It takes some doing to be a more easily offended and lazier generation than the Boomers, but the kids have gone and done it. As Elon Musk found, when he bought Twitter, this is a generation so shiftless and entitled that firing two-thirds of them made no difference to the site’s functionality. The mistake, as a great many employers are finding, is hiring the ‘I Am Special’ generation in the first place.
Gen Z employees are entitled, too easily offended, lazy and generally unprepared for the workplace – according to their bosses.
The dismal assessment of workers born between 1996 and 2010 comes in a poll of 966 business leaders across the country taken last month by the online education magazine Intelligent.com.
The survey found 75 per cent of execs felt most of the recent college grads they hired were unsuccessful – and 60 per cent said at least some of them had to be fired.
Apparently, they can’t adjust to the fact that TikTok isn’t the real world.
“With Gen Z, they’ve got a ton of access to information, a lot of different content, news sources and influences,” said Huy Nguyen, chief education and career development advisor for Intelligent, and a former Fortune 500 hiring manager.
He means ‘social media’: a media landscape built almost entirely around narcissism. The world, hate to break it to them, doesn’t work that way.
Jessen James, an international entrepreneur, business mentor and speaker, said some Gen Zers struggle to articulate themselves, don’t look you in the eye, and don’t project their voices.
“They lack charisma and personality skills,” he told the Post, adding, “I don’t feel they are in tune with what it takes to impress others.”
Try to make it through without vomiting. The Good Oil.
It turns out, too, that raising children on a constant mantra of “I Am Special” and never saying ‘No’ has consequences in adulthood.
James has seen what he calls “snowflakeism” – some Gen Zers “crumbling” under even a little pressure.
“It’s almost like you have to walk on eggshells around them, being super sensitive when managing them, in case you offend them, upset them, or push them too far,” he said.
Some twentysomethings have even brought a parent with them to job interviews for support.
Word to hirers: if someone brings mummy or daddy in to hold their hand during a job interview, they’re gonna be more high maintenance than they’re worth.
While some of the beliefs are subjective, others are not, [Nguyen] said, like being on time.
About 20 per cent of respondents said Gen Zers are often late to work, and 15 per cent said they frequently hand assignments in late.
The younger generation is also more likely to use up their sick days than their older colleagues, recent studies have found.
No doubt any Zoomers reading this are already screeching in outrage, but them’s the facts. As is their sense of entitlement:
Nearly one in six Americans under the age of 28 won’t even consider taking a job unless there’s a designated snooze space at the office, a mind-boggling new survey found […]
One in five Gen-Zers – more than any other generation – say a “fun room,” complete with games like ping pong and other recreational activities, is essential to their work environment, the startling survey results reveal.
And one in five wouldn’t even consider a position if the company’s offices are not pet-friendly, compared to 14 per cent of millennials, aged 29 to 44; eight per cent of 40- to 65-year-old Gen-Xers and only four per cent of Boomers, aged 61 to 79.
More Gen-Zers – 33 per cent – expect free snacks and lunches at the workplace, more than any of their older coworkers, the poll found.
Even then, good luck getting them to show up.
A whopping one in three said a four-day workweek is non-negotiable, and one in four expect “extended” sabbatical leaves “for personal development or travel.”
How about: no job for you, snowflake? Is that ‘extended’ enough leave?
