Britain’s Growing Phone-Call Phobia

The call, it seems, isn’t being answered—not if it’s on a younger worker's phone, at least.

In a trend that has become firmly global, a recent survey showed that fewer than one in four UK residents in the 18-to-34 age bracket ever pick up a voice or audio call—particularly if they don’t recognize or aren’t expecting it. Up to 70% of the cohort prefer texting to a phone call, the same report states. “For this generation, to text is the same as speaking to someone,” says Sonamara Jeffreys, Korn Ferry’s president for EMEA.

That, of course, isn’t the case for older generations, which raises concerns that a generation gap in communications could lead to, well, miscommunication on important matters. Even as new ways of connecting are emerging, some issues are too, Jeffreys says, communication skills being one of them. A basic example: Not everyone understands that ending a phone or Zoom call politely can help build working relationships with colleagues or customers. “These skills aren’t where they should be,” she says.

The change is understandable. Gen Z were “the first digital natives,” according to a separate report. Never having used landlines, they’ve embraced smartphones and new ways of doing things, says Emma Burgess, vice president for client resources for Korn Ferry’s Recruitment Process Outsourcing practice in EMEA. “Gen Z are the ones that are transforming the workplace,” she observes. 

This embrace of new technology has also created unspoken new rules. When a group of recent graduates was asked why they won’t answer calls they’re not expecting, they said the number-one reason was safety, in particular from cyber scammers looking to capture voiceprints to steal cash. The second reason they cited was to avoid interruptions. The third was to control communication.

Gen Z isn’t the whole story. The COVID-19 pandemic also greatly influenced how the rest of us communicate, says Tim Manasseh, Korn Ferry’s senior partner, EMEA, for global consumer products. Post-COVID, workers got used to videoconferencing apps like Teams and Zoom, which require people to schedule a time to meet. On top of that, workers at the office now spend more time sending emails and using WhatsApp to connect with colleagues and friends, he says. “It wasn’t just a gradual shift,” he says. “We’ve all had to move at the same pace.”

Manasseh points to other challenges for videoconferences, such as people who won’t turn on their cameras. Bandwidth issues are frequent. Some people sign off abruptly; others pay more attention to their phones than to the meeting. Small talk and social graces haven’t yet evolved for these new mediums, he says. “Is quitting the meeting without saying goodbye the right way to leave?” 

It's not like no one has noticed the emergence of these communication issues. One of Britain’s top schools, Eton College, recently banned smartphones, affirming that the technology was impairing students’ ability to learn how to communicate. Phones with text and/or voice functions are permitted, however.

Gen-Z employees in the UK seem to understand they lack phone skills for the workplace, particularly when dealing with customers, Burgess says. They recognize the need for training, and they want to be trained. The good news: Some savvy executives at large customer-care units are training their staff to use the phone to communicate. “It is only in their personal lives that Gen Z doesn’t want to use direct communications,” she says.

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