Millennial managers share their bizarre encounters with Gen Z’s parents

There are certain things you expect to encounter as a manager—tight deadlines, late deliverables, maybe even the occasional team bonding gone wrong. What you don’t expect is to be cornered by a parent demanding to know why their adult child wasn’t chosen for that one project. Or being video-called mid-meeting to explain why someone’s kid won’t be logging in today—spoiler alert: it’s because they’re busy chasing their dog down the road (yes, that’s a real story).

The increasing influx of Gen Z in the workplace has brought with it many fresh perspectives and innovative ideas. But it has also (somehow?) brought their parents. Hovering in the background, calling HR, demanding LoRs (Letters of Recommendation)—a practice best left to school counsellors, TBH. I’d experienced it myself while inducting newcomers to my team, when a certain parent’s relentless WhatsApp updates made me wonder if I’d accidentally become a school admissions officer. But I digress.

To make sure I wasn’t alone in this strange new parental frontier, I asked fellow millennial managers to share the wildest workplace run-ins they’ve had with Gen Z parents. And believe me, they did not disappoint.

“Her mom emailed our CEO for a Letter of Recommendation.”—Ritika, 33

“We had an intern whose mom took it upon herself to email our then-CEO asking for a recommendation letter for her daughter. We’d already given her an internship certificate—something we were very clear about from the start. But the mother insisted that her daughter had done far more and deserved an LoR. When we refused, she went on an email hunt, writing to every senior person she could find. Eventually, we gave in just to make it stop. But we also blacklisted the intern. It wasn’t worth the drama.”

“The parent said she couldn’t send her daughter to the event... despite cab access.”—Meher, 31

“We were organising an evening event, and as always, cabs were arranged for female employees. Still, this intern’s parent called to say they wouldn’t allow her to attend because the venue was ‘too far’ and travel time would be long. So yes, we’re planning and executing full-scale events—with absentee notes signed by mummy.”

“This happened with one of our Gen Z interns. She joined for a week and then vanished. But during her short tenure, her mom video-called me during working hours from their balcony and said, ‘My daughter can’t join her review meeting right now,’ then panned the camera to show her daughter chasing their dog down the street. And just to drive the point home, (the following actually happened) the girl tripped and fell mid-chase. I had to control my laughter, smile, nod, and just say ‘understood, ma’am.’ What else can you do?”

“Her mom asked for leave... to buy a chair.”—Rukshar, 32 

“A Gen Z employee’s mom called me to say her daughter needed a day off to buy a chair and table. ‘Her posture is getting bad while working from home,’ she explained. I mean... is she wrong? No. Is it a manager-approved leave policy? Also, no.”

To be clear, there’s nothing wrong with parents caring. But part of entering the workforce means learning how to self-advocate, make mistakes, and yes, sometimes even get rejected. Gen Z is redefining work culture in exciting ways, but it might be time to draw the line between home and office. This isn’t school. You don’t get a sick note signed by Mom.

Lead image: Netflix

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