Tech Companies Have a New Way to Waste Money: “Coaching” for Gen Z Employees
A new report from the San Francisco Standard reveals that companies in the Bay Area are investing in a service aimed at alleviating some of the tensions caused by hiring young employees: etiquette experts. These specialists are making good money by explaining to new employees why it’s not appropriate to show up to work in sweatpants or put their feet on the table during a meeting.
## How did this idea come about?
The article quotes several women working in this emerging field, including Rosalinda Randall, a coach from Marin who claims that requests for her services have increased by 50% in the last two months. Companies hire Randall (for a hefty fee) to teach younger employees how to behave in a civilized manner in a work environment. Many of the issues faced by companies sound more like simple acts of thoughtlessness:
A supervisor told Randall that a new hire was leaving food wrappers on the common lunch table, assuming that the cleaning staff would take care of it. “The manager didn’t know how to handle it, because he didn’t want to sound like a parent,” explained Randall.
Another reported case involved personal hygiene issues. A tech company in the Bay Area asked Randall to address the issue, as two new employees were not showering or changing their shirts for weeks. “They didn’t want to deal with it, so they hired me,” said Randall.
Other problems mentioned in the article include inappropriate women’s clothing, challenging attitudes, and a poor understanding of how to communicate with colleagues through Slack.
## The cost involved
It’s hard to understand how these etiquette services really differ from the functions that a Human Resources department should normally perform. However, according to the report, companies are paying high prices for these services. The Standard indicates that Randall charges up to $2500 for a 90-minute workshop where she teaches employees things like “how to maintain eye contact,” “where to place the name tag (always on the right),” and “how to ask—without demanding—something from your boss.”
It’s hard to believe that Generation Z is better or worse than any other generation of American workers (weren’t previous generations known for sexual harassment and bathroom behavior?). That being said, the author admits to not working with many “Zoomers,” so there’s no solid reference. What does seem clear is that there is some discontent between generations. A Washington Post article published last year reported something similar: that etiquette coaching services are on the rise, in part because “young workers represent a growing proportion of the workforce and bring with them a preference for more informal work environments, which is creating friction with older generations.”
