Gen Z Employees: Not Working for Employers — Pink Slips Follow

According to a new report by Intelligent.com companies are firing a lot of Generation Z employees within a month or so after they’re hired. The report says 60% of those hired so far in 2024 have been fired.

Not only that, but one out of six businesses say they’re hesitating to even hire recent college grads.

Intelligent's Chief Education and Career Development Advisor Huy Nguyen said the issues are professionalism, communication skills and how little Gen Z college grads are prepared for work in the real world.

Generation Z — if you can’t remember — are people born between 1997 and 2012.

"Many recent college graduates may struggle with entering the workforce for the first time as it can be a huge contrast from what they are used to throughout their education journey," Nguyen said. "They are often unprepared for a less structured environment, workplace cultural dynamics, and the expectation of autonomous work. Although they may have some theoretical knowledge from college, they often lack the practical, real-world experience and soft skills required to succeed in the work environment.”

He also noted another problem for Gen Z workers. They’re stereotyped as being lazy or uncooperative in the workplace. That, too, could cause employers to be more actively looking for problems.

"It can be easy for managers to buy into typical stereotypes of Gen Z and dismiss them entirely," Nguyen said. "However, companies have an equal responsibility to prepare recent graduates for their particular workplace and give them the best chance to succeed.”

The report also notes that — in total — 75% of the businesses surveyed found some or all of their just hired college graduates unsatisfactory.

Here are some stats:

• 50% say Gen Z graduates lack motivation
• 39% contend they have poor communication skills
• 46% say they’re not professional and lack professionalism

HR consultant, Bryan Driscoll said these problems can’t totally be laid at the feet of Generation Z. He blames the education system as a whole.

"As someone who went through years of education, including law school, I can tell you this: colleges are not preparing students for real-world work," Driscoll told Newsweek who followed up on the Intelligent.com survey. "Education today emphasizes theory over practice. Sure, learning Greek mythology is fascinating, but unless you're teaching it, how does that prepare you to communicate effectively in a corporate meeting or demonstrate professionalism? It doesn’t."

He notes that employers want skills that aren’t prioritized in the education system. Not only that, but companies also aren’t willing to invest in training employees that are falling short of their goals.

"Instead of teaching new hires what they want from them, employers are simply firing workers for not being prepared,” Driscoll said. “It’s a cyclical issue that reflects systemic failure on multiple levels.”

Driscoll suggests the disconnect between higher education and companies isn’t going to be solved without onboarding and a mentorship program.

"Not only are we creating a generation of workers who feel disillusioned and undervalued, but we're also stunting long-term growth in the workforce," Driscoll said. "Gen Z is hungry for development opportunities, but if companies keep treating them as disposable assets, we're going to end up with a workforce that's both overworked and unprepared.”

He suggests that companies ought to keep hiring college grads and change how these students view education and professional development in relationship to an actual job.

"Companies are failing workers by not taking responsibility for training and hoping that a college degree can substitute," Driscoll said. "It never has and, in our current system, it never will."

Source link: Newsweek — https://bit.ly/3ZBa87P