00:00This whole heated debate about whether you can bring an iced coffee to a job interview isn't
00:04even about coffee. On the surface, it might seem like a simple question, but it has sparked a
00:10firestorm in some corners of the internet. That's because it's really about the deep anxiety that
00:15workers and managers feel right now as the very nature of work radically changes in front of them.
00:20Employers and their young employees are caught in a power struggle over who gets to decide the
00:25norms of this new workplace. To older generations of bosses, bringing an iced coffee to a job
00:29interview might signal a lack of understanding of the workplace's unwritten rules or an unwillingness
00:35to play by them. Either interpretation reinforces the stereotypes about Gen Z, that they're
00:40unprofessional, unprepared, unmotivated, and difficult to manage. This also comes at a moment when
00:46corporate America is highly attuned to any signs of defiance and managers are working on overtime
00:51to tamp down any hints of rebellion. But much of Gen Z isn't having it. This is a generation that
00:57grow
00:57up with a climate crisis, school shootings, and a global pandemic. All of those experiences have
01:02eroded their trust in big institutions and what they view as arbitrary rules. And now they're being
01:07told that AI might eliminate the jobs that they're interviewing for. How could an iced coffee possibly
01:14matter? But to older managers, younger employees' desire to set boundaries or their refusal to blindly
01:19accept marching orders can come across as entitlement or insubordination. It's worth remembering that not
01:25all that long ago, job seekers were advised to cover up their tattoos in interviews and to scrub
01:31their resumes of any indication or clue their sexual orientation. Obviously, an iced coffee, not nearly the
01:38same thing. But it is a reminder that norms around professionalism evolve. Hiring managers might want to
01:44remember that and give a little grace the next time a Gen Z candidate waltzes in with a nice coffee.
