- People aren't really making friends at work anymore.
- A negotiation coach says some workers don't greet each other before diving into work, WSJ reports.
Some employees would rather skip all the pleasantries and get straight to business when talking to their coworkers.
Managers have been complaining about lack of soft skills in the subordinates, and author and negotiation coach Moshe Cohen told Wall Street Journal that he's had clients complain that they've had to teach people to greet colleagues before diving into a topic.
"The idea of slowing down, taking the time, being genuine, trying to actually establish some sort of connection with the other person—that's really missing," Cohen said, according to WSJ.
And, that communication breakdown could be both a cause and result of the loneliness felt by young professionals in a post-pandemic working world. Casual chats in the office have been replaced with Slack pings and Microsoft Teams notifications, and it has led workers to seek social fulfillment elsewhere.
Those personal messages can make workplace relationships feel less transactional, and experts say they're necessary for humans.
"Humans are by nature social creatures, and in the past, we have naturally formed groups and bonds in-person via work and social activities," Hubert Palan, the CEO of the product-management company Productboard, previously told Business Insider.
But, in a world of "quiet quitting," seasoned employees are putting less effort into standing out at work and instead are prioritizing life outside of the office.
Meanwhile, new hires are paying to learn how to send an email or carry on office small talk. Some are even relying on their parents to lurk in the background during virtual job interviews for support.
No matter the reason, the social disconnect happening in many offices indicates a lack of trust, Cohen said, according to WSJ. Cohen didn't immediately respond to BI's request for comment.
It's unclear if in-person work would solve such social distance, but major companies have cracked down and called workers back into the office.