Gee & Ursula: Are young people missing something if they never work in an office?

Many young people today will likely have a work experience that none of us could have dreamed up just a few years ago. The Wall Street Journal points out that there are many Gen Z workers who, even if they have an “office job,” will never work in an office. But are they losing out?

“Big time,” KIRO Newsradio Host Ursula Reutin said. “I look at my son, my youngest — he did an internship for a great local company last summer. The only time he stepped foot in the building was to pick up his equipment, and to return his equipment. The rest of the time, he was working from his childhood bedroom.”

“All the meetings, instead of wearing a suit, which they would normally do if they were in the building, he’s practically in his pajamas,” she added.

“You’re selling me on this experience,” producer Andrew Lanier chimed in.

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Ursula believes there is a lot of growth to be had through face-to-face interactions with other people. The virtual world was forced upon us to be safe during the pandemic, she says, but most companies now have a chance to bring employees back in full, or at least in a hybrid format.

“I look forward to that,” she said about a return to the office. “[My son] is going to be working at the same company that he did his internship with, and I’m keeping my fingers crossed that he will have that opportunity to work in person.”

Host Gee Scott agrees with Ursula that you would be missing out by never coming into the office.

“You’re missing out on just life, the social aspect of life,” he said. “Not everybody is outgoing, not everybody likes to be around people, some people would rather just stay in a house, in a childhood bedroom, and do work. That’s fine. However, the other side of that is that’s a small percentage of jobs.”

“Not everybody can make a living without other people,” he continued. “If you can, that’s great. But the majority of us make our money, our income for our families, [in a role that] involves interactions with others.”

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Gee says we do so much with technology that could be face-to-face — like texting our kids to come down to dinner, texting family members or seeing what they’re up to on social media instead of giving them a call, or even instead of finding a time to see them in person.

“We are already antisocial, this is adding to the antisocial problem,” he said.

“Also this feeling, are you going to be seen by the people who need to see you to be able to advance in your company? How about the interactions that you have, the brainstorming that you have, the energizing that goes on and synergizing that goes on between colleagues,” Ursula added. “I think that would be lacking.”

Andrew thinks it might be a generational gap that leans toward different answers.

“I think it’s almost an older worker problem, because I think young people are very accustomed to communicating entirely through digital means, and they can build very meaningful social structures, friendships, networking, and relationships that way,” he said. “I think the older generation in the office is not used to doing that, and so you have a generational disconnect.”

Listen to the Gee and Ursula Show weekday mornings from 9 a.m. – 12 p.m. on KIRO Newsradio, 97.3 FM. Subscribe to the podcast here.