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New York Post
‘Snowflakeism’ Gen Z hires are easily offended, and not ready for workplace: business leaders
By Deirdre Bardolf,
2 days ago
Gen Z employees are entitled, too easily offended, lazy and generally unprepared for the workplace — according to their bosses.
The dismal assessment of workers born between 1996 and 2010 comes in a poll of 966 business leaders across the country taken last month by the online education magazine Intelligent.com.
The survey found 75% of execs felt most of the recent college grads they hired were unsuccessful — and 60% said at least some of them had to be fired.
Hiring managers reported that recent college grads are largely unprepared for the workforce, can’t handle workloads and are unprofessional, according to a new survey. Mirko Vitali – stock.adobe.com
The supervisors, who ranged from C-suite execs and business owners to senior and human resources managers at companies with more than 10 employees, said they’ll refrain from hiring Gen Z workers in the coming year.
“With Gen Z, they’ve got a ton of access to information, a lot of different content, news sources and influences,” said Huy Nguyen, chief education and career development advisor for Intelligent, and a former Fortune 500 hiring manager.
“So when they go into a company that has more traditional norms, you get a situation where it doesn’t always mesh,” he told The Post.
About 17% of leaders believe Gen Z, who range in age from their teens to about 28, is often “too difficult” to manage, and 39% said they have poor communication skills.
Jessen James, an international entrepreneur, business mentor and speaker, said some Gen Zers struggle to articulate themselves, don’t look you in the eye, and don’t project their voices.
“They lack charisma and personality skills,” he told The Post, adding, “I don’t feel they are in tune with what it takes to impress others.”
In addition to lacking professionalism, recent college grads reportedly lack motivation and initiative and have poor communication skills. Mdv Edwards – stock.adobe.com
James has seen what he calls “snowflakeism” — some Gen Zers “crumbling” under even a little pressure.
“It’s almost like you have to walk on eggshells around them, being super sensitive when managing them, in case you offend them, upset them, or push them too far,” he said.
Some twentysomethings have even brought a parent with them to job interviews for support.
Some Gen Z hires struggle to articulate themselves, don’t look people in the eyes when they talk and don’t project their voices properly, according to experts. Seventyfour – stock.adobe.com
Corporate environments and office culture have relaxed in recent years, Nguyen noted, and are viewed differently between generations.
But even with a more laid back office environment, recent college grads don’t dress professionally and don’t use “appropriate” language for work, 19% of those surveyed said.
“A lot of these responses matched up with general stereotypes of how people talk about Gen Z in general,” Nguyen said.
While some of the beliefs are subjective, others are not, he said, like being on time.
About 20% of respondents said Gen Zers are often late to work, and 15% said they frequently hand assignments in late.
The younger generation is also more likely to use up their sick days than their older colleagues, recent studies have found.
About 20% of hiring managers polled in a recent study say recent grads are often late to start work. bobex73 – stock.adobe.com Recent college grads often don’t meet deadlines and are late to meetings, business leaders said. helivideo – stock.adobe.com
But many bosses are trying to tame the immature hires, even mandating “office etiquette training.”
Fifty-four percent of the company leaders surveyed said they offer the training and many mandate it for new hires — and a quarter of them specifically require it for Gen Z recruits.
Nearly 80% of companies surveyed reported placing at least some of the disappointing hires on “performance improvement plans.”
Adapting to Gen Z — bridging the gap between generations to ensure everyone’s success — would be a prudent way forward, Nguyen said.
“More and more of them will enter the workforce — they’re here to stay,” he said.
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I wonder how the economy will be when we are all gone from the workplace. These kids don't want to work. Who is going to be in the store's stocking shelves? Who is going to be taking calls at the doctor's office or the dentist's office? Who will be fixing your car or the blown pipe flooding the basement? They take and take and take but can't wrap their heads around the idea of giving. They want maximum rewards for bare minimum effort. It truly is sad.
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