Since the emergence of email communication, a corporate email has been known to maintain a white-collar and respectful tone. However, a series of recent TikTok videos highlights how the Gen Z workforce has adopted a totally informal approach to writing emails, reflecting a notable shift in the industry.
While boomers might use sign-offs like “kind regards,” “warmly,” or “sincerely,” Gen Z workers are displaying quiet disobedience to these formalities and instead using relaxed, light-hearted and laid-back tones, with a dash of unhinged language.
This funny trend seems to have started with a Los Angeles-based Gen Z marketing agency called NinetyEight. In March 2022, they posted a video captioned, “As a Gen Z company, here’s how we sign off on emails.” The video has been viewed by nearly 8 million people and liked by 1.5 million.
The short clip by NinetyEight features Truman Rae, the company’s Account Manager, with a critical expression on his face. The next frames of the video show a series of screen captures some of the witty, if not snarky email sign-offs, including “Seeyaas later,” and “haha bye.”
While other young workers who watched the video were unsurprised by the eccentric video, they loved the idea of using informal language in corporate communication. For instance, @jo.hunters expressed, “As a millennial, I don’t see why we have to be so formal. I love this Gen Z vibe.” @ollivergalaxy commented, “God I wish we could all do this. emails be so formal for no reason.” Another TikToker, @farawrrrrrrr, added that once something went wrong while drafting a mail, so she signed off as “regrets.”
Speaking to Bored Panda, Truman explained how they maintain this vibe in the company, “On internal emails and Slack messages, our team is comfortable being ourselves and value maintaining a fun atmosphere. On internal emails, our signoffs vary all the time; TikTok just pulled our favorites.”
Though it might seem that NinetyEight has this culture because they strive to build an exclusive Gen Z vibe in their organization, in reality, this is not the case. The trend was quickly and ubiquitously rubber-stamped by dozens and dozens of other companies. For example, in a 2022 tweet, Microsoft Windows, who first invented emails, shared some spicy email sign-offs including “Hasta la pasta,” “Meow for now,” “Bet,” and “Anyways,” on X.
Others jumped forward to share their tweaks. The CEO of Fox & Robin, an activewear brand that hires only Gen Z, also shared some emails from employees in a TikTok video. “It’s a Gen Z world, I’m just their millennial boss,” the company captioned the post, which has more than 17 million views. “Don’t cross me”, and “Talk soon, loser”, were some of the sign-off examples.
It wouldn’t be surprising to see young workers discard corporate formalities and adopt an altogether informal approach. A study by Barclays predicted that phrases and sign-offs like “Yours truly,” “To whom it may concern,” and “Respects,” are likely to be extinct from the workplace within the next ten years.
“Rules of the game have changed,” said Esteban Touma, Language Expert at Babbel, per Indy100. She said that Gen Z is drifting towards workspaces that are informal and welcoming. “They naturally gravitate towards more casual sign-offs as a reflection of their overall digital communication habits and a shift in language across society as a whole.” All in all, it can be assumed that the future of structured strict mails is quite uncertain for now.
You can follow NinetyEight on TikTok to catch up on more tidbits of their corporate culture.
