A woman dubbing herself 'The Phone Lady' is charging $480 an hour to help Gen-Z workers overcome their fear of talking on the phone.
Mary Jane Copps, who has coached 15,000 people since starting The Phone Lady company in 2006, claims that 'phone phobia' is most prominent among Gen Z, who were never taught how to hold proper conversations over the phone.
The problem has gotten to the point where receiving a phone call without warning is viewed as 'an act of aggression' among the younger generation, according to the Irish Times.
To combat this, Copps charges nearly $500 an hour for one-on-one coaching, $365 for 30-minute webinars as part of a seven-part program, and $3,500 a day for corporate workshops, Business Insider reports.
Copps told DailyMail.com that while some of the advice may be 'obvious,' many people suffer from phone anxiety and need to be reminded of the basics.
Mary Jane Copps, known as the phone lady, has coached 15,000 workers on how to communicate properly through the phone. She charges $480-an-hour for one-on-one coaching, $365 for 30-minute webinars, and corporate workshops going at $3,500-a-day
One YouTube video of her tips shows The Phone Lady telling her clients that the key to a successful phone conversation is to simply 'use your name and smile.'
'Always when you answer the phone, use your name and smile,' Copps says. 'As when you meet someone in person, you want to share your name.'
'That's the beginning of building relationship[s].'
Copps, who is based in Nova Scotia, boasts about her ability to create 'excellent communication' skills on her website, saying she's worked with many businesses, non-profits and government organizations in North America to train young workers.
A former real estate journalist, Copps joined the marketing world in 1987 at age 29, noting that when she made her fist sales call back then she had 'no knowledge of how the conversation should be structured.'
She claims that the problem persists now for Gen Z, the digital natives who are most used to communicating via text messages then phone calls.
'The Blackberry came out in the 90s, and we've been talking with our thumbs ever since... so Gen Z have never grew up with the phone skills others did,' she said.
'In my generation, the phone was on the wall in everyone's house. We were taught at a young age how to answer it, make calls and take messages.'
On her website, Copps says she can improve people's phone skills in weekly 30-minute webinars because she understands the 'psychology' behind phone conversations and can help anyone succeed.
Copps said that younger workers grew up primarily texting, so they lack the phone conversation skills of the older generation and have developed 'phone phobia'
She added that 50 percent of her clients in 2022 were repeat customers, boasting the success she's had training staffers for companies and other agencies.
Alison Papadakis, head of clinical psychological studies at Johns Hopkins University, agreed with Copps and said 'phone phobia' was common in the younger generations.
'Gen Z and millennials have a lot less experience talking on the phone because texting and instant messaging have been the primary communication mode for their generation,' she told Insider. 'Since they have a lot less experience talking on the phone, they have less comfort with it.
'That sets up people who are vulnerable to social anxiety to have anxiety in that situation.'
When coaching someone, Copps said she instructs them to stop texting and make calls instead to their friends and family.
'If they're not even used to talking on the phone to their mother, then the process is so scary,' she told Insider. 'So I can't say I'm going to make them call prospective clients, as they would just fall apart — we start with their family or someone they know.'
She said that she herself will often ring someone up unexpectedly to catch them off guard and see how they adapt to the situation.
Emer McLysaght, of the Irish Times, said these surprise phone calls are being viewed by the younger generation as a 'mildly aggressive act demanding immediacy of thought and social skill.'
Like Copps, McLysaght said young workers are more used to planning out their words carefully via text or email, and have grown increasingly anxious over physical phone calls.
McLysaght added that phone calls are viewed as a last resort, meaning that Gen Z use them for emergencies only.
So when they get a call, McLysaght said, they assume the worst and get triggered.
'I would never ring a friend without first texting them to warn them I’m about to ring and I’d probably reassure them that “it’s nothing bad, promise” to really ease them into the situation,' McLysaght wrote about the new phone culture.
Others revealed their hatred for Friday afternoon work meetings
Making phone calls during work was found to be one of Gen Z's biggest pet peeves that they're trying to remove from the office.
The Introverted Attorney, a TikToker, summed up the feeling in an animated video which quickly went viral and has racked up over two million likes.
'Part of the job is talking to other humans,' the caption read, accompanied by the clip of an office worker crying over his desk phone.
'Me whenever I have to call anyone for anything at work,' the text on the video read.
Followed by the character saying: ' I don't wanna do this, please don't pick up, please don't pick up.'
The viral video resonated with other TikTokers, with one admitting they avoid making calls at all costs.
'I remember my phone broke at work and I just didn't say anything for weeks,' they said.
Others revealed the video made them feel better - knowing they aren't alone - with some dubbing Gen Z the generation of phone anxiety.
'I used to work in a call center and this is too accurate,' one said.
'I work in customer service and this is too accurate,' said another.
While others admitted calls make them more nervous.
'Outgoing calls are fine cause I know what it'll be about. The incoming calls scare the hell out of me cause they could be anything,' one man said.
Mr Butler said the anxiety people feel about making calls when they are new to a role is 'normal' but can be managed with practice.
'(by) Making your manager and coworkers aware that this is something you struggle with will allow them to support you by delegating less calls to you in the beginning, or even providing a script to read off of,' he said.