Get you a coffee? How Gen-Z is changing the way we perceive professionalism at the workplace

If you thought Millennials just canrsquot stop talking about their love for coffee then this new controversy is punishing Gen Zs for loving the beverage a little too muchLast week an American recruiter named Caitlin Wehniainen ranted on social media about a twentysomething candidate who showed up to her job interview with an iced coffee in hand Wehniainen stated that such an action gives the impression that the interview is just another casual errand on the applicantrsquos todo list and looks unprofessionalGen Zs on the other hand have argued that they donrsquot care to put up the charade of ldquoprofessionalismrdquo that previous generations did In an era of unprecedented unemployment and income insecurity mdash in India alone 20 per cent of graduates aged between 25ndash29 are unemployed according to the latest State of Working India report by Azim Premji University mdash do we really have time to discuss whether iced coffee is professional or not What happens when you get an education graduate from college get a masters degree but still donrsquot get a job and maybe AI replaces you You find an entire generation jaded because despite doing everything right they struggle to find entrylevel jobsPalvi Angne right head of HR at Benne with one of the founders Akhil IyerldquoFor Gen Z professionalism means how well you deliver your communication skills whether you meet deadlines your performance and not your appearancerdquo says 26yearold Raveena ldquoBut traditional employers still expect a degree of formalityrdquoRaveena is a Gen Z manager managing a team of other Gen Z employees ldquoIf yoursquore making the interviewer wait till you finish your coffee thatrsquos an entirely different conversation But if you just have a coffee in hand and yoursquore otherwise engaged and prepared I donrsquot see how it mattersrdquo Raveena saysBut this is a casebycase scenario she says ldquoPart of professionalism is knowing when to adapt You need to see the kind of environment yoursquore in and show up accordingly Itrsquos important to remember that professionalism isnrsquot about removing personality but itrsquos about reading the roomrdquo Raveena saysIs it just another excuse to pile on the youngest mdash and seemingly most hated mdash generation in the workforce ldquoEvery generation that is new to the workforce will be hatedrdquo says Raveena ldquoGen Z is just challenging norms which every generation before us did too But challenging norms doesnrsquot mean that wersquore challenging professionalism Itrsquos just a preference for lsquopurposeful professionalismrsquo instead of lsquoperformative professionalismrsquordquoIsha Rana a 26yearold working professional calls herself a Zillenial somewhere between Gen Z and Millenial She says ldquoI wouldnrsquot personally bring a coffee to an interview But it depends on who the interview is with If someone is coming in for the first time sure a cup of coffee is fine But if itrsquos an interview with the CEO of the company I donrsquot know if bringing a coffee is a smart choice First impressions are importantrdquoShweta Sikchi and Isha RanaFor some employers the change to purposeful professionalism is a welcome one ldquoI donrsquot think everyone hates Gen Zrdquo says Shweta Sikchi a recruitment consultant ldquoI think Gen Z is the first generation entering workplaces that is openly questioning rules that previous generations simply accepted That makes the friction much more visiblerdquoldquoThere is also a selection bias here the young employee who performs well doesnrsquot become a LinkedIn post The one who says lsquoWhy do I need to come to the officersquo does So we end up discussing the most provocative examples as if they represent an entire generationrdquo she addsAt the same time Gen Z isnrsquot automatically right she says ldquoConfidence without context can become entitlement and challenging authority is valuable only when it is accompanied by judgment and accountabilityrdquo Arguably sipping on coffee is not the problem many interviewers even offer a bracing cup of Joe to candidates to make them feel welcomePalvi Angne head of HR at Benne has been in an interviewcoffeedebacle of her own At Benne almost all interviews are conducted at Bennersquos outlets ldquoI was interviewing a candidate he was 35 We were right outside the outlet on the pavement and I offered him a coffee Throughout the interview he didnrsquot take a sip I insisted too but he said that he didnrsquot want to be disrespectfulrdquo she says ldquoThe interview went very well but then the minute it ended he gulped his coffee down and threw the disposable cup on the road That was a big nonordquoIn sectors like hospitality which are famous for rigidity and hierarchy Benne is intentional with keeping the doors open and approachable ldquoWersquore the kind of workplace where employees and guests are alike The founders make dosas and open doors Although these might seem like unintentional choices theyrsquore very calculated because they reduce the difference between us and our guestsIn the first year of inception many of Bennersquos employees were in their mid to late 20s ldquoWersquore an incredibly young company And because all of us are inherently likeminded people thatrsquos how wersquove built the culturerdquo