What does professional sound like now? Language and tone at work

Alastair Greener FPSA Generational communication expert, author and President of the PSA UK and Ireland 2026 Published 17 October 2026 · 6 min read

What sounds professional now depends on who is listening. In our 2024 survey of 4,067 people, 75% of UK workers said thinking and behaviour at work vary by age, and 51% named communication styles as the main difference. Generations often expect different levels of formality, especially with senior people, so the practical answer is for teams to agree their norms openly and for everyone to flex.

What sounds professional now depends on who is listening. In our Communication Habits and Preferences 2024 survey, 75% of UK workers said thinking and behaviour at work vary by age, and 51% named communication styles as the main difference. The biggest generational difference at work may be something more basic than technology or work-life balance: what each of us believes professional looks and sounds like.

Those beliefs affect how people are judged. In July 2026 the Chartered Management Institute reported that 61% of managers believe younger workers are more likely than other age groups to lack resilience, professionalism, communication skills and the ability to accept and act on feedback. In the same release, 70% of young people felt that employers hold a negative bias against their generation.

Why do generations disagree about what professional sounds like?

Much of it comes down to hierarchy. When the leadership consultant and coach Zoe Thompson joined me on the podcast, she described joining the police at 18, where "it was very clear who was senior because it was on their shoulders." You knew who was senior by their uniform, their title and how others addressed them.

Today, leadership is no longer defined by age, clothing or job title. As Zoe explained, Gen X and older Millennials tend to adjust how they communicate with senior colleagues, while younger Millennials and Gen Z often use a less hierarchical and more consistent style with everyone. That doesn't make one approach respectful and the other disrespectful. They are simply different expectations of what professional behaviour looks like.

75%of UK workers say thinking and behaviour at work vary by ageCommunication Habits and Preferences 2024

51%of UK workers name communication styles as the main age difference at workCommunication Habits and Preferences 2024

66%of HR managers say communication with and between generations is posing challenges for business efficiencyGenerations in the Workplace Study 2023

Are younger workers really too casual?

Some older colleagues think so, and misunderstandings between generations often start with blame. When workers added comments to our 2024 survey, one theme the report picked out was that "the use of informal language or slang in electronic messaging is sometimes seen as unprofessional or rude".

Yet haven't older generations always found the younger ones too informal, too relaxed or too different? You only have to look at the workplace dress code over the generations to see how far things have relaxed, and communication evolves in the same way. Email changed how we all interact, and Gen Z's style may shape the norms that come next.

The stereotype also misses something. In the same survey, 50% of workers aged 18 to 21 agreed that they tend to have distant, rather formal, relationships with people at work, against 31% of Baby Boomers. A casual message can come from someone who feels a long way from the people they work with.

Is it only young people's words that get misread?

Office jargon is someone else's slang. In a US poll of 2,004 workers carried out by Censuswide for Sunny Workplace in May 2026, 80% of Gen Z workers said they had faced generational language challenges at work in the past month, against 30% of Baby Boomers. Only 22% of the Gen Z workers said they knew exactly what "boil the ocean" means. The comments in our own survey showed "frustration with jargon and buzzwords" as well.

Words and punctuation carry different weight for different people. I have written about how the ellipsis can read as a thoughtful pause to one generation and as passive-aggressive to another, and words such as "woke" mean very different things to different people. That is why I try to think carefully about the words I use and how my audience may hear them. One respondent to our survey, aged 28 to 35, put it neatly: "Clear, concise, and respectful communication is key. Technology enables efficiency, but tone and nuance can be lost".

How can a team agree what professional means?

In our 2023 study, 66% of HR managers said communication with and between generations is posing challenges for business efficiency. The answer I keep hearing from podcast guests is curiosity rather than confrontation, and it helps to make the rules visible.

Talk about norms before anyone breaks them. Agree as a team how you open and close an email, how quickly people expect a reply, whether emojis belong in client messages and how you address senior people. Write it down and share it with every new starter.

Explain the unwritten rules. A graduate who writes to the chief executive exactly as they would to a friend may simply not know the expectation. Tell them kindly, and tell them why.

Flex for the moment. Employers should avoid blanket assumptions about Gen Z, and young professionals who want to connect with senior leaders may benefit from adapting their style at key moments, such as a board paper or a first client meeting. Knowing when to flex is a professional skill at any age.

Ask what worries people. If someone resists a change in style, ask what concerns them. If you lead younger colleagues, make sure they know three things: they are valued, their work is valued, and they know where they are going.

Good leadership means flexing your communication and balancing the needs of individuals with those of the business, whichever generation's habits you started with. Our guide to managing five generations at work and our overview of how each generation likes to talk go further.

So, what does professional look like in your workplace?

Frequently asked questions

What does professional communication mean at work today?

It depends on the workplace and the audience. In our 2024 survey, 75% of UK workers said thinking and behaviour at work vary by age, and 51% named communication styles as the main difference. The practical answer is to agree norms openly as a team: how formal emails should be, how to address senior people and which channels suit which messages.

Is informal language at work unprofessional?

Not in itself, but it depends on the channel and the reader. A relaxed tone can suit a team chat and jar in a client email or a message to a senior leader. Comments in our 2024 survey noted that informal language or slang in messages is sometimes seen as rude. Agree what suits each channel and explain it to new starters.

Why do older colleagues sometimes read younger colleagues' messages as rude?

Expectations differ. Many people who started work in more hierarchical organisations adjust their tone for seniority, and a short, flat message can read as abrupt to them. Punctuation matters too: an ellipsis can seem thoughtful to one person and passive-aggressive to another. The misreading runs both ways, since office jargon can baffle younger colleagues just as easily.

How do you tell a younger colleague their tone is too casual?

Treat it as information rather than criticism. Explain the expectation, who it matters to and why, with a specific example. Make clear that you value them and their work. Unwritten rules are invisible until someone explains them, and a quiet, early conversation saves both of you a harder one later.

Alastair runs generational communication workshops and consultancy for UK teams.

Workshops and consultancy

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