“Hi, This Is My Mom…” Calls With Gen Z Bosses, and Why a Little Laughter (and Outside Time) Still Fixes a Lot

Sunday Funday

A new survey making the rounds suggests that nearly half of Gen Z ‘regularly’ has mom call their boss. I’ll give you a second to let your eyelids return from the back of your skull. 😂

Now before we send a strongly worded email on letterhead that says “HR is not homeroom,” let’s take a breath. Because this very modern headline pairs beautifully with one of the funniest conversations I’ve had on the podcast, my chat with Chip Leighton, author of What Time Is Noon? - a collection of real teen texts so gloriously earnest you can’t help but love the kids sending them.

Chip’s book is a mirror, and the reflection is hilarious. Teenagers, with phones in hand, regularly lob questions that no human asked in 1992 because, well, there was no text message to catch the question in the wild. “Where do wild dogs get their nails clipped?” “Do I layer the stamps?” “Dad, when I wake up, I better see French toast.” And, of course, the titular classic: “What time is noon?”

So what happens between “what time is noon?” and “my mom will be contacting your manager”? Honestly, not as much as you think, and that’s good news. It means we can course-correct with equal parts humor, practice, and a dash of outdoors-grown grit.

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1) Laugh First, Then Teach

One of my favorite things Chip said was that the real advice for the teen years is simple: laugh a lot. The texting era preserves moments that used to evaporate. In the past, a kid would whisper to a roommate, “Is ‘a quarter to five’ the same as 4:45?” Now the question is screen-printed, timestamped, and forwarded to 4 million of Chip’s friends.

Are kids getting “worse”? No. They’re just documented.

When a survey says “Mom is dialing the boss,” it reads alarming. But I wonder how many of those calls begin with a kid who’s never had to call the electrician, book a dentist appointment, or negotiate a shift swap. These are muscles and if they’ve only ever done curls with the pink dumbbells, the 25-pounder called “talk to your manager” is going to wobble.

Humor diffuses shame. When your teen texts, “How do I get the clothes out of the washer… with my hands?”, it’s a teachable moment, not an indictment. Laugh, then show them what a lint trap is.

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