Gen Z communication styles

[grumpygenx]

You can tell from my username where I am going with this.

I absolutely despair with some of Gen Z correspondence styles in formal settings.

starting formal email correspondence with ‘Hi there , my name is ….

or signing off formal letters with ‘best wishes’ …

one reason why we need to be in office more supporting the younger generation. What did they learn in school about letter writing !!!

Yours sincerely/faithfully are only used in letters. I've never used them in an email.

Kind regards is pretty standard still. But YANBU OP, and the long-winded out of office messages do my head in.

I can't stand emails that just start

Reenon

I only ever get emails like this from the first generation of emailers, but it really, really riles me

I find GenZ to be overly formal myself. They may not use Dear Madam, and know the differences between yours faithfully and sincerely, but they seem to use all words possible in-between. Wildly over blown sentences and too many words. Bring back the Plain English campaign I say.

Boomer rages at the world " it is not like it was in my day "
I beg to remain, your humble servant
Mrs Annabelle Gun

The ones doing this do not know what the words mean, quite often. I may have to let off steam in Pedants' Corner now and again.

I'm Gen X and know that Hi first name is standard in work emails. I only put Dear X if I'm being legal and scary.

I would also put "I hope you are well" but only when I mean it genuinely. Like it's someone I often hear from but haven't for a while. I'd never use it for a random person.

I’d bloody love that. Can we start a trend?

I'm GenX and I would hate a letter that addressed me as Dear Madam.

I don't run a brothel!

Joking aside, language evolves as do forms of communication. Yes there are times when a more formal approach is required, but by and large 'best wishes' is hardly a wrong or offensive sentiment to close a letter with.

I doubt Gen Z have much call for formal letter writing in the majority of careers.

Nothing wrong with any of what you said in emails.l @OP

My gripe with Gen Z is fear of picking up a phone.

Oh I'm a "Best, <name>" too 😬

If my email is a "as per my previous email/per our discussion/you're a cock" type email all they get is a "KR" and just my company signature. Just their name at the start too. No "hi <name of cock>" just <name of cock,>

Ive noticed with younger colleagues they do like to write a life story littered with irrelevant adjectives - "im unwell with an extreme fever", "im delighted to share with you this 20 page pdf" "i cant come in today because my bin blew over and I need to take my cat to the vets because shes been violently sick after eating a chicken bone that fell out because I didnt have any green food bags left to seal it in im so worried about her she is 45 years old with one claw" etc etc

I had a flu jab today at the local chemists. The pharmacist said afterwards: 'I'll zap it over to your GP so they can up it on your app.'

I had to restrain myself from being the old codger who replies, 'Do you mean you will inform my GP so they can update my file?'

Yeah, or just a door emoji and a finger point

Weirdly this annoys me. It's as if the writer wants to let you know they are so busy or you are so unimportant that they simply don't have time to bother with typing the word 'wishes'.

I am a first generation emailer and this does my nut in too - I mentally file these people in the same place as people who use pronouns in their signatures.

I’m not sure I follow the logic of being in the office more to teach email etiquette.

Good luck with NHS HR, it’s a road to nowhere 🥴. They are typically the people who know least about HR

Gen X person here but emails aren’t letters, they are emails?! It doesn’t especially bother me. To be honest lm often just happy someone has eventually replied

I don't mind email being fairly informal so long as they're lucid and contain the relevant info.

I just wish they leave the fucking emojis and/or exclamation marks out: "Hi KaleidoscopeSmile! 🙂"

Arseholes.

OP is talking about formal writing, not emails. So, yes "Hi" and "Best wishes" is fine for email, but for an official doc will have me grimacing inside. It's either their fault for knowing, but not using formal language, or they were never taught.

Thinking about it, "Best wishes" to me looks like your correspondence has been read and dealt with by a human so I'm very happy to see it.

"Yours faithfully" makes me instantly suspicious; it makes me think the person is HMRC or a lawyer demanding money.

The only letters I really get are from my diabolical council, with their horribly automated, badly-formatted drivel. But I never read to the end of those so they could be wishing or regarding all sorts of awfulness on me, and I'd be none the wiser.

I wrote a cross email this morning, beginning with 'Hi' and ending with 'Regards'. As I typed it, I realised that a few years ago I reserved 'Dear' and 'Sincerely' for stroppy communications.

I've been signing off with 'Best wishes' or 'All the best' for a long time, but switched to kind regards after a long thread on here convinced me that I was making my emails look like birthday cards 😂 Never did like 'regards' so am thrilled to go back!

Anyway, my complaint received an AI-enhanced reply containing far too much unnecessary content. You know the kind of thing: I can see that you have sent A and B in support of your claim and understand you are disappointed not to have received C. I am forwarding your case with the A and B you attached to a More Important Person for consideration. Please be aware you may hear from them in 3 or 4 days' time, as we are experiencing X,Y and Z conditions ...

... and even more verbiage. I guess the person who briefed the AI must've been Gen Z!

What is wrong with signing off a letter with “best wishes” or introducing yourself at the beginning of a letter? I think you need to accept that the times have changed.

I think they were learning about their feelings instead of the reading, writing and maths we learnt. Best wishes.

If your signature gives your name you don't need to provide it again in the body of the email.

I HATE I hope you are well. No you don’t, so don’t say it.