"If you are a millennial, part of gen X or a boomer, you probably do not give a second thought to picking up the phone to talk to someone or chit-chatting beside the office water cooler. But for gen Z, those common workplace moments are a huge source of anxiety. According to a study released this week, early mornings, working with older colleagues and making small talk are just some of the things employees born between 1997 and 2012 dread."
"There's a massive skill to learning to make calls, says Liz Baxter, a careers adviser at Nottingham College who runs coaching sessions on phone confidence. She says demand for the college's telephobia course is high. While previous generations grew up having no option but to pick up the phone, Baxter says texting, online booking platforms and AI customer service have made making a phone call one of the biggest generational divides."
More than 1,500 people aged 16 to 29 across the UK reported that 38% dread making small talk in the workplace, almost 60% would struggle to work with older colleagues, and 30% fear picking up the phone. Phone anxiety is linked to generational shifts toward texting, online booking and AI customer service, reducing real-time conversational practice. Recommended strategies include practicing calls with friends and family to build conversational flow, sitting up straight, speaking slowly and smiling to convey warmth, preparing notes on call purpose and information, and allowing upset callers to vent before responding.
Read at www.theguardian.com
Unable to calculate read time
Collection
[
|
...
]