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Entrepreneur
08-07-2025
- Business
- Entrepreneur
Gen Z Needs Office Etiquette Coaches, Managers Say
Return-to-office mandates imply that workers have been in the office before. But what happens if you're not "returning" per se, and have never actually worked in an office? You get a big culture clash, according to many Bay Area managers who spoke to The San Francisco Standard. Wearing inappropriate clothes, leaving messes, loudly chatting with friends during work hours — these are just some of the issues managers say first-time in-office Gen Z employees are creating. And to find a solution to these persistent workplace problems, many office managers are hiring etiquette coaches to teach the basics of being a considerate coworker. Related: Gen Z Talent Will Walk Away — Unless You Try These 6 Strategies Rosalinda Randall, an etiquette coach, told The Standard that calls to her office are up 50% over the last two months. She charges up to $2,500 for 90-minute workshops that cover things you'd expect — like appropriate dress codes, how to respectfully address managers, and office kitchen cleanliness — and some things you wouldn't, like reminding people they should shower regularly. Randall explained that a tech firm hired her because two new hires hadn't bathed or changed their shirts for weeks. "They didn't want to deal with it, so they hired me," she explained. Another common issue is less scent-oriented, but just as off-putting: constant questioning. Melissa Franks, founder of On Call COO, told The Standard she received many calls from managers asking for advice when dealing with Gen Z employees who wouldn't just do what they were asked to do, but instead questioned every decision and directive. Franks said her advice is to take time to give employees the big picture, so they can see how this task fits into the overall operation. "Give them more context about why things are done a certain way, and you'll get more respect," she said. Related: These Gen Z Managers Are Doing Things Very Differently — and It Seems to Be Paying Off Franks also encourages managers to create what amounts to an etiquette guide that should be given to all employees that eliminates any gray areas when it comes to what "casual Friday" looks like or what is an appropriate email sign-off is or what is expected of them in meetings. The complaints go both ways, with Gen Zers feeling like their Millennials and Gen X bosses emailing after hours and not respecting their need for work-life balance. However, many would probably agree that having an annoying job is a good problem to have. The Federal Reserve Bank of New York reports that the unemployment rate for recent college graduates hit 5.8 percent—the highest reading since 2021.
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Business Standard
02-07-2025
- Automotive
- Business Standard
He made billions on Google and PayPal. Now, he's betting on news
Many billionaires from Silicon Valley have lately cast a critical eye on the news media. Michael Moritz, the venture capitalist who made billions by placing early bets on companies like Google and PayPal, is taking the opposite approach. Moritz said in an interview over the weekend that The San Francisco Standard, a local news organization he co-found, was buying Charter, a digital publication focused on the future of work, to broaden its focus. Kevin Delaney, a founder of Charter, will be the editor in chief of both publications. Moritz, 70, who has been a resident of San Francisco for four decades, said he had decided to start The Standard because he 'couldn't find out what was happening in San Francisco' anymore because of 'the erosion of all the local news outlets.' 'I think news and information in any city is as vital as water, electricity and gas,' said Moritz, a former San Francisco bureau chief for Time magazine covering Silicon Valley. The terms of the deal were not disclosed. The San Francisco Standard may seem an unlikely suitor for Charter, which has a global focus. But Delaney said in an interview that the two companies would look to collaborate on big stories such as the explosion of artificial intelligence, its impact on jobs in the technology industry and changes in the way cutting-edge companies are managed — stories that are all rooted in San Francisco. 'California is the fourth-largest economy in the world on its own,' Delaney said. 'Having a deep, ambitious journalistic agenda there and a strong newsroom is really interesting and meaningful.' It took a near-fatal car collision to bring the two companies together. Griffin Gaffney, the chief executive and a co-founder of The San Francisco Standard, had been searching for an editor in chief for months when he was struck by a car while cycling this spring. He fractured his skull and lost several teeth. That near-death experience, he said, spurred him to renew the search with greater intensity. 'When I was still in the hospital, I went back to all of them, and I said: 'I almost died. So if you want this job, now is the time to tell me,'' Gaffney said. He quickly focused on Delaney, the most promising candidate. After Moritz and Gaffney met with Delaney at Union Square Cafe in New York this spring, the talks turned toward acquiring Charter. The start-up, which has about 10 employees, has raised $4 million from backers including FT Ventures, Bloomberg Beta and Lessin Media. Since it started in 2021, The San Francisco Standard has made a splash in a competitive local news environment. It has jockeyed for scoops with the much larger San Francisco Chronicle, which this year was a finalist for two Pulitzer Prizes, and SF Gate, which draws around 27 million readers monthly. Unlike its competitors, The Standard isn't yet profitable. The company is private, and Moritz and Gaffney declined to detail its finances. The Standard has invested heavily to make an impact. The company has roughly 60 employees, Gaffney said. Some are sought-after local journalists who command a premium for their work, such as Tim Kawakami, who previously worked at The Athletic covering Bay Area sports. (The Athletic is owned by The New York Times.) The Standard's journalists have published investigations into the administration of London Breed, the city's former mayor, and made waves with dishy stories such as one that documented the prevalence of sex in self-driving taxis. Like other publications around Silicon Valley, The Standard is operating in an environment that is often critical of the traditional news media. Moritz said the demonization of journalism by politicians and his fellow tech billionaires was 'poisonous' and called their tendency to automatically discount credible news 'autocratic' and 'corrosive.'
India Today
02-07-2025
- Business
- India Today
Coaches hired to teach workplace manners to Gen Z workers in San Francisco
San Francisco employers are bringing in etiquette coaches to train their Gen Z staff on workplace behaviour. Frustrated by what they see as informal or inappropriate conduct, companies are turning to professionals to teach everything from hygiene to email to a report by The San Francisco Standard, managers say many Gen Z employees treat the workplace like their bedrooms. Complaints include turning up in revealing clothes, ignoring grooming standards, and setting unrealistic expectations for quick promotions. Some young employees reportedly even involve their parents during job interviews or 2024 survey by revealed that 12.5% of employers had encountered Gen Z candidates who brought their parents to interviews -- a clear sign for many that soft skills training is urgently ARE BROUGHT IN TO RESTORE PROFESSIONALISM Experts like Rosalinda Randall, a Marin-based etiquette coach, and Melissa Franks, the founder of On Call COO, have been hired to teach workplace norms. Their sessions focus on fundamental skills such as eye contact, listening, handshakes, and appropriate employers are even displaying hygiene reminder posters in office toilets or organising team-building events to foster respect and Z PUSHES BACK ON TOXICITY, BUT WANTS GUIDANCEWhile older generations complain, many Gen Z employees feel they're misunderstood. A young Salesforce engineer told The Standard, 'No cap. My manager Slacks me at 10 p.m.' — showing frustration at blurred work-life asked, 'Why should I pretend to care about people who don't care about me?'Etiquette coaches believe Gen Z isn't lazy -- rather, they're unsure how to behave in a changing world. According to Melissa Franks, many just need someone to explain how their behaviour is perceived in a professional SEE VALUE IN TRAININGThe World Economic Forum reported in January that 77% of companies believe soft skills training boosts productivity. As such, firms like Salesforce and even institutions like Stanford Research Park are now investing in coaching workshops, aiming to better integrate Gen Z into existing workplace arts organisations like Yerba Buena Center for the Arts are seeing value in etiquette coaching, noting that some younger hires were unfamiliar with name-tag placement or meeting norms.- Ends
Straits Times
02-07-2025
- Business
- Straits Times
US firms hire etiquette coaches to rein in Gen Z employees
Sign up now: Get ST's newsletters delivered to your inbox Some fresh graduates in the United States are driving their bosses up the wall with their habits at work. Dressing inappropriately, treating the office like their bedroom, leaving food wrappers in communal eating spaces and ghosting their supervisors – some fresh graduates in the US are driving their bosses up the wall. To remedy this, some companies in San Francisco have hired etiquette coaches to train their young employees in basic workplace manners. Coaches based in the city said they have experienced up to a twofold increase in recent months, reported news outlet The San Francisco Standard on June 28 . Etiquette coach Rosalinda Randall said she has received complaints of bad hygiene and habits such as a new hire leaving food wrappers on the communal lunch table. 'Their manager didn't know how to handle it, as they didn't want to sound like a parent,' she said. Ninety-minute workshops with Ms Randall, where she teaches employees how to make eye contact and make requests politely, costs up to US$2,500 (S$3,180). Ms Melissa Franks, founder of an operations consulting firm, said employers often ask for advice on managing younger hires, whom they feel have a tendency to question instructions. She tells them to think of any pushback as youthful curiosity and provide more explanation and context about why procedures are in place, said Ms Franks to The San Francisco Standard. Some organisations are taking matters into their own hands, developing training programmes on workplace etiquette or practicing transparency. Software development company Salesforce, for example, has been conducting classes on presenting, emotional intelligence and Slack etiquette since 2024 . In May, it rolled out an artificial-intelligence onboarding agency that addresses frequently-asked questions, event information and new-hire skill matches, aiming to build social connections. Mr Jim Rettew, interim chief executive at a contemporary arts centre, holds townhalls where employees raise questions and has one-on-one chats with them. On Gen Zs, Mr Rettew said: 'They want to be mentored, not managed.' These workers 'bring moral clarity, which is refreshing — but nuance is a muscle they're still building,' he said. In the face of an unemployment rate that is above the US average of 4.2 per cent - unemployment for 20 to 24-year-olds is at 6.6 per cent, according to a report by software company iCIMS - Gen Zs are in a crunch. An Intelligence survey from August 2024 found that 60 per cent of employers have fired Gen Z employees within months of hiring them. Some fail to impress during job interviews, where they struggle with making eye contact and communicating effectively, or even bring mum or dad along. According to a December 2024 survey done by American data research site Intelligence, one out of three hiring managers think that recent graduates lack work ethic and one in four said they are unprepared for the workforce. More than half of the 1,000 managers surveyed said that they fired a recent graduate in 2024, and one in eight indicated that they will avoid hiring these fresh graduates in 2025. On the upside, it seems that they are eager to learn. 'Presence and presentation is everything,' said Prof Thomas Padron, hospitality professor at a university in California. 'Once they realise that their bosses aren't mind readers, they put in the time.'
Axios
30-06-2025
- Business
- Axios
WesBurger to close in mid-July after 12 years
WesBurger 'N' More, a Mission favorite known for smashburgers and championing tots over fries, will close July 15. Why it matters: The beloved burger joint from owner Wes Rowe helped kickstart San Francisco's smashburger trend. State of play: Rowe started his pop-up in 2012 before landing a brick-and-mortar spot in the Mission in 2016, where he's been serving up delectable burgers, Nashville fried chicken, queso tots and other weekly specials ever since. Now, he's calling it quits rather than renewing the lease, per The San Francisco Standard. What they're saying:"I want to thank everyone who has ever supported WesBurger, whether back in the early pop-up days, eating one of our many specials, visiting The Den, coming in late night, or just being one of our many fantastic regulars," Rowe said in an Instagram post. What's next: Rowe hopes to go out with a bang. Expect a lively farewell celebration throughout the next two weeks until doors close.
