Survey: 8 in 10 Employers Say Gen Z Workers Need ‘Etiquette Training’

HOUSTON – Generation Z seems to be having a tough time at work. A new survey shows that most bosses think those young employees need help learning how to survive in the workplace.

To help you track generational labels, Gen Z is that group born between 1996 and the early 2010s. Expected to comprise a quarter of the workforce by 2025, they have clear ideas about how the world should work.

SUGGESTED: Biden administration forgives $4.5 million in student debt for 60,000 borrowers

For months, however, business headlines have noted that employers often fire recent Gen Z hires because they’re not ready for the job for a variety of reasons. The new survey from Intelligent.com suggests that many employers are considering special training to fill some of the vacancies.

Austin business consultant Jan Goss helps teach business and executive engagement and worries about Gen Z, “I don’t think it’s their fault.”

She says the generation of Gen Z workers is the first to grow up with a steady diet of digital connections, potentially leaving them with a loss in face-to-face interactions.

“Everything we talk about here, in terms of communication, feedback, conversation, taking constructive criticism, it all has to do with connecting with others: they don’t have the skill set,” she says.

Get news, weather and more in the new FOX LOCAL app

Survey author Huy Nguyen helps guide students and young professionals. He says more than 80 percent of companies surveyed report frustrating challenges working with Gen-Z employees and are considering “workplace etiquette” training to improve workplace professionalism and increase productivity. Some believe it may be the only way to survive with the young workforce.

“A lot of times, people are stuck with finding a job where they can get a job,” says Nguyen. “Sometimes bringing your personal values ​​to an environment that doesn’t mesh well with your personal values ​​can be quite challenging.”

Jan Goss agrees that training would be useful, “If you want to build your business, you have to build your people, and they don’t come to you as employees, pre-cooked.”

Further, Huy Nguyen believes that young workers would benefit more from older coaches and mentors to teach the things that many experienced workers learned as they were starting out.