Company shares the truly laugh out loud 'out-of-office' messages from its Gen Z workers
Millennials are applauding their boldness.
Gotta save a few of these.
Ah Gen Z, the age group known for their brutal TikTok roasts (mostly of millennials) and their attitude towards workplace professionalism that’s just a tad, shall we say, more casual than previous generations. While this attitude might be jarring at times, it also can be delightfully refreshing.
Just ask the company Oilshore, which shared the hilarious “out of office” messages created by its Gen Z employees.
Whether they chose a clever, tongue-in-cheek approach, like “On vacation. Hoping to win the lottery and never return,” or something more direct and borderline threatening alá “Do not contact me while I’m on leave or I’ll report you to HR,” these Gen Z workers made their message loud and clear.
@oilshore Here at Oilshore we value honesty 🙈 #corporatetiktok #genzworker #workhumour #officelife ♬ Spongebob Tomfoolery - Dante9k Remix - David Snell
To no one’s surprise, the responses struck a particularly strong chord with millennials.
“They are so bold, I love it. As a millennial I be scared to be off of work,” one wrote.
Another added, “I wish I had this direct attitude but my millennial self would never be able to do that.”
Yet another praised these workers, saying, “Xennial here thinking Gen Z’s doing all the things I’ve dreamt of doing. Kings and queens changing work culture.”
Indeed, while Gen Zers might often get labeled as lazy or entitled, they are inspiring some pretty positive disruption. According to a Stanford Report, this generation prioritizes collaboration, mental health and work-life balance, transparency, and social impact and are demanding to see these types of changes in the workforce. That’s more than evident in these “out of office” messages.
Here’s another video with even more fun ones. Feel free to use some of these yourself, if you dare.
@oilshore Replying to @Rik O'Smithwick well at least they are being honest 😳 #workhumour #genzworker #corporatetiktok ♬ Coconut Mall (From "Mario Kart Wii") - Arcade Player
"Enjoying life! Will be back when I run out of money!" might be the truest sentence ever written.
But wait, there’s more where that came from. These Gen Z workers also have some pretty awesome email sign-offs for when they're finally back in the office. I will be stealing “mean regards” immediately.
@oilshore Anything is better than ‘regards’ #genz #genzemployee #workhumour #officehumout #genzoffice ♬ Borderline - Tame Impala
In many ways, Gen Zers’ workplace values don’t differ that much from that of their post-Boomer predecessors. But there are other factors at play, like coming of age in the wake of a historic pandemic and the worldwide threat of climate change, as well as unprecedented digital connectivity that make all these events more visible, which undoubtedly influence their relentlessness in getting these needs met.
And thank goodness for that relentlessness, because it makes work a better place to be—in more ways than one. Luckily, more and more companies are getting on board with the Gen Z way of doing things. One example being the fun way in which (usually smaller) organizations are letting Gen Zers write their social media content, featuring plenty of "slays," "no caps," and that weird way of making heart hands.
@northumberlandzoo Our Zoo Directors didn’t understand the assignment. #genz #genzmarketing #viral #fyp #funny #marketing ♬ Jazz Bossa Nova - TOKYO Lonesome Blue
With each generation, it seems we get one step closer to reframing how we view work, transforming it from a source of stress to maybe, juuuust maybe, a source of joy for all. Gen Z is certainly doing that…in their own sassy way.
This article originally appeared last year.
