"Slay all day…" Snarky Gen Z Email Sign-Offs are a Thing
Kirryn Zerna
?? Communication & Connection Keynote Speaker | LinkedIn Top Communication Voice | Non Executive Director | Author | GAICD | MMgt | BComm |
Warm Regards, Best Regards, Yours Truly, Cheers...
These are all email sign-offs that might sound a bit old-fashioned. Old, not just in terms of age, but in their traditional ways. Because there's a new generation in town, and they're rewriting the rules of work email signatures.
Now, speaking as one of the "experienced" folks, let me take a moment to ponder. What's going on here?
#TIKTOKMADEMEDOIT
As is often the case these days, we stumbled upon this trend through TikTok.
One notable example was a young lawyer, fittingly named @bodybytacobell, who became convinced that her boss wasn't actually reading her emails. So, she started concluding her emails with witty and unusual sign-offs, just to see if they'd catch anyone's attention.
Think about these gems:
"Slay all day"
"Cold regards"
"Not a single regard"
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领英推荐
And just like that, a trend was born. Gen Z employees across the board began to shake up their email game, ditching the formal sign-offs in favour of their own, often amusing, versions.
?Disconnect Dilemma
This serves as a perfect example of how our connections at work and in life are evolving. With the generational shift underway and Gen Z making up a significant portion of the global population (around 40%), a new communication style is emerging.
And who’s right here? Why do we sometimes use overly formal language in our emails, using our “Yours sincerely,” when all we really mean is “Thanks.”
On the flipside, what happens when we throw out professionalism at work? Is it really OK to disregard professional ettiquette altogether? This aligns with a recent comment by Alex Mahon, chief executive of Channel 4, who suggested that young people are arriving in the workplace ill-equipped with the skills needed to communicate with colleagues; lacking the skills to debate or disagree.
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When we connect better, we get better results. It’s ok that we speak in different ways and mean different things, but while we’re working together we need to find agreement on the language, rhythm and styles that work. It takes effort, but it's worth it!
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So, here's a question for you: What funny generational gaps or disconnections have you encountered in your workplace? Leave me a comment and let me know!
Business Analyst at Legal & Contingency I Digital Transformation I Strategy I Product Development
4 周I actually love this but don't feel comfortable going that far! I still use 'Kind regards,' and my 31 year old colleague thinks it's stuffy and old fashioned. I just can't find anything else that hits the right tone! Especially in the UK a lot of other options sound sarcastic (we know 'Regards' basically means F off). The Xennial struggle is real ??
Presentation, communication, persuasion, influence
1 年I soooo want to sign off “slay all day!” I love it!
Husband to Zara, Pro Speaker, Coach, Author @WhatIsANuff, Conference Host & MC @GreatTalk, Actor, Writer, Voice Artist #30years
1 年Yours amicably! ?? I'm definitely tagging Helena into this one!
Oh Gen Z! They love to push us oldies out of our comfort zone, don't they - haha! Thinking of when I ran my PR agency, I wouldn't mind my team sending these sign offs to me as I'd see the joke and light heartedness in it, but would definitely not want them sent to clients, as it reeks of unprofessionalism in my opinion. A few people in my team would sign off with 'Best' and I hated that one too. Felt very dismissive and disconnected somehow, although I didnt' stop them using it/
This reminds me of a true story - that admittedly well predates email. A schoolfriend of mine consistently got 10/10 for her history essays. She was (and we were) convinced that the teacher was not reading her work. To test this, she inserted a rude (too rude to repeat here!) comment about the teacher in the middle of a sentence. She still got 10/10!