In Brief: Gen Z’s Casual Style Collides with Traditional Workplaces; Schools Experiment with AI

Should job candidates bring iced coffee into interviews? The question has sparked a social media debate in recent months on whether Gen Z is too casual in the workplace.

Findings from research firm The Conversation suggest Gen Z communicates so differently in the workplace that older workers must “decode” their language.

Noting the effects of pandemic lockdowns, remote work and faces obscured by masks, Boston University researcher Jeff LeBlanc said Gen Z employees don’t necessarily “communicate better or worse with their bosses and colleagues than previous generations did [but] have simply learned to do so in a very different environment.”

A recent report from telecommunications provider TollFreeForwarding.com found “younger workers are bringing casual digital habits into professional calls that make them look less competent without realizing it.” 

Said Jason O’Brien, the firm’s chief operating officer, “For a generation that grew up communicating through screens, adapting those everyday digital habits to a professional environment isn’t always as intuitive as you might expect.”

From Lesson Plans to Humanoid Robots, Schools Experiment with AI

School districts and individual educators are experimenting with ways to use artificial intelligence in classrooms, NPR reports. 

Teachers are using AI to develop lesson plans and track student progress. In some districts, students ask AI chatbots for feedback on their work. A San Diego charter school recently introduced its students to an AI-powered humanoid robot.

Research on how schools can use AI to help students — and avoid potential harms — is limited, a Stanford University review of academic papers finds. But state and federal governments have been hands off, so many schools are forging ahead with AI on their own.

In Ohio, the Dayton Public Schools district is experimenting with AI on vulnerable students, who interact with an angsty bot that asks them for reassurance. Superintendent David Lawrence said educators must keep up with changing times. “I think when the history is written, it’ll say [we] were really cutting-edge, innovative and ahead of the curve in the interest of children.”

Big Companies Reinvesting Tariff Refunds into Marketing Campaigns

Some brands are putting multimillion-dollar tariff refunds into holiday marketing campaigns. 

As The Wall Street Journal reports, importers that qualified for refunds following a February high-court decision are receiving billions of dollars. 

Levi Strauss said a large portion of its tariff refunds will go toward marketing campaigns. Out of approximately $80 million in tariff refunds the denim-maker has received, $60 million has been reinvested, with a third allocated to distribution and logistics, a third to marketing, and a third to promotional activities, the company said.

Macy’s, which reduced its marketing budget last year under tariff pressure, said it will direct most of its $116 million refund toward marketing and store redesigns. Women’s clothing maker J. Jill similarly plans to reinvest most of its $13.3 million refund into marketing.

Company announcements about putting tariff refunds toward marketing don’t necessarily mean they will spend more than already planned, said Brian Wieser, founder of consulting firm Madison & Wall. 

Lonely Teens Might Face Unstable Employment as Adults, Study Suggests

New research suggests lonely teenagers may be at greater risk of unstable employment in young adulthood.

But researchers found that teens who feel connected to their schools appear less likely to experience the link between loneliness and precarious employment.

“The social experiences young people have during adolescence may have implications for how they navigate the transition into adulthood, including the kinds of employment they experience,” said the study’s co-author Kyungeun Song, a doctoral student in social work at the University of Michigan.

More than places of academic learning, schools are social environments where young people build relationships, develop confidence and find a sense of belonging, benefits they carry into adulthood and the workplace.

Loneliness, a subjective state that can occur even in people with wide social networks, has been associated with poorer mental and physical health and lower educational attainment. The study does not show that loneliness causes precarious employment; it only shows an association between the two that schools may mitigate.

Does Office Gossip Have an Upside?

Gossip about coworkers can buzz through offices, damaging the reputations of its subjects and those who spread it. But as the AP reports, sharing scuttlebutt at work might also have benefits.

Warnings about abusive managers or colleagues can help coworkers avoid painful experiences. Gossiping might also foster a sense of belonging in the workplace, said Rebecca Greenbaum, a professor of human resource management at Rutgers University.

“For survival reasons, we need to know who we can trust [and] who to stay away from,” she said.

If gossip cautions colleagues about a serious matter, it’s better to tell someone who’s in a position to solve the problem, said Bev Vitali, a leadership fellow at the Tennessee Nonprofit Network.

Ask yourself whether you’re spreading gossip for entertainment, and whether your words might damage somebody’s reputation and career, Greenbaum suggested. Remember that becoming known as someone who constantly gossips may cause coworkers to lose trust in you. And you might be the one they whisper about next.