A blunt leave email from a Gen Z employee to his boss has sparked a debate on X about work culture and communication.
It began when investor Siddharth Shah shared the screenshot of the email, which soon went viral across social media.
In the email, the employee wrote, “Hi Siddharth, I will be on leave on 8th November 2024. Bye.” After sharing the screenshot, Shah captioned it, ““How my Gen Z team approaches leave.”
how my gen z team gets its leaves approved pic.twitter.com/RzmsSZs3ol
— Siddharth Shah (@siddharthshahx) November 5, 2024
This post sparked a debate on workplace culture and autonomy VS professionalism, namely on whether employees should seek leave approval or simply inform managers.
A large part of the attention is due to the differences between formalized work culture of the older generation and the more direct and carefree approach of Gen Zs, who are beginning to enter the workforce.
Thus, while some netizens weren’t thrilled with the employee’s approach and critically compared the situation with their own corporate mannerisms, many others appreciated it as an example of ideal work culture.
Here are Comments Posted on X in Response to the Screenshot:
- “Normalise this. People shouldn’t have to give reasons if they want to take an off. It’s their right.”
- “Best part is they tell you they are on leave and don’t ask.”
- “And if I had sent this message to my manager, he would have scheduled a meeting with HR to discuss my behaviour issues.”
- “That’s how it should be. Brief crisp message. Or you want Angrezon ke zamane wale “I beg to request leave on Nov 8”? Glad zen z is no longer think they are beggars.”
- “Been working in some of the biggest companies in the world and/or companies known for high agency employees and great culture – this is exactly how most leave messages are.”
- “One of my Gen z team members suddenly declared 1 week leave. It was a critical time of the project so I tried to reason. He did not budge. The leave was because he had a breakup and he wanted to go to the mountains to forget the breakup.”
When asked if the employee’s leave was approved, Shah confirmed positively that it was.
