According to a new report by Intelligent.com, companies are terminating Gen Z workers just a few months after they were hired. This has sparked a fresh debate about workplace readiness.
The survey conducted in August of 2024 revealed that many employers are reluctant to hire recent graduates because they have concerns about their professionalism, communication skills and preparedness.
In the survey, 60 percent of employers said they had fired recent graduates who were hired in this year. One in seven companies also expressed a reluctance in recruiting new graduates by 2025. Nearly 1,000 business leaders responded to the survey, indicating a growing skepticism towards Gen Z employees.
Huy Nguyen is the Chief Education and Career Development Consultant at Intelligent.com. The workplace may be less structured than they are used to and they might lack the soft skills and real-world experience necessary for success.
Nguyen noted also that employers can overlook the challenges faced by young workers as they transition to full-time positions due to stereotypes such as Gen Z being lazy or uncooperative. He stressed that employers share the responsibility of helping new graduates to succeed.
What role do stereotypes play?
Managers must avoid dismissing Gen Z workers on the basis of stereotypes. He added that companies must prepare graduates for the workplace.
According to a survey, 75% of employers found that their recent graduates were unsatisfactory. Top complaints included a lack motivation (50%), bad communication skills (39%), unprofessional behavior (46%).
Bryan Driscoll, an HR consultant, argues that the problem is not Gen Z. It’s the education system. Driscoll said Newsweek that colleges today place too much emphasis on theoretical knowledge and not enough on practical abilities. Students graduate without the professionalism or communication skills needed in the corporate environment.
Driscoll thinks that companies are worsening the problem by not investing enough in training. Businesses are quick to dismiss new employees rather than helping them develop the skills they need. He said that it’s a failure of the system.
Driscoll emphasized that robust onboarding programs and mentorship are necessary to bridge the gap between education, and employment. He warned that if companies treated Gen Z workers like disposables, they would stunt long-term growth of the workforce. “Gen Z wants to grow and learn, but it needs the right support.”
He called for a change in the education and workplace-training approaches. Driscoll stated that the solution was not to stop hiring graduates but to change our view of education and professional growth. Companies need to be responsible for training their employees, since a college education alone is not enough.
