Millennials and Gen Z are getting into it online over a behavior that’s been dubbed the “Gen Z Stare.”
As more of Gen Z enters the workforce, some millennials are saying the younger workers are greeting customers and colleagues with wide eyes, blank expressions, and pregnant pauses.
While some online argue it could be a sign of workplace awkwardness or underdeveloped soft skills like communication, others are pushing back and saying the trend’s blame is misplaced.
It’s the latest example of Gen Z’s workplace etiquette going under the microscope. Some members of the generation have been criticized by their older coworkers for oversharing, taking too many sick days, and avoiding leadership positions. And who could forget about the “quiet quitting” trend?
Others have praised Gen Z workers for valuing work-life balance and challenging hustle culture. Gen Z has also thoroughly integrated AI into their work, embracing the technology that many hiring experts say is fast becoming a workplace expectation.
What is the Gen Z Stare?
On TikTok, where the observation has sparked spirited debate, millennials and others are posting videos describing experiences in which Gen Z employees stare at customers with a vacant expression, sometimes not responding to questions or greetings.
Some millennial servers and retail workers said in videos that they also encountered the “Gen Z Stare” while serving young customers.
In various TikTok skits, users place themselves in a hypothetical restaurant or coffee shop, role-playing the order-taking process with a Gen Z employee. The hypothetical young worker stares back at them, barely responding and shifting their eyes.
“They just look at you like they just saw a ghost,” said TikToker @185dashuaige. “It is this blank, deer-in-the-headlights stare.”
The trend seems to be resonating. The hashtag #Genzstare has reached over 4,000 posts on TikTok, with some viral videos gaining millions of likes.
“I get the Gen Z stare everytime I thank them for bagging my groceries… they just stair at me dead pan.. I never understood until now!!” one commenter wrote.
Others equated it to a real-life “buffer” or loading screen.
While many of the videos and comments agreeing with the observation appear to be from people belonging to older generations, some people self-identifying as Gen Z have also said they’ve experienced the stare.
“I think our generation is done with fake and genuinely hate people, we just wanna be left alone,” one commenter wrote. Another wrote that young people who “just don’t know how to socialize and talk to others are so hard to engage with.”
Of course, any sort of “Gen Z Stare” may not be due to awkwardness or a lack of social etiquette. Workers may simply be processing information, listening to the person speaking, or pausing to think through a response.
Many Gen Zers are pushing back
Not everyone is convinced the “Gen Z Stare” is a genuine phenomenon — and some Gen Zers are saying the critiques are jumping to conclusions.
Some online commenters identifying as Gen Z customer service workers said they only stare down nonsensical requests.
In one video about the “Gen Z Stare,” a TikToker stared down a hypothetical customer asking whether a strawberry banana smoothie had banana in it.
“The Gen Z Stare is just us processing stupidity,” one commenter wrote on that video.
“I’m just trying to gather my thoughts and process,” said TikToker @waitwhoislive. “I can’t fathom what you just said.”
TikToker @maybesantana argued there was a difference between the “Customer Service Stare” and the “Gen Z Stare.” Any customer service worker may stare at you when you ask something “stupid,” they explained. The “Gen Z Stare,” on the other hand, is the “lead paint stare that customer service workers receive instead of response to anything,” they said.
Others suggested that millennials may simply be looking for something about Gen Z to critique after seeing videos critiquing their own generation’s mannerisms.
“This is millennials trying to get back at us for calling out the millennial pause,” one commenter wrote, referencing the generation’s laughed-at pause between starting a recording and speaking.
It’s sparked conversations about workplace awkwardness and soft skills
The “Gen Z Stare” discourse appears to extend beyond retail work, with conversations cropping up online about the generation’s communication skills in both everyday life and the corporate workplace.
Some TikTokers complained about receiving deadpans when they hold doors open for young people or when greeting them on the street. @xiandivyne described it as a response to “mandatory small talk.”
People online were quick to offer up potential explanations for why some Gen Zers may still be developing their interpersonal skills in the workplace.
Some blamed the COVID-19 pandemic, like one commenter, who wrote that “Covid destroyed their opportunities to have normal relationships.”
As another popular comment put it, “We all have social anxiety.”
And while the internet can’t seem to agree on whether the “Gen Z Stare” is even a real thing, the viral videos on the idea are a good reminder that people take note of workplace mannerisms — whether they interpret them correctly or not.
Are you a Gen Z worker? Let me know what you think about the stare by emailing hchandonnet@insider.com.
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