Gen Z Stares

And other terms you need to know.

Author

HR Besties
August 13, 2025

Welcome back!

Last week’s episode on coping with layoffs - especially Jamie’s story about her altered “confirming my last day” email got a lot of buzz - and yes, we’ll have an update from her soon. In the meantime, we’ve got matching friendship bracelets, especially-cringy corporate speak and a debate over the now-famous Gen Z stare.

  • Intro Story: What a founder did after losing a deal that led to their leadership team making matching friendship bracelets about it (not because they liked what he said).

  • Corporate Cringe Speak: A term that’s meant to signal a “barrier” but… let’s just not say this one.

  • Hot Topic – Gen Z Stares and Generations in the Workplace: Neutral face or silent judgment? We break down the workplace moment that’s fueling generational stereotypes - and what we think about it.

  • Questions & Comments: We talk about the “fertile octogenarian” and our advice on talking about generations at work.

Discussion Questions (for Your Team Meeting or Podcast Listening Club)

  • If our team had matching bracelets, what would yours say?

  • How do you address generational stereotypes without making them worse?

  • What are ways we can give opportunities to all of our team members to actually learn from each other at work?

ChatGPT Prompts of the Week

Professional:

  • What are 5 ways to address people making generational stereotypes at work without making it worse?

  • Help explain to someone who neutral expressions don’t equal disengagement.

Personal(ish):

  • What should my personal friendship bracelet say?

If this taught you what a Gen Z stare was, or gave you something to talk about in your next meeting, go ahead and rate or review us on your favorite podcast platform. The more you do, the less we have to worry about “brand alignment” and the more business + BS we can bring you every week. And of course, more to come from Jamie…

Here’s to no stories leading to friendship bracelets at your work,
Jamie, Leigh & Ashley.

Click here to reach out to us with your questions and comments. We love anonymous intro stories!