'Some managers feel like they’re doing a lot of hand-holding,' says Julia Toothacre.
The majority of workplace managers believe their younger hires could do with a good burping and an early nite-nite. That’s the takeaway from a new study that showed seven-in-10 managers liken supervising Gen Z employees to babysitting or parenting.
The survey was conducted by workplace website resumetemplates.com and found 68% of supervisors compare managing employees under 25 to parenting, while 54% preferred to think of it as babysitting.
Nearly 61% said their Gen Z reports require “hand-holding,” and 52% said they struggle to follow basic instructions. What’s more, managers reported the need to check in frequently with their Gen Z underlings—two-thirds checking in an average of two times per day, while nearly a quarter check in three times daily (12% check in at least five times!)
ResumeTemplates’ Chief Career Strategist Julia Toothacre says with today’s young workers having lost around two years of real-world experience due to COVID isolation, it’s not surprising “some managers feel like they’re doing a lot of hand-holding.”
“Gen Z’s entry into the workforce looked really different from previous generations because of the pandemic,” Toothacre said about the results. “Many had to take classes or internships online, so they missed out on receiving in-person training, experiencing casual learning opportunities and observing basic workplace norms. On top of that, many companies have cut back on onboarding and early career support due to reductions in human resources staff.”
Perhaps most surprising to managers were the workplace skills they found lacking in their younger hires. Nearly half said the employees had no ability to interact appropriately with others, while 38% couldn’t manage emotions at work and 37% didn’t dress appropriately. Worse, 36% failed to write proper emails and 28% couldn’t behave professionally in meetings. “About 41% consistently remind Gen Z employees to put their phones away, and 38% frequently encourage them to make eye contact during conversations,” the survey reported. About 35% needed to be reminded to clean up after themselves.
Toothacre said companies need to be ready to support beleaguered managers when hiring the next generation of workplace employees.
“When managers are stretched thin, it affects the whole team,” said Toothacre. “Organizations need to do more to support managers, otherwise they risk burnout, frustration and disengagement.”
In Their Own Words
In response to an open-ended question the survey posed to managers about working with Gen Z, here are a few select quotes:
- “Working with Gen Z has been an exhausting challenge. They are constantly having emotional meltdowns, late for work, and constantly distracted on their phones.”
- “They act like I am their parent. They come to me with personal things that have no bearing on our workplace.”
- “Sometimes I feel like we are at daycare to be honest. They have the phone out and watching videos and just do not seem to have the same work ethic I was raised with.”
- “It has been exhausting. Most of the time I feel like a babysitter trying to teach children lessons they refuse to learn. The worst challenges are time management and staying off their phones.”
- “This generation of workers is like nothing I’ve ever seen before. They are adults who still act like teenagers.”
- “Gen Z are like children who were not properly raised, so they do not know how to function properly in society.”
