Are U.S. employers ready for Gen Z?

“I simply don’t hire them.” According to research, that’s the attitude of 94% of business leaders toward Gen Z employees, those born between 1997 and 2012. Why? According to 1,243 recently surveyed business leaders, Gen Zers bring with them a sense of entitlement, a deficient work ethic and subpar communication skills. Half of these business leaders reported Gen Z job applicants requested salaries topping $100,000 for positions that paid $70,000 or less.

That leaves an open question: What happens when employers wind up hiring Gen Zers because they’re the only candidates available? This year, Gen Zers will surpass the number of baby boomers in the workforce. By 2030, Gen Zers will make up 30% of all eligible employees. And yet 74% of 1,344 managers and business leaders surveyed find Gen Zers harder to work with than employees of other generations.

According to 49% of the surveyed managers, it’s difficult to work with Gen Z employees all or most of the time. Twenty percent of them fired a Gen Z employee within a week of their start date. Another 27% fired a Gen Z employee within the first month, describing them as being “too easily offended.”

How did we get here, and how do we fix this?

Gen Z is the unlucky generation that entered the workplace as the pandemic locked it down. Within months of landing their first job, many found themselves furloughed or fired. Years later, when employers hired any available warm body to fill vacant positions, Gen Zers found themselves wooed by needy employers and offered remote work, where their connection to employers was via Zoom.

No surprise, then, that a recent Gallup survey found that 54% of Gen Z employees feel “not engaged” at work and not connected to their employers, managers or even coworkers. Given the economic, financial, political instability that swirls around them, Gen Zers report higher rates of anxiety, depression and distress than any other age group.

What’s the answer, then, for employers who understand that “You can run, but you can’t hide.”

Strategy 1: Hire the best of the available Gen Z applicants. They’re out there. In “Managing for Accountability,” I suggest asking questions that help employers determine which employees might want their job, such as “If you had to choose between two jobs, what would lead you to choose one over the other?”

Strategy 2: Get your new employee started right. Outline why you hired them, the role you hope they will play in your organization, and how you want them to interact with you and the team. If this makes you wonder if you’re taking on the role as their parent, you are — their work parent. The alternative: They perform poorly, and you fire them.

Strategy 3: Gen Z doesn’t believe jobs offer them a future. According to the Pew Research Center, half of the Gen Zers between 21 and 27 reported they or a household member lost a job or took a pay cut because of the pandemic. Outline for them a career path that shows them the actions they need to take and the incentives they’ll receive.

Strategy 4: Most Gen Zers initially worked remotely, with equally “remote” relationships with their managers. Meet with them, give them specific, constructive feedback that proves you want them to be successful, and notice when they’re doing the right things.

What happens if employers fail?

According to over 50% of 30,000 professionals surveyed, more than half of Gen Z employees intended leaving their jobs within the year. Another survey of 20,000 professionals reported that one in four Gen Z employees intended leaving their jobs within next six months.

In other words, employers have got to get this right.