Similar to Gen Z, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman isn’t fond of using capital letters—but experts say the ‘lazy’ tech habit could harm their careers

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While he’s a billionaire and one of tech’s most influential leaders as CEO of ChatGPT creator OpenAI, Sam Altman’s communication style mirrors a Gen Z text thread: no capital letters, minimal punctuation, and a deliberately casual tone.

revealed through his shows that Altman often sticks to all lowercase. Even in high-stakes moments—like during the chaotic November 2023 period when he was . 

The stylistic choice stood in stark contrast to other tech power players in the same exchanges, like CEO and OpenAI chairman , whose messages show more traditional attention to grammar and syntax.

Browsing Altman’s social feeds today reveals the same mix: some posts are formally structured, while others don’t include a single capital letter. It’s a habit he on back in 2023:

“mildly interesting observation: i always use capital letters when writing by hand, but usually only type them when doing something that somehow reminds me of being in school.”

For the 40-year-old, the lowercase look may be a personal quirk with little professional downside—but for Gen Z workers, experts say refusing to put in the small effort of pressing the shift key can carry real career consequences.

“When I see writing without capitalization it seems sloppy, unprofessional, and a little lazy,” Tara Ceranic Salinas, a professor of business ethics at the University of San Diego’s Krauss School of Business, told . “How hard is it to capitalize?”

lowercase at work: when is the gen z habit actually acceptable?

If you’ve ever texted with a Gen Z or Gen Alpha member, you’ve probably noticed capital letters and formal sentence structure can feel almost taboo. Writing in fully polished prose can come across as overly intense or serious.

Young people find comfort in the informality all-lowercase communication conveys—making every conversation feel like it’s with a close friend, according to Salinas. But bringing that tone straight into the workforce can backfire.

“Unfortunately, the people you work with can’t all be treated like friends, and there needs to be a bit of an adjustment in communication style,” she added.

Some young workers may already be learning that lesson the hard way. Nearly six in 10 employers say they have —citing lack of professionalism, organization, and communication skills among the reasons.

The rise of has further blurred the boundary between professional and personal life, making informal grammar more common across all generations on platforms like Slack and Teams.

“There is a standard to uphold for work-appropriate conversation and showing respect to colleagues—typing “u” instead of “you” isn’t inappropriate; it’s a sign of work behavior blending into everyday life,” Gen Zer Zada Brown, a brand strategist at Ogilvy NY, told .

“If workers can join a Teams meeting while driving their kid to a doctor’s appointment, using informal grammar or online acronyms doesn’t seem like such a major transgression.”

Still, workplace norms aren’t universal. In some offices, informalities flow from the top down, so it’s best to wait to see if your boss or senior leader uses them first.

“If you work somewhere the CEO uses Slack, follow their lead,” Salinas said. “If they capitalize, do the same. If they use mostly emojis, emoji them right back.”

Facing a tough job market, Gen Z are breaking up with their lowercase habits

Recent college graduates are facing a amid economic uncertainty and rapid AI-driven changes. That makes standing out—for the right reasons—more important than ever.

Using improper grammar in cold emails, resumes, or cover letters could mean an application

“The message it sends is that the person wasn’t willing to spend effort to hold down the shift key,” Salinas said. “From there, the potential employer may extrapolate other ideas about the individual; if they can’t do this simple thing to make an impression, what does this say about how they would behave at work?”

Some Gen Z workers appear to be taking that advice to heart already—and rethinking their digital-native habits.

“Why are we whispering? This goes specifically for texting,” one Gen Z TikToker said in a about disabling auto-capitalization. “Turn it back on.”

“I just turned auto caps back on,” another . “I’m officially an adult.”

Still, not everyone is on board.

“i refuse!!!!” one commenter wrote, earning more than 19,000 likes. “only if i’m sending an email or texting someone important.”