Noida CEO shares how GenZ intern made him question workplace hierarchy
A Gen Z employee's casual invitation for a drink led Noida CEO Nitin Verma to reflect on office hierarchy. His LinkedIn post cast the moment as a sign of shifting ideas of respect and professional distance.
A casual invitation from a Gen Z employee has sparked a wider discussion about workplace hierarchy, professionalism and how younger generations view respect. A Noida-based CEO recently shared how a simple question from a team member made him rethink long-held assumptions about authority in the workplace.
Nitin Verma took to LinkedIn to recount an interaction that stayed with him long after it happened. According to Verma, one of his Gen Z employees casually asked him, “Hey Nitin, will you join us for a drink?”
The invitation itself was not what surprised him. It was the reaction from the rest of the team.
“The rest of the team gave him a look. Like he had committed a crime,” Verma wrote.
While he declined the invitation that evening, the incident prompted him to reflect on how different generations perceive workplace relationships. According to Verma, the employee who invited him did not see a CEO sitting in front of him.
“He did not see a CEO. He saw a person. Someone he could casually invite for a drink, the same way he would invite a friend,” he wrote.
In contrast, many of the older employees viewed the interaction through the lens of hierarchy. “The rest of the team saw a hierarchy. A title. A position. A line that should not be crossed.”
Verma said the moment revealed a generational shift in how respect is expressed. For many people raised in more traditional work cultures, respect often meant maintaining distance, carefully choosing words and showing deference to seniors.
“Stand up when seniors enter the room. Choose our words carefully around anyone above our level. Hierarchy was respect,” he explained.
Gen Z, however, appears to approach the concept differently. “They do not respect titles. They respect individuals. If you are kind, real and approachable, you get invited for a drink.”
Initially, Verma admitted, he viewed such informality as a lack of professionalism. Over time, however, he came to see it differently.
See the post:
“I used to think that was a lack of professionalism. Now I think it might be the most honest form of respect there is. Because it is not given out of fear. It is given out of genuine ease.”
Concluding his post, Verma reflected on how hierarchy can sometimes create unnecessary distance. While he turned down the invitation that day, he left readers with a thought that resonated widely online: “I still said no that day. But next time, I might just say yes.”
A casual invitation from a Gen Z employee has sparked a wider discussion about workplace hierarchy, professionalism and how younger generations view respect. A Noida-based CEO recently shared how a simple question from a team member made him rethink long-held assumptions about authority in the workplace.
Nitin Verma took to LinkedIn to recount an interaction that stayed with him long after it happened. According to Verma, one of his Gen Z employees casually asked him, “Hey Nitin, will you join us for a drink?”
The invitation itself was not what surprised him. It was the reaction from the rest of the team.
“The rest of the team gave him a look. Like he had committed a crime,” Verma wrote.
While he declined the invitation that evening, the incident prompted him to reflect on how different generations perceive workplace relationships. According to Verma, the employee who invited him did not see a CEO sitting in front of him.
“He did not see a CEO. He saw a person. Someone he could casually invite for a drink, the same way he would invite a friend,” he wrote.
In contrast, many of the older employees viewed the interaction through the lens of hierarchy. “The rest of the team saw a hierarchy. A title. A position. A line that should not be crossed.”
Verma said the moment revealed a generational shift in how respect is expressed. For many people raised in more traditional work cultures, respect often meant maintaining distance, carefully choosing words and showing deference to seniors.
“Stand up when seniors enter the room. Choose our words carefully around anyone above our level. Hierarchy was respect,” he explained.
Gen Z, however, appears to approach the concept differently. “They do not respect titles. They respect individuals. If you are kind, real and approachable, you get invited for a drink.”
Initially, Verma admitted, he viewed such informality as a lack of professionalism. Over time, however, he came to see it differently.
See the post:
“I used to think that was a lack of professionalism. Now I think it might be the most honest form of respect there is. Because it is not given out of fear. It is given out of genuine ease.”
Concluding his post, Verma reflected on how hierarchy can sometimes create unnecessary distance. While he turned down the invitation that day, he left readers with a thought that resonated widely online: “I still said no that day. But next time, I might just say yes.”
