as complaints about younger employees who don’t check emails outside their contracted hours, those who prefer to do video calls instead of meetings at the office, and staff who clock off on time to enjoy their “5-9” evening routine.

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