From Fortune magazine:
“Bosses are firing Gen Z grads just months after hiring them”
Generally identified as people
born between 1997 and 2012, Generation Z is starting to move into the
workplace, and it’s not going well. On
one level, this is quite surprising.
Reared on (if not by) the internet and advanced technology, one would
think they would be the perfect fit for the high-tech workplace of today. After all, isn’t that what public policy has
aimed for, to train the tech-savvy, ready-to-hit-the-ground workforce of the
future?
Then again, it’s not all that
surprising. American public education
seems intent on producing a single-size widget, graduates who skillfully
navigate the tech world but are aliens to a fundamental requirement of nearly
every place of employment: interpersonal skills.
Other specific complaints of
their (former) employers are that Gen Z’ers lack motivation or initiative
(cited by 50% of the leaders who had sacked a Gen Z hire), dress
inappropriately for the office, show up late or not at all for scheduled
meetings, are unorganized, use language not suited for the work space, and are
poor communicators. Broadly speaking,
these are all interpersonal skills; and having been weaned on screens Gen Z’ers
have not mastered them. More than half
of hiring managers have concluded these college graduates are unprepared for
the workaday world.
But (hallelujah!!!) Michigan
State University is stepping into the void and, according to Fortune, “is
teaching students how to handle a networking conversation, including how to
look for signs that the other party is starting to get bored and that it’s time
to move on.”
Oh, please. Were these students so oblivious in their
social interactions from age 0 to 18 that they didn’t learn that already? Even newborns can read human emotions and
facial clues. All that screen time must
have fried their brains.
I have previously expressed my
hope that today’s students are learning some basic financial skills in
school. But perhaps that should not be
my main concern. If Gen Z lacks the
ability to hold down a job—and 20% of hiring managers judge them to be
incapable of handling the workload—then knowing how to save and invest wisely
will prove to be useless if they haven’t earned any money to invest.
The season for high school
seniors to declare their choice of college to attend this autumn is
approaching. In my opinion, our
institutions of higher education are failing us by giving more attention to
entertaining students than educating them; protecting them from supposedly
offensive ideas instead of teaching them the world is full of people who
disagree with them and they better learn to get along. No wonder Gen Z can’t navigate the workplace.
If you are a parent of a Gen Z’er, and you
haven’t already given them the social skills to succeed (yes, that is largely
your responsibility, too) at least help direct them to a place of real
learning, one that doesn’t, for example, tout the climbing wall in the student
center over the percentage of their students in successful internships. Send them off without a car or a wad of cash
or wallet full of credit cards; don’t let them drown in a sea of student loans;
tell them they need to get a part-time job during the school year to cover
costs. I’m not so pessimistic to believe
that Gen Z is a lost generation. But
they need some guidance, and employers don’t have the time to give it—not if
their new hires come in without the most basic of human skills.
Until next time,
Roger
“Having a lazy person on the job is like a mouth full of
vinegar or smoke in your eyes.” Proverbs 10:26 CEV
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