Gen Z workers are going to IRL networking events to find friendships

Fatigued by everything virtual, the youngest generation at work are now leaning into in-person networking events to find their tribe.

A large number of Generation Z — born between 1997 and 2012 — entered the workforce during the Covid-19 pandemic and were forced to tune in remotely. U.S. Surgeon General Vivek Murthy even declared a loneliness epidemic in the U.S. in 2023, saying it was especially affecting young people.

Some Gen Z workers are even returning to the office in a bid to expand their network. One recent Freeman survey of nearly 2,000 U.S. adults in professional jobs found that 91% of Gen Z said it would be nice to have a balance of virtual and in-person events to connect with others at their company and in their industry.

“In general, young people seek the social atmosphere because many of them just graduated college or are a few years out and are looking for similar social conveniences,” Dan Schawbel, managing partner at Workplace Intelligence, explained.

Some employers are catching on and trying to fill this gap. Canary Wharf, London’s privately owned financial district, which houses companies like JPMorgan, Barclays, and Morgan Stanley, launched the Wharf Connect networking program in 2024 for professionals in the first 10 years of their career.

Part of the area’s return-to-office drive, Wharf Connect is accessible via an app and offers free events from LinkedIn workshops to pub quizzes. The initiative gets an average of 36 attendees per event and has seen 1,500 RSVPs since its inception last year.

“Part of the return-to-office push is that young people, especially, yearn for those connections, and relative to older generations, they are much more isolated and lonely, so return to office at least partially allows them to meet their coworkers,” Schawbel said.

Last week, I took a trip to Canary Wharf to attend a Xiao Long Bao (dumpling) masterclass at Taiwanese restaurant Din Tai Fung — an event organized by Wharf Connect. Walking into a dining room nestled at the back of the restaurant where the workshop was taking place, I was stunned to see how busy it was with over 50 young professionals in attendance and chattering away.

The event featured a hands-on dumpling-making session with the chef, accompanied by complimentary food and drinks.

CNBC Make It spoke with three Gen Z attendees who shared how structured networking events are helping them find community.

Twenty-five-year-old Vivek Haria, a senior tax advisor at a financial services firm, has attended 10 Wharf Connect events.

Before starting his job in the Canary Wharf area, he was already seeking out social events or communities that would allow him to socialize and mingle outside of the workplace, but they left much to be desired.  

“In fact, there were hardly any, and the ones I went to were pretty much a bit crap. Then I moved here, and this was the last place that I expected these kinds of events. It’s definitely filled that gap. I’ve made some really good friends that I meet up with on weekends as well,” Haria said.

For Sinny Wei, a 27-year-old human resources professional, moving from New Zealand to London meant she didn’t have an established network or community in the U.K.

“For me, personally, it is difficult to make friends, because I’ve moved over here as well, so you’ve really got to put yourself out there a lot. I really do like it [Wharf Connect] for that as well,” she said.

Wei said it’s a good way to socialize informally, with free tickets, food and drinks being a great draw to the events.

“I’ve only been to two events, so maybe if you ask me after three events, I’ll have made some friends by then,” she said.

Haria noted that, although he returned to the office, many of his colleagues weren’t physically at the workplace. The Wharf Connect events makes going to the office worthwhile, because he has something to look forward to in the evenings, he noted.

“So I go into the office as many times a week as I can…working from home after Covid has been a bit s— like I’ll go into the office three or four times a week and most of my team won’t be in,” Haria said.

In fact, a 2023 survey by employee background screening company Checkr, which polled 3,000 U.S. workers, found that 68% of managers were keen to continue remote and hybrid work in 2024, while only 48% of employees felt the same way.

Senior professionals have less motivation to be in the office, according to Schawbel. With more established social lives, less of a need for mentorship, and better home office setups, older professionals are less drawn to the in-person workplace. This is creating a social void for younger workers.

Organized in-person events, from professional networking to speed dating, are in vogue right now, and they are very appealing for Gen Z — some of whom may have underdeveloped social skills.  

“Covid, plus over-reliance on technology equals socially awkward,” Schawbel said. “I’m not saying everyone is socially awkward. I’m just saying it’s a recipe to create socially awkward individuals.”

Activity-focused events enable young people to socialize in a structured environment, rather than forcing them to spark up conversations at random.

Dating giant Hinge is even funding free activity-based social events for young people in London, Los Angeles, and New York to make friends. Another example is social app Time Left, which arranges weekly dinners for strangers to meet up, with over 80,000 strangers brought together in 60 countries each month.

Morayo Adesina, a 25-year-old equity research bank analyst, said that London changed after the Covid-19 pandemic, with many restaurants and bars not staying open as late — making it hard to get out of the house spontaneously.

 “Speed dating has definitely become very popular amongst my friends. I just think in general, there’s been, a real push to have different kinds of events,” she said.

Wharf Connect has been an opportunity for Adesina to meet “a lot of cool people” and try new things. “The events that they put on are quite fun, like it’s not every day that I get to go to Din Tai Fung to do dumpling making or sushi making.”

Schawbel said that for many years, people have over-relied on technology to form connections, such as on dating apps or social media, but the abundance of options has created a sense of overwhelm. The rise of in-person events and the demand for them is a rejection of online culture, he added.

“They’re resisting this digital age, because the digital age has become very cluttered and unreliable, therefore, they’re yearning to connect in person more,” Schawbel said.