3 days ago
The Interns Are Speaking – Can You Understand Them?
Summer is winding down, and so is intern season – with more than four million joining U.S. businesses this year, according to University of Wisconsin research.
To generalize, interns bring with them new ideas, a passion for learning, and in some instances, an entirely new language. Overheard in BCG corridors this summer were statements like:
'I accidentally deleted my entire Excel model and said, 'I'm about to crash out.' My team thought I meant I needed a nap – I meant emotional collapse.'
'I described a presentation by saying the speaker 'ate.' My manager thought I was talking about lunch.'
Confused? These quotes sum up a growing truth in the modern workplace: We're all speaking English, and still routinely misunderstand each other.
Today's corporate environment is multilingual in the most ironic ways. Five generations, four communications platforms, and 27 Slack channels later, we're navigating a new kind of challenge: English-to-English translation. Fortunately, two of BCG Chicago's Gen-Z interns, Sindhu Tiwari and William Neff, are here to help with a handy guide.
Let's take a moment to translate. Here's a starter pack for decoding Gen Z's workplace lingo:
It's easy to dismiss this language as trendy slang, but for Gen Z the terminology conveys emotional intent in shorthand. And when misunderstood or dismissed, it can lead to confusion, disconnection, and even conflict.
Workplace communication, in both language and medium, continues to evolve. The 1960s brought 'synergy' to the business lexicon, and the 80s and 90s brought us gems like 'deep dive,' 'leverage,' and 'drill down.' The telephone replaced memos. Email replaced the phone. Thumbs up emojis replaced task acknowledgements.
And it's unique not only because of the tools, but because for the first time in modern history, we have five generations in the workforce at once. With Gen Alpha, those born since 2013, entering in the 2030s, soon it'll be six. This is no crisis, rather, it's a moment of possibility.
You don't have to download TikTok or start saying 'he ate' unironically. But in hybrid workplaces, where most communication happens in writing (Slack, email, Teams), tone can get lost in translation. What once felt professional, like ending a sentence with a period, acknowledging a message with 'OK, thanks' or saying 'Let's circle back,' can now come across as cold.
Gen Z's phrasing may sound casual, but they often express real emotional nuance. A 'crash out' isn't just a joke, but also can be a cue for support. In fact, Gen Z often uses the kind of adaptive, emotionally intelligent communication all of us could benefit from, especially in distributed teams. Adopting a few communication habits can help everyone feel seen and heard.
Here are some suggestions:
1. Acknowledge messages in their language
If a Gen Z colleague drops something thoughtful in Slack, don't ignore it. A simple clap or praise reaction is more than an emoji, it's feedback and support.
Emojis and Gen Z sayings alike convey strong emotional intent. Understanding and leveraging this cultivates genuine communication and psychological safety. In asynchronous environments, silence isn't neutral; it's confusing. A micro-acknowledgment beats a macro-misunderstanding.
2. Host a generational 'communications audit'
Once a quarter, dedicate 10 minutes of a team meeting to a 'comms audit,' a structured space that encourages emotional honesty. Ask:
You'll quickly connect with your team and uncover helpful tweaks, like clarifying when an email will do versus a face-to-face conversation, or the right reaction or Gen Z phrase to deploy over Teams to push on that next deliverable. Sahil Nair, a BCG Chicago intern hybrid millennial/GenZer, and budding inter generational strategist, champions the Slack 'salute' reaction with such passion that his teams now widely use it for acknowledgement or admiration; maybe you will find a signature emoji as well.
3. Model micro-openness
Tone starts at the top. When managers and senior teammates are open about their own stressors - 'After the day we had, I need to go touch grass' - they create permission for others to do the same.
Adriann Negreros, a senior leader in BCG's People & Organization practice and a global voice on workplace empathy, suggests that small, authentic gestures, like scheduling a midday walk, acknowledging tough feedback, or even asking 'Are we laughing enough – LOL?," can convey emotional honesty and foster real connection across generations.
This signals that emotional honesty isn't just accepted, it's encouraged. Over time, these moments build trust, reduce miscommunication, and turn shorthand like 'crash out' into a cue for real support, not silence.
The interns may be heading out now, but many Gen Zers will be back in your office in the fall, this time as full-time hires. So, upgrade your communication toolkit now.
While you may never share your excitement for a 'sweet treat' in a client meeting, you can build habits that help your cross-generational teams thrive. And you just might prevent a few crash outs along the way.
