Current Event: Gen-Z Reported Most Difficult Generation To Work With
Generation Z (people born between 1997 and 2012) have come of age to enter the workforce as young professionals. By 2025, this age group will actively account for 25% of all people in the workplace. However, this age group is gaining a reputation to be the least desirable for employers as they are labeled most difficult to work with. Learning about an article with such subject matter is crucial not only for the Gen-z’ers who are still students but also for those who have convocated and are working as professionals. Statistics from Entrepreneur Business Magazine will highlight the main disconnects that Gen-Z has compared to their other generational counterparts in the workplace; the most prominent is Gen-Z’ers lack of communication and interpersonal skills. The point of this blog will help Gen-Z become aware of how their leaders (could) view them in the workplace and help to change their unfortunate image to become more desirable. We explore the variety of challenges Gen-Z faces in the workplace and propose potential solutions to better success.
An article from Entrepreneur Business Magazine, written by Madeline Garfinkle, highlights that managers and business leaders find that Gen-Z is more difficult to work with among their other generational coworkers. The article based its statistics on a survey provided by ResumeBuilder and conducted that 74 percent of managers find that among the diverse age groups in the workplace, Gen-Z is the most difficult to work with. Additionally, 49 percent of respondents say their difficulty to work with is most of the time if not all. As a result of this difficulty, Gen-Z is fired more than any other generation, and 12 percent of those fires are within the first week of their start date (Garfinkle, Apr 2023). Granted, the sample size of this survey is relatively small, 1,344 managers and business leaders, yet the results of the statistics are concerning.
Garfinkel outlines the different causes for the conclusions of the survey that were listed, and lack of technology skills (39%), motivation and effort (37%), poor communication skills (36%), and being easily offended (35%) are among the top reasons for the stigma revolving around this generations difficulty. Garfinkle continues to express that if Gen-Z wants to change its professional persona in the workplace, they need to prioritize building stronger interpersonal and communication skills. Readers then must question: “‘Why are Gen-Z’s current communication skills so dreadful?”. In an article from Forbes Magazine, written by Mona Andrews, Andrews dove into the history of Gen-Z to uncover why their communication skills are causing them to be viewed poorly compared to other generations. Andrew explained that they are digital natives, meaning they are the first generation born in the entirety of the digital age. Gen-Z individuals have adapted to technology, leading them to always be familiar and comfortable with its tools. Most individuals of this generation never experienced a time without technological access (Andrews, Dec 2022).
Due to always having technology, Gen-Z individuals are often referred to as “IPad kids”, which refers to a child who (growing up) gets all their entertainment from an iPad, or other source of technology — particularly the ‘Digital Native’ generation (Pursel, 2022). I often hear that term, most commonly to poke fun at older Gen-Z’ers who still use technology to stay visually stimulated during activities throughout the day. I am an iPad kid, as I was born in 2002, and I often have some technology entertainment to keep me stimulated to stay focused. As fun as it was growing up with all this technology, it must be questioned how it shaped us today. A study provided by Deloitte concluded that out of a sample size of 4,000 Gen-Z individuals, 92% of them are concerned about the generational gap caused by technology and the impact that it is having on their personal and professional lives as they grow older. In the same study, 37% have heightened the concern that technology is diminishing their ability to maintain strong interpersonal relationships (Atack, Monahan & O’Boyle, 2017).
In the workplace, there is no surprise that Gen-Z would not give a second thought to the technology used in everyday life. Because of their comfort, there is room to forget who their audience is and the appropriate tone necessary. Since their first phone was (most likely) the smartphone, and many have been handed this technology at a young age, many of the tools (texting, emailing, etc) are not foreign concepts. In places of work where these communication methods occur in everyday life, it is becoming noticed much of Gen-Z’ers writing style is the same with their friends and family as it is with their business leaders and managers. The most noteworthy is the use of abbreviations, acronyms, and emojis. In this disconnect, much of the communication is casual versus formal (Habib, 2021). The tone of communication determines the receiver’s emotions and attitudes. Impressions are concluded through writing choices, which determine the view of the message — the writer’s attitude towards the subject matter and what the receivers perceive. The tone is extensive to the message for many reasons. For example, when it is appropriate to use casual and formal tones in your methods of communication. The bitter taste Gen-Z’ers communication has with the earlier generations is prominent in the etiquette of these messages and not being aware of the purpose or audience of the message, making it unacceptable to not polish their tone (Meyer, 2020, p133(D)).
In an article published by Projections, Gen-Z individuals are aware that their interpersonal skills are weaker compared to their generational cohorts. Regardless, this generation is still passionate about building meaningful relationships. To bridge the gap between the lack of interpersonal and communication skills, workplace processes and procedures are encouraged to be updated to be easier to comprehend and to enhance soft skills, such as problem-solving and leadership. Due to Gen-Z’ers specific learning types, the article by Projection suggests information is to be employed in small intervals and be visually oriented. These adjustments to training sessions will result in more engagement in the training material, which in turn will be more comprehensible and stimulating to the younger generation (Projections, 2023).
Garfinkle’s article intrigued me because it was interesting yet concerning. I am a Gen-Z and had the opportunity to work in a professional environment for over a year now. Through talking with peers and sometimes colleagues, I was aware my generation has different values and expectations in the workplace, but the contents of Garfinkle’s article have concerned me. Now after reading the article, I suddenly feel nervous about if my leaders view me as difficult to work with. I strongly feel that many of my peers should view the results of the article and use them to reflect on our daily lives and be mindful of how our communications make us perceived, in addition to bridging the gap to build stronger interpersonal skills. MGMT 3210 is a course many should take and learn from, as this current event ties directly into our course content studied in class (i.e. email etiquette, casual vs formal, tone, audience, etc). Though Garfinkle did not list a geographic location, this issue could well become a worldwide issue if Gen-Z does not learn to adapt.
Now reader, I present my question to you: ‘Will the workplace have to adjust its communication standards for incoming new generations?’. As discussed above, Gen-Z is on its way to becoming the most fired generation due to the lack of communication and interpersonal skills, but 25% of the active workforce will become this generation by 2025 (Garfinkle, Apr 2023). However, there are ways to bridge these gaps, such as adapting procedures and learning sessions to fit with common Gen-Z learning methods (providing information in small intervals and being visually oriented) to help Gen-Z succeed in the workplace; as they are eager to thrive to do their best. My outlook on this topic is that professionalism is vital to the workplace, nonetheless, there will need to be some leeway as this generation will be future managers and business leaders. Whether or not they meet the professionalism standard, this generation will become more eminent in the workplace. There will need to be some middle ground. With practice, professional communication and interpersonal skills can be taught (with MGMT 3210 perhaps), but current leaders also need to consider that Gen-Z had a different upbringing with being Digital Natives, that makes them different from other generations. For a resolution to this conflict, there needs to be efforts on both ends to reach a median to make a successful intergenerational workplace.
References
Andrews, M. (Dec 2022). Effectively communicating and working with your Gen-Z Team Members. Forbes. https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbesbusinesscouncil/2022/12/19/effectively-communicating-and-working-with-your-gen-z-team-members/?sh=631897241ba7
B. Pursel. (2022, Jan 23). IST 110: introduction to technology sciences and technology. Penn state university. https://sites.psu.edu/ist110pursel/2022/01/23/the-infamous-ipad-kid/
Garfinkle, M. (Apr 2023). ‘They think they’re better than you’: 74% of managers say Gen Z is more difficult to work with than other generations. Entrepreneur. https://www.entrepreneur.com/business-news/managers-on-gen-z-difficult-at-work-and-lackdiscipline/450064
Habib, M. (Apr, 2021). Hw Gen-Z may change workplace communication for good. INC. https://www.inc.com/may-habib/how-gen-z-may-change-workplace-communication-for-good.html
J. Atack, K. Monahan & C. O’Boyle. (2017, Sept 19). Generation z enters the workforce: generational and technological challenges in entry-level jobs. Deloitte. https://www2.deloitte.com/us/en/insights/focus/technology-and-the-future-of-work/generation-z-enters-workforce.html
Meyer, C. (2020). Communicating for results — fifth edition. Oxford. Pg 133 (D). https://bibliu.com/app/#/view/books/1001200931179/epub/OEBPS/Chapter04_sec3.html#rch04–8
Projections. (2023). Managing Gen z in the workplace. Projections: and IRI company. https://projectionsinc.com/recognize-gen-z-workplace/
