• Home
  • Latest
  • Fortune 500
  • Finance
  • Tech
  • Leadership
  • Lifestyle
  • Rankings
  • Multimedia

Trendingnow

1

Egg companies made $1.22 billion in profit off a $6 carton — now they’re buying their way out of a price-fixing case with 53 million donated eggs

2

Meet the Zillennials: The luckiest micro-generation in the workforce, born between 1993 and 1998

3

Economists have found an answer to slowing cognitive decline: Avoid retiring early, study finds

1

Egg companies made $1.22 billion in profit off a $6 carton — now they’re buying their way out of a price-fixing case with 53 million donated eggs

2

Meet the Zillennials: The luckiest micro-generation in the workforce, born between 1993 and 1998

3

Economists have found an answer to slowing cognitive decline: Avoid retiring early, study finds
SuccessGen Z

Corporate leaders have a message for Gen Z: Get to the office, or miss out on your future career

By
Jane Thier
Jane Thier
Down Arrow Button Icon
By
Jane Thier
Jane Thier
Down Arrow Button Icon
July 13, 2023, 7:30 AM ET
woman happy at office
In-person connections are crucial for early-career workers, a chorus of execs say.Thomas Barwick—Getty Images
Add Fortune on Google for similar content.

Many bosses will tell Gen Z this much: Working from home all the time just doesn’t compare with the connections you can make and the education you can glean from working side by side. The latest proponent of this idea comes from an unlikely source: Slack cofounder and chief technology officer Cal Henderson. 

Recommended Video

In an interview with Insider, Henderson said he understood why scores of Silicon Valley giants—including Salesforce, Slack’s parent company—are insisting Gen Z return to their cubicles, lest they hamstring their career prospects and cut off their best chance of mentorship. “You learn by watching somebody who’s more experienced than you do the job,” Henderson said. “You sit next to them, you ride along on a sales phone call, you watch a finance person put together a spreadsheet in the middle of the night.” 

Granted, he acknowledged, heading to the office is only really meaningful when others join you: “It’s a very different experience if your VP isn’t there in the office with you as you work overnight on something,” he said.

Odds are, especially in a traditional workplace, your VP is there—and they’re wondering why you’re not. Henderson is just the latest voice joining the chorus of leaders asserting that the home is no place for a young worker, who is better off sowing the seeds for career growth from their office desk. 

Back in January, JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon straight-up said that remote work “doesn’t work” for young workers. And, last year, Jefferies CEO Rich Handler said remote work is fine for a job, but that building a career requires engaging with coworkers in the office. “The reality is, if you are in the office, you get pulled into a lot of interesting ‘real time’ situations because physical presence matters,” he told Fortune.

Henderson is of a like mindset, who said that moments of formative human interaction are harder to replicate in “a hybrid way”—despite the fact that Slack’s primary offering is the ability to connect seamlessly with workers and carry out productive teamwork across continents. 

These kinds of connections are crucial for people who are developing their professional lives. If nothing else, most bosses fall prey to proximity bias, in which they often unintentionally give preference and greater advancement opportunities to the workers they see in the office most often. As NYU professor Scott Galloway said in May, any time young people spend in their apartments is inversely correlated with career, social, and romantic success. “You should never be at home,” Galloway said. “You need to be out of the house.” 

More Gen Zers are on board with the office than you think

Despite billionaire investor and Shark Tank star Kevin O’Leary saying that many Gen Zers have “no intention” of working in an office—“They never have, they never will. That’s just the way it’s gonna be”—the “Gen Z is better off in the office stance” may not be as unpopular as it seems. More and more, the youngest workers are proving that’s not the way it’s gonna be.

Despite walkouts, union protests, and even Change.org petitions among the many workers opposed to coming back to the office, plenty of young workers agree with their bosses that in-person work is crucial to their advancement.

Gen Z is more eager to go to the office than other age groups, as they largely prefer to train and onboard in person, find they’re more productive there, and are looking to hone their skills and connect with their peers. Perhaps they’re well aware that, having yet to work in an office full-time at any point, their soft skills—like conflict resolution and networking—may be lacking and in-person work may be the best way of bolstering them.

There’s also the fact that most Gen Zers feel disconnected when they work from home. “People want to grow quickly, [and] mentorship—being able to connect with the manager or director on a more personal level—is extremely important,” Oliver Pour, a 2022 college graduate, told Fortune last year.

Of course, not all Gen Zers want to be in the office. Henderson noted that workers who started their careers during the pandemic—learning the ropes about office politics and executive communications through Zoom—nonetheless figured out how to do their jobs and are “just as productive as anybody else.”

But the biggest share of in-person workers at Slack are “by far” the interns, he said, which is exactly how it should be. “It’s their first experience of work, and many are living in small apartments or flat shares.” Those are hardly ideal settings for building lasting connections—within or beyond work.

The Fortune 500 Innovation Forum will convene Fortune 500 executives, U.S. policy officials, top founders, and thought leaders to help define what’s next for the American economy, Nov. 16-17 in Detroit. Apply here.
About the Author
By Jane Thier
LinkedIn iconTwitter icon
See full bioRight Arrow Button Icon
Add Fortune on Google for similar content.

Latest in Success

Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025

Most Popular

Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Fortune Secondary Logo
Rankings
  • 100 Best Companies
  • Fortune 500
  • Global 500
  • Fortune 500 Europe
  • Most Powerful Women
  • World's Most Admired Companies
  • See All Rankings
  • Lists Calendar
Sections
  • Finance
  • Fortune Crypto
  • Features
  • Leadership
  • Health
  • Commentary
  • Success
  • Retail
  • Mpw
  • Tech
  • Lifestyle
  • CEO Initiative
  • Asia
  • Politics
  • Conferences
  • Europe
  • Newsletters
  • Personal Finance
  • Environment
  • Magazine
  • Education
Customer Support
  • Frequently Asked Questions
  • Customer Service Portal
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms Of Use
  • Single Issues For Purchase
  • International Print
Commercial Services
  • Advertising
  • Fortune Brand Studio
  • Fortune Analytics
  • Fortune Conferences
  • Business Development
  • Group Subscriptions
About Us
  • About Us
  • Press Center
  • Work At Fortune
  • Terms And Conditions
  • Site Map
  • About Us
  • Press Center
  • Work At Fortune
  • Terms And Conditions
  • Site Map
  • Facebook icon
  • Twitter icon
  • LinkedIn icon
  • Instagram icon
  • Pinterest icon

Latest in Success

Elon Musk with a black DOGE hat
SuccessWealth
Even as Elon Musk calls philanthropy ‘very hard,’ every day Americans gave a record $617 billion—despite feeling the squeeze over the cost of living
By Preston ForeJuly 4, 2026
27 minutes ago
‘It’s just his AI and my AI going back and forth’: The workplace phenomenon that’s undermining human relationships
Future of WorkWorkforce
‘It’s just his AI and my AI going back and forth’: The workplace phenomenon that’s undermining human relationships
By Jacqueline MunisJuly 3, 2026
17 hours ago
Chad Hurley and Steven Chen wearing suits
SuccessWealth
YouTube’s founders split over $650 million when they sold to Google in 2006—had they held out, they could have taken a slice of $550 billion
By Preston ForeJuly 3, 2026
17 hours ago
2
Commentary250 Years of Innovation
America’s secret weapon isn’t just innovation — It’s the freedom to fail
By Keith KrachJuly 3, 2026
21 hours ago
Woman sitting in front of her house
SuccessWorld Cup
Airbnb offered $750 to Americans to open up their homes during the World Cup—mostly women took it up and now they’re earning thousands
By Emma BurleighJuly 3, 2026
22 hours ago
z
AIdisruption
Meet the Zillennials: The luckiest micro-generation in the workforce, born between 1993 and 1998
By Nick LichtenbergJuly 3, 2026
1 day ago

Most Popular

Egg companies made $1.22 billion in profit off a $6 carton — now they’re buying their way out of a price-fixing case with 53 million donated eggs
Law
Egg companies made $1.22 billion in profit off a $6 carton — now they’re buying their way out of a price-fixing case with 53 million donated eggs
By Wyatte Grantham-Philips and The Associated PressJuly 2, 2026
2 days ago
Meet the Zillennials: The luckiest micro-generation in the workforce, born between 1993 and 1998
AI
Meet the Zillennials: The luckiest micro-generation in the workforce, born between 1993 and 1998
By Nick LichtenbergJuly 3, 2026
1 day ago
Economists have found an answer to slowing cognitive decline: Avoid retiring early, study finds
Economy
Economists have found an answer to slowing cognitive decline: Avoid retiring early, study finds
By Sasha RogelbergJuly 2, 2026
2 days ago
On Wall Street, analysts increasingly don’t believe the U.S. government’s 'misleading' job numbers
Economy
On Wall Street, analysts increasingly don’t believe the U.S. government’s 'misleading' job numbers
By Jim EdwardsJuly 3, 2026
20 hours ago
$25 billion CEO says one-hour interviews are a waste of time—he puts candidates through six hours of tests and wants them to order wine at lunch
Success
$25 billion CEO says one-hour interviews are a waste of time—he puts candidates through six hours of tests and wants them to order wine at lunch
By Orianna Rosa RoyleJuly 3, 2026
1 day ago
Current price of oil as of July 2, 2026
Personal Finance
Current price of oil as of July 2, 2026
By Joseph HostetlerJuly 2, 2026
2 days ago

© 2026 Fortune Media IP Limited. All Rights Reserved. Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy | CA Notice at Collection and Privacy Notice | Do Not Sell/Share My Personal Information
FORTUNE is a trademark of Fortune Media IP Limited, registered in the U.S. and other countries. FORTUNE may receive compensation for some links to products and services on this website. Offers may be subject to change without notice.