The iced coffee debate “isn’t really about iced coffee,” said Beth Kowitt in Bloomberg. If you’ve been on social media recently, you’ve likely seen the viral debate about workplace etiquette and whether it is acceptable to bring a caffeinated beverage to a job interview. Younger people broadly think it’s fine, while their older peers think its slovenly and unprofessional. That this silly argument took off says a lot about the “tension” between employers and young employees who feel “misunderstood” and anxious “about their place in this evolving landscape.” In the current labor market, employers have a clear advantage over those looking for work, putting bosses “in their command-and-control era”—increasing surveillance, cutting benefits, and demanding office attendance. Meanwhile, Gen Z distrusts the “arbitrary rules” of major institutions, including the unwritten expectations around job interviews. To older generations, this skepticism can look like “entitlement or insubordination.” Really, it’s a conflict over “who gets to decide the norms of this new workplace.
Thinking it’s OK to sip a latte during an interview reflects “a larger behavioral pattern,” said Finn McRedmond in The Irish Times (Ireland). Remember, this is the same generation that introduced us to “quiet quitting, or the trend among young employees to show up at the office, do the bare minimum, collect their paycheck, and never work a minute over contracted hours.” Gen Z treats the job interview process with disdain because they “don’t want to work.”
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