Stephanie Barnes
Each generation has a different approach to life and their own way of doing things. Each generational cohort also has countless stereotypes. You’ve heard it all before: The baby boomers ruined the economy; millennials are entitled, lazy, and unable to afford homes because of avocado toast; and now, Gen Z might be changing email culture as we know it.
In a viral TikTok, Tommy Flaim—a millennial whose company is made up of only Gen Z’ers—shared some of the ways they’ve been signing off on their emails.
The clip, which has been viewed over 14.4 million times, showed Flaim sitting in front of the camera and featured the text: “POV: You start a new company and you only hire Gen Z.” Flaim then shared quick snaps of several emails sent by his employees.
The emails definitely struck a chord with a lot of people, and it’s not hard to see why. These kids are hilarious.
Anne felt the need to apologize for her very existence, while Mila took the opportunity to playfully insult her boss.
There was Fawzia who dropped a classic, “hasta la pasta,” and Ben who took a more choose your own adventure route.
Many TikTokers filled the comment section to share their thoughts. A Gen X user commented on the company’s relaxed culture and admitted they were reprimanded by their own boss.
“Gen X here, my boss had a word with me for using smiling emojis! Must be nice to go to work and just be yourself,” the user wrote.
There were also plenty of millennials, who could not only relate to the Gen Z’ers, but wanted to work alongside them.
While chatting to BuzzFeed, Flaim, who created workout clothing brand Fox & Robin, said his employees know when to get down to business.
“As it relates to the emails, they know when to be professional and ‘turn it on.’ The emails you see are obviously very silly and unhinged, but that’s purely internal communications,” he said.
Flaim believes the video was a hit because many people are tired of the “stiff corporate jargon/pleasantries.
