In recent years, as members of Generation Z have gotten old enough to start applying for retail and other types of occupations, managers across the country have begun voicing their concerns. The majority of employers these days feel skeptical of these younger adults, given their supposedly “immature” reputation.
Others have expressed more hopeful opinions on this growing community. Two Skyline Senior High students, Ella Crouch and Lincoln Dalley, shared their thoughts on this growing dilemma.
According to managers surveyed by Newsweek, Gen-Z graduates are considered to be “frustratingly immature.” They thought they were “lazy and unmotivated, unable to maintain crucial eye-contact or communication,” and supposedly “demanding an unnecessary amount of compensation.”
Crouch was in agreement with this statement, saying, “Because we’re so exposed from such a young age to social media, a lot of people get big egos, because they think they know everything, and I think that’s what puts all the people off.”
Huy Nguyen, the Chief Education and Career Development Adviser at Intelligent.com, suggested to those managers that “an open mind is crucial,” and this mentality “should evidently be an important trait as an employer.”
In regards to Dalley’s history of work with fellow employees in a diverse age range, he remarked, “You can see a whole different viewpoint when regular managers come in, which is crucial because it gives you the opportunity to learn a lot from a variety of perspectives.”
Nguyen also pointed out that graduates should be aware of these “stereotypical behaviors” targeted towards them in order to see what to avoid to better their image not just as one of the “descendants of this newer generation,” but as their own person growing into this world.
Bottom line, as stated by the Association (HRPA), it is merely “counterproductive” to base these individuals’ work ethic on age stereotypes. This generation has grown up with new technological developments and significant social movements, hence their “activist mindsets,” which could be considered “beneficial” to growing companies.
Reporters from Forbes say that they should not be looked down upon because of their “inexperienced” or “underdeveloped” traits: “This is a growing community that knows its way around technology, and is thus much more proactive than people would think.”
