The “Gen Z Stare” is the latest workplace habit young people are being scrutinized for. Millennials are calling out their Gen Z workers for their “vacant non-responses” when interacting with others—now dubbed the “Gen Z Stare.” Some say that Gen Z workers are “greeting customers and colleagues with wide eyes, blank expressions, and pregnant pauses,” claiming it’s due to a lack of soft skills or a sign of awkwardness within the workplace. Others think the gen simply doesn’t know how to socialize. The debate made its way to TikTok, and the hashtag #GenZStare now has over 4K posts. Some users—many Gen Z themselves—are reenacting scenarios where young workers uncomfortably stare at customers, barely responding to them. However, most Gen Z are defending the (apparently very real) habit, with a top comment on one video saying, “I think our generation is done with fake and genuinely hate people, we just wanna be left alone,” and another explaining “The Gen Z Stare is just us processing [other people’s] stupidity.” (Business Insider)
👀 Read more from YPulse: Are Gen Z Workers Really Slumped, Antisocial, Quick Quitters?
