Gen Z and millennial professionals are avoiding phone calls — and paying a price at work

• A new survey of 2,000 young workers by RiseGuide found that 42% avoid phone calls.

• Many Gen Z and Millennial workers said avoiding phone calls cost them opportunities.

• RiseGuide said technology offers people “countless ways to delay real conversations.”

Fear of phone calls can cost young workers wages and career opportunities.

A new survey of 2,000 people Generation Z and Generation Y Personal development app RiseGuide found that 42% of respondents did not return phone calls, while 58% scripted or rehearsed their speeches before giving them.

The consequences can go beyond anxiety. 78% of respondents who avoided verbal conversations said this habit cost them earnings or opportunities.

The findings come at a time when concerns about phone calls are growing. RiseGuide coined the term “callers” for the reluctance to talk on the phone and find workarounds like text, email, and social media messages.

Jaimee Campanella, time strategist and productivity consultant at RiseGuide, said the convenience of technology now gives people “countless ways to delay real conversations” so communication skills don’t improve through practice.

“While text messages, emails, and social media give us time to organize our responses, face-to-face communication requires us to be present in the moment,” Campanella said. “The longer we put off difficult conversations, the scarier they can seem.”

“Unfortunately, avoidance often causes bigger problems than the conversation itself,” Campanella added. “We miss opportunities, strain relationships, and waste unnecessary time and energy worrying about problems that could be resolved through direct discussion.”

Spontaneous calls are more stressful than breakups

Available tough job market But younger employees may be pushing some out of their comfort zones.

Adrian Poon, a Gen Z HR worker trying to transition from temporary contracts to a more permanent position, told Business Insider via text message that he only gets over his anxiety about taking calls when he’s “in job application mode.” He usually doesn’t pick up the phone unless it’s a friend calling.

When he gets a call from a number he doesn’t have in his contact list, Poon said, “I mentally perceive it as a blind unboxing.”

Poon said that although he is actively looking for a job, he has never cold-called a recruiter and usually prefers to connect through other means. Poon says a pre-planned meeting with a clear agenda also helps.

“It means talking more to people in general, especially if they’re busy people: I need to know what to ask,” Poon said of calling others, including friends. “It’s like I’m figuring out what to tell them and what to ask so I don’t waste my time with them.”

GenZ and millennials have a complex relationship with their devices, especially their smartphones. While younger employees often prefer texting to talking, many are also trying to spend less time on their devices. More people are doing digital detoxes part of their lives they turn to app blockers like Brick or “stupid phones“to obstruct screen time.

Being more conscious about screen time doesn’t necessarily mean teens are willing to pick up the phone: One in 10 respondents to RiseGuide’s survey said a spontaneous call was the most stressful form of communication for them, more so than a breakup or job interview.

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