Insider Today: Gen Z's workplace struggle

New grads in search of work, be warned: Some executives may want very little to do with you. 

A new survey of more than 1,200 business leaders found that 40% believe recent Gen Z graduates are unprepared for the workplace. 

And those feelings are leaking into hiring decisions, as 94% of that subset said they’ve previously avoided hiring recent Gen Z college grads to some degree. 

The survey, which was published by the student-focused magazine Intelligent, isn’t the first report of managers’ difficulties with younger colleagues. Gen Z was labeled the “most challenging generation” to work with by nearly 75% of managers and business leaders polled by ResumeBuilder.com in April.

It can sometimes seem like younger generations are maligned upon entering the workforce. Millennials, and their love of avocado toast, were long the butt of every joke. 

But now it seems Gen Z, generally defined as those born from about 1997 to 2012, has become corporate America’s newest punching bag. Some bosses even claim young workers won’t do anything unless every second of their day is managed. 

Some of the criticisms against Gen Z — lack of work ethic, entitlement — are the type of broad generalizations management typically makes about younger workers. 

But one issue raised in these recent polls highlights what appears to be the real achilles heel of Gen Z: communication.

For many Gen Zers, their inability to properly communicate in the workplace is thanks largely to the pandemic. They spent a good chunk of college, or the beginning of their careers, in remote settings. Now, they’re struggling to make sense of life at a 9-to-5. 

So what’s the fix?

Some companies are already offering extra training for Gen Z recruits on everything from working in a team to giving a presentation. Universities are also stepping up with courses focused on soft skills, including reminding students to pause after they introduce themselves to let the other person say their name. (No, that’s not a joke.)

However, the problem may not be Gen Z's lack of communication skills. They may just lack the communication skills preferred by managers. Young workers are typically proficient in using tools like Slack and Google Docs, Diane Gayeski, a professor of strategic communication at Ithaca College, told Intelligent.

And a boss willing to find a middle ground with their younger employees could stand to benefit. A sales director at a medical company credited his Gen Z colleagues with figuring out a way to leverage AI to automate tedious jobs and boost productivity.

Before the opening bell: US stock futures are down early Tuesday as investors continue to digest second-quarter earnings results.

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