“Does anyone know where I can take my mid-day nap… do we have like, a re-charge room somewhere?” asks content creator Cruz Corral’s Gen Z character in one of his popular videos about different generations in the workforce.
Corral (known as @champagnecruz) might be a comedian, but for many managers out there his depiction of Gen Z might not seem too far off from behavior and habits exhibited by real employees. These behaviors are even leading nearly one in five managers (18%) to consider quitting their jobs, according to a recent survey of 1,000 managers from Intelligent.com.
Results of the survey conducted this October showed that 51% of managers reported experiencing frustration due to managing Gen Z employees and that 44% said managing this age group (currently age 12 to 27) causes them stress.
“Additionally, managers say that overseeing Gen Z employees has led to disappointment (31%), increased workload (27%), the need for additional resources (26%), a decrease in personal productivity (20%), feelings of overwhelm (20%), and burnout (16%),” Intelligent.com said.
In particular half of the managers surveyed expressed frustration with Gen Z’s phone use. Nearly half (47%) said that Gen Z has poor work ethic, 45% said they lack initiative, 44% said they have poor time management skills and 43% said they lack professionalism. Drilling deeper into that final category, 58% of managers said Gen Z employees have unprofessional attitudes, 53% said their communication skills are unprofessional and 45% said they do not receive feedback in a professional manner.
“While soft skills like communication, time management, and teamwork are essential, it’s worth considering the new grads, especially those in recent years, have had fewer opportunities to develop these skills through traditional methods such as internships or in-person work, partially due to the pandemic,” explained Intelligent.com’s chief education and career development advisor, Huy Nguyen. “Gen Z employees come in with stronger technical skills than previous generations but may lack the practical experiences gained through traditional work environments. Managers should recognize this shift and consider reevaluating their expectations to provide more structured guidance and become more of a coach than a boss.”
This approach might not be easy, since survey results showed that 76% of managers reported that workplace attitudes and expectations were a source of conflict between generations. At the top of the list of issues causing clashes was communication (62%), followed by different priorities (47%) and different work styles (42%).
Overall, 75% said that Gen Z communicate in an inappropriate tone or manner. More than half of the managers said Gen Z workers cause tension among older employees (52%) and that their habits decrease productivity (54%).
To deal with Gen Z employees, 65% of managers said they had to adjust their management style, including 44% who said they now provide more frequent feedback, 38% who said they have resorted to micromanaging, 35% who adjusted their style for work life balance and 32% who have allowed more time for work to be completed. Three out of four managers said working with Gen Z employees takes more time and resources.
“It’s important to establish clear guidelines for communication and work processes so all parties understand what is expected of them,” Nguyen recommended. “Without organizing the flow of work and understanding codependencies, things can become chaotic, and misunderstandings can easily escalate to bigger problems.”
Half of the managers who participated in the study revealed that they have already fired a Gen Z employee and 27% said they would avoid hiring them. When they do hire Gen Z staff, 54% managers said they do so for junior positions.
As for Gen Z’s take on the workforce, Audacy reported this year on research that indicates members of Gen Z would rather be an internet influencer than a doctor and that they would rather “be their own boss” than work a traditional 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. job. Audacy also reported that nearly 70% of Gen Zers said they would leave their job if they had a bad manager, that they are choosing the NEET (not in employment, education, or training) lifestyle, that 50% said being five to 10 minutes late is “on time” and that more than a quarter brought their parents with them in the room for job interviews.
Nguyen noted that intergenerational workplace problems are not new. As every new cohort of workers enters the labor market, there are growing pains.
“As Gen Z continues to enter the workforce in greater numbers and older generations phase out, employers definitely need to be more proactive in evaluating their workplace culture,” Nguyen says. “Gen Z’s demands for flexibility can push companies to adopt new technologies and modernize their work processes, becoming more agile and resilient to the fast-paced changes in today’s digital work environment.”