NEW YORK (PNN) - September 14, 2024 - Generation 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% of executives felt most of the recent college graduates they hired were unsuccessful, and 60% said at least some of them had to be fired.

The supervisors, who ranged from C-suite execs and business owners to senior and human resources managers at companies with more than 10 employees, said they will refrain from hiring Gen Z workers in the coming year.

“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.

“When they go into a company that has more traditional norms, you get a situation where it doesn’t always mesh,” he told the New York Post.

About 17% of leaders believe Gen Z workers, who range in age from their teens to about 28, are often “too difficult” to manage, and 39% said they have poor communication skills.

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.”

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.

While some of the beliefs are subjective, others are not, he said, like being on time.

About 20% of respondents said Gen Zers are often late to work, and 15% said they frequently hand in assignments late.

The younger generation is also more likely to use up their sick days than their older colleagues, recent studies have found.

However, many bosses are trying to tame the immature hires, even mandating “office etiquette training.”

Fifty-four percent of the company leaders surveyed said they offer the training and many mandate it for new hires - and a quarter of them specifically require it for Gen Z recruits.

Nearly 80% of companies surveyed reported placing at least some of the disappointing hires on “performance improvement plans”.

Adapting to Gen Z - bridging the gap between generations to ensure everyone’s success - would be a prudent way forward, Nguyen said.

“More and more of them will enter the workforce - they’re here to stay,” he said.