According to a recent study of 1,000 Gen Z workers, almost half have reported needing AI assistance to prepare for professional conversations, and a third have admitted to using AI-generated ice-breaker jokes to help them feel more confident in meetings.
Now, before we cue the eye-rolls and think pieces about how ‘kids these days’ can’t hold a conversation, perhaps we need to pause and reflect.
Instead of labeling an entire generation as socially inept, perhaps we need to ask ourselves what we have done to make authentic communication feel so unsafe at work for younger people?
The anxiety of perfection
Let’s examine this phenomenon through a different lens. Instead of assuming that Gen Z is broken, consider that they are hyper-adapted because they grew up under the scrutiny of social media and cancel culture. They have learned that every word and facial expression can be captured, replayed and judged, so they are deeply aware of how they are perceived and have become fluent in self-presentation and ‘personal branding’.
So, when they walk into a meeting full of polished professionals who’ve been trained to ‘speak with confidence’ and ‘manage impressions’, it’s no wonder they reach for AI to help them sound competent and composed by the standards that were originally set by people who are long-retired.
Older generations might see this as dependency or over-reliance on technology. But I’d argue it’s symptomatic of a workplace culture that still prizes normative performance over authentic presence.
We’ve built a world of work governed by unwritten rules and silent expectations – a list of performative rituals we call ‘professionalism’. But upon scrutiny, it’s clear that none of it is about competence or character – it’s about conforming.
Vulnerability and authentic humanity has always been risky. Gen Z is merely responding to the reality we have created and they are using the tools and technology available to navigate their environment.
It’s not about generational gaps
If we’re honest, we have to consider how every generation entering the workplace inherits both the wisdom and the wounds of the ones before them.
- Boomers were rewarded for their loyalty and staying put.
- Gen X was shaped by brutal competition and the burnout that is so easily romanticised in movies.
- Millennials are still learning to balance hustle and hope.
- And, now, Gen Z is walking into a workplace that preaches ‘authenticity’ but penalises imperfection.
The contradictions are evident. We say, ‘bring your whole self to work’, but we still promote those who play the game best. We applaud emotional intelligence, but we don’t train managers on how to model it. We talk about inclusion, but we rarely create spaces where people can truly be heard without judgement, hierarchy or fear.
Gen Z workers aren’t avoiding communication. They’re avoiding humiliation.
The real problem is performative culture
If people feel they have to rehearse every word before they open their mouths, the problem isn’t Gen Z, it’s leadership.
The burden of blame is solidly on us because, for decades now, we have been devaluing mentorship and mistaking performance confidence for actual competence. To this day, we continue to reward the loudest voices instead of the wisest ones. And we have created a world of work where people are anxious, over-preparing and all quietly convinced that being themselves isn’t good enough, and is also potentially career-ending.
What can leaders do to fix this?
Model real conversations
When leaders share uncertainty, admit mistakes, or even laugh awkwardly, it gives everyone else permission to do the same.
Authenticity is contagious, but someone has to start. So, drop the scripts and ditch the jargon. Be the first to say ‘I don’t know, what do you think?’ or ‘I was wrong.’
Create mentorship and reverse mentorship loops
Communication is a two-way skill set. Experienced professionals can help younger employees learn nuance, presence and interpersonal confidence. Meanwhile, Gen Z can teach digital literacy, true empathy, inclusivity, and the courage to question outdated norms.
Pairing both sides creates balance and genuine connection across generations.
Design spaces for human connection
We’re not talking about the forced fun of ‘team building’ days. People crave genuine, small-scale, human moments of connection.
Explore opportunities like coffee chats, shadow days, story circles or ‘Lunch with a leader’. Create opportunities for people to connect as human beings and see each other as more than just their job titles.
Teach managers to coach, not command
Most communication anxiety comes from power imbalance. When a manager is impatient, dismissive, or visibly uncomfortable with silence or emotion, people learn to edit themselves.
We can fix that by upskilling managers in coaching conversations, curiosity, empathy, and active listening. It’s not fluffy, it’s fundamental to building trust and psychological safety and promoting positive workplace cultures.
Make psychological safety a daily practice
Psychological safety doesn’t live on a poster. It lives in every micro-moment of interaction. That’s why leaders need to reward openness, curiosity, and feedback. It’s also why we need to redefine our concept of ‘high performance’ to include not only quantitative measures, but also qualitative, behavioural attributes.
AI isn’t the enemy
Perhaps you used to rehearse a speech or presentation in the mirror or practice interview questions with a friend back in the day. Gen Z is doing the same thing – they’re just doing it with AI.
It’s a different tool and method, but it’s a response to the same human need for reassurance and feeling calmer and more confident in certain situations. AI isn’t the enemy here. We should be fighting to dismantle the broken system that has led us to this point.
Let’s stop mocking Gen Z for adapting to the system we built, and start rebuilding the system so that conversation feels genuinely safe.
If AI is helping people find their voice, that’s great. As leaders, however, our job is to make sure our people don’t use tricks and technology to simply survive and be heard. The future of work shouldn’t belong to those who speak perfectly – it should belong to those who speak authentically.
