Defining generational language to break down barriers

Coworkers should be able to understand and communicate with one another, regardless of background, location, or age group. But age gaps can divide, especially when quickly evolving language in a workplace now made up of five generations creates confusion.

To make things a little clearer for teammates of all ages, we asked comms experts how communicators can facilitate clear dialogue between the generations by indexing and explaining generationally specific terms. With a little more understanding, all teammates can speak the language of unity.

Building a language glossary

Each generation gravitates toward its own unique terms and language cues. The ones that Gen-Z leans into are no different, but as the youngest and most pop-culture-involved generation, they’re a bigger part of the zeitgeist.

Therese Caruso, chief strategist at Zeno Group, said that communicators should put together intergenerational terminology glossaries to provide clarity to team members of all ages.

“If you’re an employer, your HR team needs to put out a glossary of these terms,” she told Ragan. “Miscommunication in the office is one of the biggest things that could go wrong. The workplace is in hot pursuit of getting it right because employee treatment is now a major factor in where people want to work or what brands they support”

Caruso offered a list of Gen-Z-centric terms that might mean one thing to older employees, and something totally different to our youngest cohort.

• “Out of pocket”: To older Generations, this means unavailability. to Gen Z, it implies unhinged behavior.
• “L”: This isn’t just the 12th letter of the alphabet — for Gen Z, it borrows from the baseball slang for a loss to refer to something unfortunate.
• “Gatekeeping”: For some older workers, this could have a more positive or neutral connotation referring to holding onto information. Now, it may be used to mean withholding information unfairly
• “Spill the tea”: This means sharing gossip or drama.
• “Rizz”: Maybe the most popular of these terms, it’s short for charisma.
• “Gas”: It isn’t what you put in your car. To younger people, it’s something impressive or cool.

Special consideration should also be given to how Gen Z uses and interprets emojis.

“Emojis are almost like a second language for Gen-Z. They can convey tone, emotion, and context that words might not fully capture,” added Caruso.

She recommends that companies index the most commonly used emojis to appreciate the subtlety they can often convey “so everyone knows how their digital language is being interpreted across generations.”

How platform and channel impact intergenerational communication

You should also consider where these phrases are used. More casual terms (think “spill the tea” or “rizz”) might make more sense on a messaging app like Teams than they would in an in-person meeting. Older generations might insist on more formal language in email communication, viewing it as a relic of written correspondence. But even with these differences, there is room for understanding.

Kristina Markos, associate professor and graduate chair in communication at Lasell University, said that communicators should ask detailed questions about why different generations communicate the way they do.

“Ask a lot of good, detailed questions,” she said. “These could be things that touch on experience or understanding of the team and field.”

Much of the youngest generation’s styles of communication in the office is cultivated online, and communicators who understand that stand a better chance of helping them relate to their older colleagues. Collecting everyone’s preferences and making sure their manager understands these is crucial.

Regardless of the terminology being used, the acknowledgment of differences by communicators is the first step in building a bridge between generations.

“Language shifts quickly,” Markos said. “Communicators that keep up with it and acknowledge that fact are much better positioned to unite different generations.”

Learn more about the future of Gen Z from Gen Z communicators during the lunchtime panel at Ragan’s Future of Communications Conference this week.

Sean Devlin is an editor at Ragan Communications. In his spare time he enjoys Philly sports and hosting trivia.