Generations at Work | Part 4 I Gen Z, Unit I
A Hot 🔥Jobs series exploring what shaped each generation’s relationship with work—and what employers, leaders and coworkers can learn from them.
I saw something making the rounds on social media recently that immediately caught my attention.
A recruiter went viral after talking about Gen Z candidates showing up to job interviews carrying iced coffees.
Apparently, this is controversial.
And as someone who has spent nearly 20 years in business and leadership—and now owns a staffing and recruiting company—I found myself thinking:
Would I actually care if an incredible candidate walked into an interview carrying an iced latte?
My first reaction?
Probably not.
But then I kept thinking about it.
Because maybe the coffee isn’t really the issue.
Would I notice if someone walked into an important interview appearing overly casual? Absolutely.
Would I notice how they introduced themselves? How prepared they were? Whether they understood the environment they were walking into? Of course.
And suddenly, a debate about Starbucks became a much more interesting conversation about something employers are wrestling with every day:
What exactly does “professional” mean anymore?
And perhaps more importantly:
Who gets to decide?
— Katie, Hot Jobs Staffing & Recruiting Owner
***Connect with me on LinkedIn Here
🔥 The Hot Take
Gen Z may not be rejecting professionalism. They may be questioning the rules we used to define it.
Every generation inherits workplace rules from the generation before it.
Wear the suit.
Cover the tattoo.
Don’t discuss your salary.
Don’t question your boss.
Keep your personal life separate from work.
Wait your turn.
Pay your dues.
Stay late if the boss stays late.
And, apparently, don’t bring your iced latte to the interview.
For decades, many of these weren’t really presented as choices.
They were simply understood as “professional.”
Then Gen Z entered the workforce and started asking a deceptively simple question:
Why?
And sometimes, frankly, that’s uncomfortable.
Because sometimes there’s an excellent answer.
And sometimes the answer is essentially:
“Because that’s how we’ve always done it.”
☕ So…Can You Bring the Iced Latte?
The viral coffee debate is fascinating precisely because it’s so trivial.
One hiring manager sees a candidate walking into an interview carrying a giant iced coffee and thinks:
Too casual.
Another sees the exact same candidate and thinks:
Who cares? Can they do the job?
And a Gen Z candidate may genuinely wonder why the drink they carried into the building has anything to do with their qualifications.
That’s the collision happening in workplaces right now.
And neither side is entirely wrong.
Professional norms have always communicated something.
They can signal preparation.
Respect.
Judgment.
Awareness of your audience.
An understanding that different situations call for different behavior.
But professional norms can also become habits we enforce long after we’ve forgotten why they existed in the first place.
That’s where Gen Z is pushing.
Not necessarily against professionalism itself.
Against the assumption that professionalism has to look exactly the way it did 20 years ago.
👀 And It’s Much Bigger Than Coffee
The debate over Gen Z at work touches almost everything.
What they wear.
How they communicate.
How quickly they expect feedback.
How openly they’ll discuss compensation.
How comfortable they are questioning leadership.
How much of themselves they’re willing to change to fit corporate culture.
How firmly they’ll protect personal time.
And how willing they are to leave when something doesn’t make sense to them.
It’s easy to bundle all of that together and call it “unprofessional.”
But that may be too simple.
Recent workforce research adds an interesting wrinkle.
In a September 2026 Harris Poll commissioned by Express Employment Professionals, 98% of job seekers said adapting to workplace culture is important for career success.
But 67% also said they had changed aspects of their personality to fit into workplace culture.
And younger workers—Gen Z and Millennials—reported doing more of that adapting than older generations.
So the generation often accused of refusing to conform may actually be doing quite a lot of conforming.
They may simply be more willing to talk about it.
🔥 Maybe That’s What Employers Are Actually Feeling
For generations, there were plenty of unwritten workplace rules.
The difference was that employees didn’t always challenge them out loud.
Gen Z does.
Why can’t we talk about salary?
Why does this job need to be in the office?
Why can’t I ask my manager why we’re doing something?
Why should I stay late if my work is finished?
Why does “professional” mean hiding parts of my personality?
Why does bringing coffee into an interview matter if I’m qualified?
Some of those questions expose outdated traditions.
Some expose poorly explained expectations.
And some may expose something Gen Z still needs to learn:
Not every professional expectation is arbitrary.
There is value in reading a room.
There is value in understanding your audience.
There is value in knowing that how you present yourself affects how people experience you.
And there are moments when adapting your behavior isn’t “being fake.”
It’s emotional intelligence.
That’s an important distinction.
💡 What Employers Can Learn From Gen Z
Perhaps employers need to become better at separating professionalism from preference.
Ask:
Does this behavior actually affect someone’s ability to perform the job?
Does it affect customers?
Does it affect coworkers?
Does it demonstrate poor judgment?
Or does it simply look different from what I’m accustomed to?
Those aren’t always the same thing.
Because if a brilliant candidate walks into an interview with an iced latte, communicates exceptionally well, researched your company, asks thoughtful questions and has exactly the experience you need…
The coffee probably shouldn’t be the most interesting thing about them.
But Gen Z has something to learn here, too.
Because whether we like it or not, careers involve navigating people.
Different generations.
Different personalities.
Different industries.
Different expectations.
Understanding how you’re perceived isn’t surrendering your authenticity.
It’s part of learning how to operate in the world.
And maybe that’s where the two sides can meet.
🔄 Maybe Professionalism Isn’t Disappearing. Maybe It’s Being Renegotiated.
Every generation has changed the workplace it inherited.
Boomers helped define an era of career commitment and institutional expertise.
Gen X adapted through enormous technological and cultural change.
Millennials pushed hard on flexibility, purpose and work-life integration.
And now Gen Z is challenging something different:
The unwritten rules.
Some of those rules will survive.
Some probably should.
Others may disappear completely.
But asking why they exist isn’t necessarily disrespectful.
Sometimes it’s exactly how cultures evolve.
The challenge for employers is figuring out which standards actually matter.
And the challenge for Gen Z is understanding that questioning a standard doesn’t automatically make the standard meaningless.
There is probably wisdom on both sides.
🔥 The Bigger Question
Maybe we’ve been asking the wrong question.
Instead of:
“Why is Gen Z so unprofessional?”
Perhaps we should ask:
“What should professionalism actually look like in 2026?”
Because professionalism probably isn’t an iced latte.
Or a suit.
Or whether someone uses an emoji in an email.
At its best, professionalism is reliability.
Judgment.
Communication.
Respect.
Accountability.
Competence.
Knowing your audience.
And doing what you said you were going to do.
Those standards don’t feel outdated at all.
Maybe we’re simply watching a new generation separate the standards that matter from some of the traditions surrounding them.
And like every generational shift at work, it’s probably going to make all of us a little uncomfortable before we figure it out.
💬 The Question I Can’t Wait to Ask
Hiring managers, business owners and HR professionals:
A Gen Z candidate walks into an important job interview carrying a giant iced Starbucks.
They’re prepared.
They’re qualified.
They’re engaging.
They interview exceptionally well.
Does the coffee affect your first impression?
Yes or no—and why?
Hit reply. I have a feeling we’re going to get opinions on this one. 🔥
🔥 Next in our Generations at Work series: Gen Z Unit 2 – because they are fascinating enough to warrant two parts!
