They were really upset that their coworkers wanted to meet the baby.

How much should you care about your coworkers’ personal lives? Some Gen Zers think that their coworkers asking any questions about their lives outside of work is a total invasion of privacy and professionalism, which I don’t think is fair. If you spend eight hours a day with your coworkers for most of the days of the week, you would be remiss if you didn’t know basic facts about them and their lives. Who knows? Maybe your coworker will turn into your best friend, or your life partner! That used to happen all of the time, back when we didn’t meet our friends on TikTok and our partners on Hinge. 

Engaging in small talk and knowing general things about your coworkers is a healthy way to maintain a friendly dynamic in the office. However, you should not have to ask or answer questions about things that make you uncomfortable. You can bring up the fact that you have a boyfriend, but it might be strange if your coworker asked you about your dating life apropos of nothing. In general, talking about family and friends with your coworkers is a pretty neutral water-cooler topic. Who on earth would be offended by hearing about your son’s little league game? 

For some childfree people, seeing other people’s children makes them fly into a fit of rage that they can’t get out of until the child is removed from their sight. The employee in this story is one of those childfree people.