In addition, young people feel hesitant to pick up a call because they associate it with an emergency. Something else that provokes telephobia is the fear of being judged. Experts also add that young people simply don’t have the tools and confidence to use their phones in a formal manner, which is unfortunate, as it’s quite important for their careers.
To help combat telephobia, one college even launched a class where students could tackle their fear of making or taking telephone calls. Some businesses are trying to do that as well, but it’s hard to break a habit that many young people grew up with.
“We have been doing extensive training, incentives, call observing with our veteran reps, and even hired a business psychologist,” Casey Halloran, CEO and cofounder of online travel agency Namu Travel, said. “After more than two years of this struggle, we’re nearly to the point of throwing up hands and embracing SMS and WebChat versus continuing to fight an uphill battle.”
That said, not all young people avoid phone calls like the plague. Erin Lynne Mantz, vice president of employee engagement at communications agency Zeno Group, has shared that she’s found herself on calls with Gen Zers who sound “remarkably confident on the phone, even more so than my own Gen X peers did when we were early in our careers.”
“Maybe we aren’t giving Zs enough credit,” she said.
