The 'double bind' is a big mistake employers make that's turning off Gen Z staff

Jeanie Y. Chang, a workplace mental health expert, said one of the most toxic traits of a company is to give contradicting messages.

• Workplace mental health expert Jeanie Y. Chang said "double binds" are highly frustrating for Gen Z.
• Bosses create a double bind when claiming to value one thing, but undermining it in practice.
• An example would be claiming to value work-life balance while discouraging staff from taking leave.

Gen Zers are known for having high workplace demands. They want diverse employers that offer a good work-life balance, remote positions, and solid mental health policies.

Some are even choosing to hold off and stay unemployed until they can get them all in one gig.

But it could be that they value honesty above all.

Jeanie Y. Chang, a workplace mental health expert, told Business Insider that one of the most toxic traits a company can have is inconsistent messaging.

This, she said, is what's known as a "double bind," and it drives Zoomers mad.

A double bind, Chang explained, is "when you are giving two or more contradicting messages at the same time."

"It's really used for clinical purposes, but it actually applies in the workplace," Chang said. "So a lot of this is brand new. We're now starting to go, wait a second, this is distressing."

One example would be a company that claims to want its employees to stay off their computers after 6 p.m. — but the CEO constantly sends emails after hours.

Another is when managers ask for frank feedback and then penalize the person who raises issues.

"It is a distressing form of communication," Chang said. "It's very paralyzing."

Damned-if-you-do-damned-if-you-don't

Dale Wilsher, an executive life coach and personal development expert, wrote in a piece for Forbes in March that Gregory Bateson, an anthropologist, coined the term "double bind" in 1956 to describe impossible situations where you will be penalized for every available choice.

Wilsher noted that women seemed to be particularly impacted by these "damned-if-you-do-damned-if-you-don't" scenarios.

For example, a 2022 survey of 2,000 women aged 19 to 65 commissioned by the beauty company TRESemmé and The Representation Project found that 68% of respondents reported experiencing a double bind. Out of those who felt this way, 80% reported exhaustion, and 64% said they never felt good enough.

In the survey, Gen Zers were the most likely cohort to have been in a double bind (84%).

A common double bind that masquerades as a workplace perk is unlimited PTO, Chang said.

Gen Zers will see unlimited time off as just that, and book lots of it. They often run into issues when they are told they can't actually take all the vacation days they planned.

"I see it especially now when young folks are saying, 'Hey, you said that we have paid time off for unlimited PTO,' and then they'll be the ones really taking advantage of it," Chang said.

"Then the leader going, 'Oh, no, no, no, no, you can't take this time off.' And the Gen Zer is like, wait a second, but you just said I have unlimited PTO."

This kind of culture can be a big reason Gen Zers quit and job hop, said Chang.

According to a 2023 survey by the management consulting firm Oliver Wyman, Zoomers will quit jobs they find unfulfilling even if they don't have a backup plan.

Previous generations didn't question it

Chang said she doesn't necessarily blame managers for double binds, saying it is a trait of traditional workplaces.

As a Gen Xer, Chang said she experienced a "surviving mentality" at work.

She and her colleagues experienced burnout, she said, but didn't have the language to describe it.

They were subjected to double binds, she said, but figured it was just the way work is. Gen Zers are now coming along and describing this mixed messaging as they see it — "corporate gaslighting."

"People my age and up didn't talk about mental health," Chang said, which is why older generations can be a bit "put off" when a young employee asks for a mental health day.

"They think they're being taken advantage of," Chang said. "At the end of the day, you can't blame those older folks because they don't know what that is. So it's a learning curve, but all sides have to be open."

Gen Zers have adopted a "thriving mentality" when it comes to life and work, Chang said, which all generations can learn from.

"But again, you learn from each other," she added. "No one generation is better than the next."