The majority of passive-aggressive work emails came to employees from their own co-workers, according to a new poll from Mailsuite.
Altogether, 47.69 percent of Americans said they had received a passive-aggressive email in 2024, and 86 percent of those came from within the recipient's own company.
Much of the time, the passive aggression is fueled by generational differences, as well.
Stereotypes around Gen Z might be impacting workplace communication, as 27.96 percent of Gen Z workers said they had received passive-aggressive emails from senior management, according to Mailsuite's survey of 2,000 Americans.
That was far more than any other age group.
In comparison, only 24.83 percent, 17.77 percent and 13.24 percent of Millennials, Gen X and Baby Boomers respectively said the same thing.
"Passive-aggressive emails are just the modern-day equivalent of yelling at the kids to get off your lawn," HR consultant Bryan Driscoll told Newsweek. "Senior management doesn't know how to handle a generation that questions them, so they fire off snarky one-liners in emails instead of leading."
Jennifer Lee Magas, a communications professor at Nova Southeastern, said many of the passive aggression between coworkers arises from differing communication styles.
"Passive-aggressive emails often stem from a clash of communication styles," Magas told Newsweek. "Gen Z values transparency and collaboration, while many senior managers, particularly Gen X, prefer a more hierarchical and directive approach. The result? Miscommunication that feels personal."
Gen Z, who are aged 12 to 27, are some of the newest members of the workforce, and already, some hiring managers have complained about the younger generation being lazy or difficult to work with.
But when it comes to the Gen Z-ers getting the passive-aggressive emails, Driscoll said this reflects a leadership failure rather than a Gen Z problem.
"What's really going on here? Senior leaders are intimidated," Driscoll said. "Gen Z challenges authority, asks questions, and demands clarity, and that scares the pants off a lot of people who built their careers on silence and obedience. Passive-aggressiveness is just a coward's way of saying, 'Stop making me uncomfortable.'"
Moving forward, Driscoll said this results in one of two options. Either Gen Z learns to tolerate their companies and their senior management, or workplaces will be forced to evolve.
"If companies don't adapt, they'll hemorrhage talent," he said. "Gen Z isn't here to play games. They'll take their skills somewhere else as soon as they're able, and that's going to hurt."
Starting in 2025, however, the management teams at different companies might begin to get a bit younger, and Gen Z could find themselves in these leadership roles for the first time.
One in 10 managers next year will be Gen Z, Glassdoor said in its report that was published earlier this month.
"The myth that Gen Z is less active and not as motivated as prior generations is just that, a myth," Alex Beene, a financial literacy instructor for the University of Tennessee at Martin, previously told Newsweek. "The reality is we've seen those in Gen Z that are top employees in terms of productivity and performance be every bit as good as prior generations. It's no surprise to see some of them already entering into management roles."
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