Gen Z workplace communication sparks friction in Korean offices

Young Korean workers say they prefer text-based workplace communication because it allows time to organize thoughts, preserves written records and reduces anxiety about phone calls. Some participants describe unexpected calls as intrusive and say they struggle to speak spontaneously or ask questions in person. Senior colleagues, however, complain that younger employees do not answer calls, acknowledge instructions or respond promptly to messages. The discussion highlights differing expectations about clarity, emotion and responsiveness at work.

Participants said text messages help them prepare their thoughts and verify work details without repeatedly asking for clarification.

Some young workers said they use emojis, exclamations and Korean text symbols for laughter to convey emotion, while formal spelling can signal seriousness.

Several participants said they prefer coworkers to read a message without replying rather than leave it unread because reading confirms the message was seen.

Some participants described avoiding direct complaints, questions and phone orders after growing up with delivery apps and other app-based services.

Published Oct 18, 2026 12:00 am KST

Managers in their 30s vent frustration as junior staff favor texts, AI tools and written records over calls

An image generated by Gemini

"This new hire is really strange. Even when calls come in, they do not answer, and when given instructions, they do not respond. They ignore most KakaoTalk messages and only reply to things that benefit them."

Senior employees in their 30s who work with new hires in their 20s with impressive credentials frequently voice this grievance. They complain that open communication with junior staff remains difficult despite considerable effort. However, the 20-somethings targeted by this criticism counter that their true intent — exchanging precise information and avoiding getting hurt while communicating — is not getting across.

Why young workers avoid office phones

Participant 4: Why do people in their 20s avoid phone calls these days?

Participant 2: We prefer text messages because they let us reply after preparing our thoughts. That is especially true for work-related matters. Because text leaves a written record, we can check details directly from the message without having to ask again later. Even if a phone call is recorded, it is more inconvenient because we have to go back and listen to it again. When a call comes in out of nowhere, it feels like someone barging in.

Participant 3: I feel the same way. On the phone, it is hard to convey what I intended, and it is easy to misspeak. For example, when dealing with a client, I can structure the points and send a message covering Agenda A, Agenda B and Agenda C. Nowadays, we also widely use artificial intelligence in daily work to refine context and wording. Talking on the phone always makes me feel unprepared.

Participant 1: When I first started working, I did not answer the office phone even when it rang. I was terrified of not knowing how to answer, and I was trembling because I did not even know how to introduce myself.

Participant 3: Even now, I get tongue-tied on the phone. Even with a simple phrase like "How may I help you?", I trip over my words, stumble and say, "Regarding what matter ... " when all I need to say is "How may I help you?"

Participant 4: Does that also apply to casual calls to catch up outside of work?

Participant 2: Some people hate getting sudden calls even from close friends. They say it feels like an attack.

Participant 1: A lot of my friends say talking on the phone does not feel like they're taking a rest. They want to relax, but they have to keep talking.

Is text communication enough?

Participant 4: Still, text messages do not convey emotion. Can text messages really capture emotion, context and nuance?

Participant 2: I think emotions can be fully conveyed through text.

Participant 5: I think we can express those feelings through slang like "Whoa" and "No way," Korean text symbols for laughter or emojis.

Participant 1: Because we normally use emojis and exclamations like "Whoa" so much, leaving them out actually makes things feel unusually serious. If someone writes in a serious tone with perfect spelling, we think, "Okay, this is serious."

Participant 3: At work, when I keep getting requests on KakaoTalk from a boss or client, I sometimes wonder, 'Is this person trying to torment me?' Because no emotion comes through, back-to-back demands like "Please do this" and "Please do this too" make me think, "Why are they acting so picky?" In contrast, if we talk on the phone in that situation, the other person is in a position of asking a favor, saying, "Could you please do this too? Thank you." Phone calls seem more effective for human interaction, whereas text messages feel a bit stiff.

Korea Times illustration by Shin Dong-jun

Frustrated senior colleagues

Participant 5: Among middle managers in their 30s, many complain that new hires do not answer verbally. When given work instructions, instead of saying "Yes," they just nod while recording the audio.

Participant 2: Students rarely ask questions in school either, and sharing their opinions feels like a burden. Relationships between superiors and subordinates seem even harder for us. We feel it would be better if we could learn the ropes from a manual rather than in person.

Participant 5: In daily life, such as when ordering food, are people also reluctant to ask staff directly?

Participant 1: Right. There are actually a lot of young people who struggle with that. They’ve grown up ordering delivery through apps, and they’ve never had to call a friend’s home phone and ask to speak to them.

Participant 2: Even when we are dissatisfied with restaurant service, rather than complaining on the spot, we express our dissatisfaction later by leaving a low star rating.

Participant 1: If a restaurant only takes phone orders, some friends order from somewhere else or just go hungry.

Participant 5: While working, employees have to ask about parts they are unsure of or things that are not working. Yet I heard many 20-somethings today do not even say "I sent it," forcing bosses to constantly follow up by asking, "Did you do it?" and "Did you check it?"

Psychology of leaving messages unread

Participant 5: Even when peers of the same generation communicate, leaving messages unread and unanswered, a behavior known in Korean as "anikssip," seems to be a problem. Why do people do that?

Participant 2: In quite a few cases, people read messages through notification previews without opening them and simply do not reply. They reply whenever they feel like it.

Participant 5: There are also many complaints that people reply right away to messages with gift vouchers while leaving other messages unread.

Participant 2: I occasionally leave messages unread too. When I am doing other work and the message is not urgent, I put it off. As time passes, I end up leaving it unread for longer than I meant to.

Participant 1: Sometimes the sender is someone I do not want to answer, like a friend who comes to me with the exact same problem every day or someone I dislike. Then I forget that I never answered, and the chatroom sinks to the bottom of the feed.

Participant 3: At work, however, I feel more comfortable when someone reads a message and does not reply than when they leave it unread, because it shows the person at least checked it. If an issue comes up, it shows they saw the message I sent. That written record is also why I prefer KakaoTalk. I can quote a previous message and say, 'I sent this on this date. Please check it.' It proves that I delivered the message.

This article from the Hankook Ilbo, the sister publication of The Korea Times, is translated by a generative AI system and edited by The Korea Times.

年轻的韩国员工表示，他们更喜欢以文字形式进行职场沟通，因为这样可以让他们有时间整理思路、保留书面记录，并减少对电话的焦虑。一些受访者认为突如其来的电话令人感到不自在，并表示他们很难在面对面交流时自然地表达自己的想法或提出问题。然而，资深同事则抱怨年轻员工不接电话、不回复指示或不及时回复信息。这场讨论凸显了职场中不同群体对沟通清晰度、情感表达和响应速度的不同期望。

参与者表示，短信可以帮助他们整理思路并核实工作细节，而无需反复询问澄清。

一些年轻员工表示，他们会使用表情符号、感叹号和韩语文字符号来表达笑声，而正式的拼写则可以表示严肃。

一些参与者表示，他们宁愿同事阅读信息但不回复，也不愿让信息不被阅读，因为阅读可以确认信息已被查看。

一些参与者表示，由于从小就使用外卖应用程序和其他基于应用程序的服务，他们避免直接投诉、提问和电话订购。

发布于2026年10月18日凌晨12:00（韩国标准时间）

三十多岁的经理们对初级员工更喜欢用短信、人工智能工具和书面记录而不是打电话感到不满。

由双子座生成的图像

“这个新员工真是太奇怪了。即使接到电话，他们也不接；接到指示，他们也不回应。他们几乎无视所有KakaoTalk消息，只回复对自己有利的消息。”

三十多岁的高级员工经常与二十多岁、资历出众的新员工共事，他们抱怨说，尽管付出了相当大的努力，与年轻员工进行公开沟通仍然困难重重。然而，这些被批评的二十多岁的年轻人则反驳说，他们真正的意图——准确交流信息并避免在沟通中受到伤害——并没有被传达出去。

为什么年轻员工不愿接听办公电话

参与者 4：为什么现在 20 多岁的人都避免打电话？

参与者2：我们更喜欢发短信，因为这样我们可以先想好要回复的内容。这一点在工作相关的事情上尤其重要。由于短信会留下文字记录，我们可以直接查看短信内容，而无需之后再次询问。即使电话录音，也比较不方便，因为我们必须回放重新收听。突然接到电话，感觉就像有人闯了进来。

参与者3：我也有同感。打电话很难准确表达我的意思，也容易说错话。比如，跟客户沟通时，我可以把要点整理好，然后分别发送包含议程A、议程B和议程C的信息。现在，我们也广泛运用人工智能来优化语境和措辞。打电话总是让我感觉准备不足。

参与者1：我刚开始工作的时候，即使办公室电话响了，我也不接。我害怕不知道该怎么接，我紧张得浑身发抖，因为我甚至不知道该怎么自我介绍。

参与者 3：即使现在，我打电话时还是会结巴。即使是像“我能帮您什么吗？”这样简单的短语，我也会语无伦次，结结巴巴地说：“关于这件事……”，而我只需要说“我能帮您什么吗？”

参与者 4：这是否也适用于工作之外的非正式通话，例如闲聊？

参与者2：有些人讨厌接到突然打来的电话，即使是好朋友打来的也一样。他们说感觉就像受到了攻击。

参与者1：我的很多朋友都说，打电话让他们感觉不到休息。他们想放松，但却不得不一直说下去。

文字沟通就足够了吗？

参与者4：但是，短信无法传达情感。短信真的能捕捉到情感、语境和细微差别吗？

参与者 2：我认为情感可以通过文字充分表达。

参与者 5：我认为我们可以通过俚语“哇”和“不可能”、韩语中表示笑声的文字符号或表情符号来表达这些感受。

参与者1：因为我们平时太爱用表情符号和感叹词，比如“哇哦”，所以省略它们反而会让事情显得格外严肃。如果有人用严肃的语气，而且拼写完美，我们就会想，“好吧，这事儿挺严肃的。”

参与者3：在工作中，当我不断收到老板或客户在KakaoTalk上的请求时，我有时会想，“这个人是不是想折磨我？” 因为对方没有流露出任何情感，像“请做这个”、“也请做那个”这样接连不断的请求会让我觉得，“他们为什么这么挑剔？” 相比之下，如果我们在这种情况下打电话，对方会主动请求帮忙，说“您能也做一下吗？谢谢。” 电话似乎更适合人际沟通，而短信则显得有些生硬。

《韩国时报》插图，作者：申东俊

沮丧的资深同事

参与者5：在30多岁的中层管理人员中，许多人抱怨新员工不善于口头回答问题。当被告知工作指示时，他们不说“是”，而是在录音时点头。

参与者2：学生在学校也很少提问，表达自己的观点感觉像是一种负担。我们觉得上下级关系更加复杂。我们觉得如果能通过手册学习而不是面对面学习，效果会更好。

参与者 5：在日常生活中，比如点餐时，人们是否也不愿意直接向工作人员询问？

参与者1：没错。实际上有很多年轻人在这方面有困难。他们从小就习惯用应用程序点外卖，从来没有机会打电话到朋友家请求和他们通话。

参与者 2：即使我们对餐厅服务不满意，我们也不会当场投诉，而是稍后通过留下低星级评价来表达我们的不满。

参与者 1：如果一家餐厅只接受电话订餐，一些朋友就会从其他地方订餐，或者干脆饿肚子。

参与者5：在工作中，员工需要询问他们不确定的部件或​​无法正常工作的功能。然而，我听说现在很多二十多岁的年轻人甚至连“我发送了”都不说，迫使老板不断跟进询问“你做了吗？”和“你检查了吗？”

未读信息的心理学

参与者5：即使是同龄人之间的交流，如果信息不读不回复（这种在韩国被称为“anikssip”的行为），似乎也会成为一个问题。人们为什么会这样做呢？

参与者2：很多情况下，人们会通过通知预览阅读消息，但并不打开，然后直接不回复。他们想回复的时候才会回复。

参与者 5：还有很多人抱怨说，人们会立即回复包含礼品券的消息，而对其他消息不予阅读。

参与者2：我也偶尔会不看信息。当我在忙其他事情，而且信息又不紧急的时候，我就会把它搁置。随着时间的推移，我最终会比预期更久地让它保持未读状态。

参与者1：有时候发消息的人是我不想回复的，比如每天都来问我同样问题的朋友，或者我不喜欢的人。然后我就忘了自己没回复，聊天记录就沉到信息流的最底部了。

参与者3：不过，在工作中，我更希望对方读了消息但没有回复，而不是未读不回，因为这样至少表明对方看过消息了。如果出现问题，也能证明对方看到了我发的消息。正是因为有书面记录，我才更喜欢KakaoTalk。我可以引用之前的消息，比如“这条消息是我在某天发的，请查收”，这样就能证明我确实发送了消息。

本文来自《韩国日报》（《韩国时报》的姊妹报），由人工智能生成系统翻译，并由《韩国时报》编辑。