Fatigued by everything virtual, the youngest generation at work are now leaning into in-person networking events to find their tribe.
A large number of Generation Z — born between 1997 and 2012 — entered the workforce during the Covid-19 pandemic and were forced to tune in remotely. U.S. Surgeon General Vivek Murthy even declared a loneliness epidemic in the U.S. in 2023, saying it was especially affecting young people.
Some Gen Z workers are even returning to the office in a bid to expand their network. One recent Freeman survey of nearly 2,000 U.S. adults in professional jobs found that 91% of Gen Z said it would be nice to have a balance of virtual and in-person events to connect with others at their company and in their industry.
“In general, young people seek the social atmosphere because many of them just graduated college or are a few years out and are looking for similar social conveniences,” Dan Schawbel, managing partner at Workplace Intelligence, explained.
Some employers are catching on and trying to fill this gap. Canary Wharf, London’s privately owned financial district, which houses companies like JPMorgan, Barclays, and Morgan Stanley, launched the Wharf Connect networking program in 2024 for professionals in the first 10 years of their career.
Part of the area’s return-to-office drive, Wharf Connect is accessible via an app and offers free events from LinkedIn workshops to pub quizzes. The initiative gets an average of 36 attendees per event and has seen 1,500 RSVPs since its inception last year.
“Part of the return-to-office push is that young people, especially, yearn for those connections, and relative to older generations, they are much more isolated and lonely, so return to office at least partially allows them to meet their coworkers,” Schawbel said.
Last week, I took a trip to Canary Wharf to attend a Xiao Long Bao (dumpling) masterclass at Taiwanese restaurant Din Tai Fung — an event organized by Wharf Connect. Walking into a dining room nestled at the back of the restaurant where the workshop was taking place, I was stunned to see how busy it was with over 50 young professionals in attendance and chattering away.
The event featured a hands-on dumpling-making session with the chef, accompanied by complimentary food and drinks.
CNBC Make It spoke with three Gen Z attendees who shared how structured networking events are helping them find community.
source: cnbc.com
