Over 70 Percent of Managers Say Gen Z Is the Most ‘Difficult’ Generation to Work With

Workers at an office. Monkey Business Images via Shutterstock

More than 70 percent of managers and business leaders find Generation Z workers the most difficult to work with, according to the results of a new survey by Resume Builder.

The professional resume-building website surveyed 1,344 managers and business leaders online working at companies with more than 10 employees on April 14.

A total of 1,000 participants in the United States completed the full survey. Respondents were asked about their experience working with Gen Z, the youngest generation that defines those born between 1997 to 2012.

Respondents found that 74 percent of respondents believe Gen Z is more difficult to work with than other generations, about half of whom said they find it difficult to work with Gen Z all the time or most of the time, and just 4 percent of whom said they almost never find it to be difficult.

Among the various reasons cited as reasoning for the difficulty in working with that specific generation were that they lack technological skills (39 percent), effort (37 percent), and motivation (37 percent).

Other reasons cited were that the cohort of Gen Z are “easily distracted,” “easily offended,” or “dishonest.”

Of the managers who said they find Gen Z difficult to work with, 59 percent said they’ve fired a GenZer, of which 20 percent they’ve had to do so within a week of the employee starting and 27 percent have done so within a month.

Pandemic Impact on GenZ

Another 34 percent said they prefer to work with millennials, with more than 40 percent believing this group to be more productive and have the best technological skills.

Stacie Haller, chief career advisor at Resume Builder, says that the COVID-19 pandemic and shift to remote education may have played a part in the GenZer’s mindset when it comes to work, noting that “it’s possible that GenZers lack the foundation to be more successful than older generations in entry-level positions.”

“We know that with remote work and education, communication skills do not develop as well and people tend to work more independently. Hiring managers need to be cognizant of this when interviewing GenZers for positions. This generation may need more training when it comes to professional skills,” Haller said.

While many managers say they’ve had to fire a GenZer, a separate survey from LinkedIn published this week found that many Gen Z professionals are increasingly happy to quit their jobs to work elsewhere anyway if the values of that company do not align with theirs, despite the current volatile economical climate.

That survey, based on nearly 10,000 professionals across the globe, found that 87 percent of Gen Z workers in the United States would switch to another company based on values, while 68 percent of workers in the United Kingdom, France, Germany, and Ireland now consider it important to work for companies that are aligned with their values.

Gen Z Becoming More ‘Socially Aware’

Josh Graff, managing director for EMEA and LATAM at LinkedIn, told CNBC’s “Make It” that the COVID-19 pandemic and a population focusing more on issues such as social justice and equality are some of the driving factors behind GenZers placing a priority on company values.

“Younger generations, in particular, want to work for companies where they can ... where they can evoke change, where they can make a difference,” Graff said. “And at the same time, certainly over the last few years, I think all of us, but in particular younger generations, are more politically and socially aware.”

According to LinkedIn, there has been a 154 percent increase in entry-level job advertisements on the platform that reference company values in the past two years, while posting that reference things such as culture, flexibility, and well-being receive nearly three times more views and twice as many applications today than two years ago.

Although millennials currently make up the majority of the U.S. workforce, Graff noted that businesses will need to take into consideration the expectations of Gen Z professionals going forward.

“Values will be a survival issue for many companies over the next decade,” Graff said.