A casual invitation from a young employee has sparked a wider conversation about workplace hierarchy, professionalism and how younger generations view respect in the office.
Nitin Verma, a Noida-based CEO, recently shared on LinkedIn how a simple interaction with a Gen Z employee made him rethink long-held assumptions about authority at work.
According to Verma, the employee approached him and asked, “Hey Nitin, will you join us for a drink?”
While the invitation itself did not surprise him, the reaction from others in the office did. Verma wrote that the rest of the team "gave him a look. Like he had committed a crime."
Although he declined the invitation that evening, the incident stayed with him. Reflecting on the exchange, Verma said the employee who invited him did not appear to be thinking about job titles or organisational hierarchy.
Instead, he wrote, “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.”
In contrast, Verma noted that many of the older employees interpreted the interaction differently. As he put it, “The rest of the team saw a hierarchy. A title. A position. A line that should not be crossed.”
The episode, he said, revealed a broader generational shift in how respect is understood in the workplace.
Describing the culture many older professionals grew up with, Verma explained that respect was often linked to hierarchy and formality. He recalled the unwritten rules of traditional workplaces, writing, “Stand up when seniors enter the room. Choose our words carefully around anyone above our level. Hierarchy was respect.”
Gen Z employees, however, seem to view respect through a different lens. Verma argued that younger workers place greater value on personal qualities than professional titles. “They do not respect titles. They respect individuals. If you are kind, real and approachable, you get invited for a drink,” he wrote.
Verma admitted that he once viewed such informality as unprofessional. Over time, however, his perspective changed. He wrote, “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.”
His post has resonated with many professionals online, prompting discussions about changing workplace norms and the evolving relationship between managers and employees.
Concluding his reflection, Verma suggested that hierarchy can sometimes create unnecessary distance between people at work. While he turned down the invitation that day, he hinted that he might respond differently in the future, writing: “I still said no that day. But next time, I might just say yes.”
Published on: Jun 24, 2026 9:00 AM IST
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