There’s More to the Gen Z Stare Than Meets the Eye: Experts

It’s not polite to stare — especially, as it turns out, if you’re Gen Z.

Social media users have described the now-viral “Gen Z Stare” as a vacant, wide-eyed expression often accompanied by an awkward silence. Many of the videos say it happens during retail and customer service interactions, or in painful workplace conversations.

While some say the look might reflect lagging soft skills and questionable office etiquette among Gen Zers, psychologists and generational experts told BI the phenomenon could have more to do with natural growing pains at a first job and factors unique to Gen Z’s upbringing. And, they noted, intergenerational criticism isn’t anything new.

“Every generation critiques the generation below them,” Ellen Hendriksen, a behavioral psychologist and social anxiety specialist, said. “This is nothing new.”

Many Gen Zers are working their first jobs

Meg Jay, a clinical psychologist who has written about twentysomethings, doesn’t buy the trope that Gen Z as a whole is awkward or socially inept. She said what people may be seeing with the Gen Z Stare is likely a result of Gen Zers navigating the workplace for the first time.

“For most young employees, working with people of other ages and generations is new,” she told BI in a statement. “Blank stares you receive from young workers may be more about not knowing what to do and not feeling confident on the job than about their trying to be (passively) aggressively Gen Z.”

Megan Gerhardt, a professor of leadership at Miami University and founder of Gentelligence.org, said that customer service jobs, where many social media users claim to see Gen Z Stares, are commonly first gigs.

Hendriksen, a parent of two Gen Zers, said the cohort might not be as up for acting “fake,” which could impact their customer service interactions.

“Gen Z might be less willing to do the people-pleasing part, but that means that some of the professionalism has also gotten lost,” she said.

Growing up online could play a part

Many factors could be at play in what Gerhardt calls the emerging “norm shift,” including the fact that Gen Z tends to spend more time on screens.

“The idea that now that I’m in a face-to-face customer service situation, and I’m supposed to rally an entirely different set of expressions and responses — that might not be something that Gen Z is either used to understanding or has learned yet,” she said.

Gerhardt said it’s naive to “underestimate” the impact the COVID-19 shutdowns could have had on young people’s development, but Jay said she doesn’t buy into the notion that Gen Zers are “damaged or stunted” because of the pandemic.

Hendriksen thinks the wordless Gen Z Stare could also be a real-world echo of a now-common digital experience: In a Zoom meeting, one person may say hello, only to have nobody respond because they’re all muted.

“Meet them where they’re at”

The three experts told BI that regardless of the root causes behind the stare, it’s crucial to equip young people with the communication skills they need to thrive in an in-person, multigenerational workforce.

“With respect to the workplace, nearly half of Gen Zers think they don’t have the skills that workplaces want—and they’re right,” Jay said. Universities, she added, generally don’t teach students crucial workplace abilities like communication and professionalism. Hendriksen agreed that there’s a “skills deficit” for Gen Zers in the customer service and retail space, in part because of the pandemic, but said that the group isn’t a monolith.

It’s normal for norms around professionalism and etiquette to shift, Gerhardt said, but it’s more productive to work with young people on striking the right tone than to try to mock them.

“If we want to make sure that we don’t lose this personal touch, then let’s meet them where they’re at,” she said. “Let’s invest in helping them understand why that’s important and see what they need to get where their bosses or customers feel like they need to go.”

Generational critique isn’t anything new

When any new generation has entered the workforce, they’ve needed to get up to speed on a set of skills, said Gerhardt. The viral criticism of the so-called Gen Z Stare reminds her of the “millennial pause” phenomenon and feels like the “latest iteration of generational shaming.”

There’s been no dearth of criticism targeting various generations — whether it’s that boomers are selfish, or that millennials are snowflakes whose avocado toast addiction is to blame for their finances. Now, it’s Gen Z’s turn.

“Our culture loves to make fun of young adults and how unequipped they supposedly are,” Jay said.