Survey Finds Companies Are Mass Firing Recently Hired Gen Z Employees Just Months After They've Graduated College — Here's Why
Bosses are unimpressed by the lack of professionalism that Gen Zers have in the workplace.
Ground Picture | Shutterstock With a new flood of Gen Z employees entering the workforce following college graduation, it seems they might be having a bit more trouble compared to other job seekers on both landing and keeping a job.
In a new report by Intelligent.com, a platform dedicated to helping young professionals navigate the future of work, company bosses admitted that they aren't too impressed with their Gen Z hires and have no problem letting them go in favor of other candidates.
Survey finds companies are mass firing recently-hired Gen Z employees just months after they've graduated college.
According to Intelligent's new report, six in 10 employers say they have already fired some of the Gen Z workers they hired fresh out of college earlier this year. In a survey of nearly 1,000 U.S. leaders, the recent 2024 college grad's shortcomings are starting to get in the way of them being able to keep a job.
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After experiencing a myriad of issues and problems with young hires, one in six bosses say they’re hesitant to hire college grads again, while one in seven bosses have admitted that they may avoid hiring them altogether next year. Three-quarters of the companies surveyed said some or all of their recent graduate hires were unsatisfactory in some way.
Intelligent's report found that employers have an issue with young people's lack of motivation or initiative — 50% of the leaders surveyed cited that as the reason why things didn’t work out with their new hires.
Bosses also pointed to Gen Z being unprofessional, unorganized, and having poor communication skills as their top reasons for having to fire them.
More than half of hiring managers have concluded that college grads are unprepared for the world of work. Meanwhile, over 20% say they can’t handle the workload.
Colleges are starting classes and resources to help bridge the gap and prepare Gen Zers for the workforce.
The lack of knowledge that many college grads are experiencing has a lot to do with colleges not fully preparing their students for the workforce. Fortunately, some institutions have gotten the message and are starting to fill in the gaps.
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For example, Michigan State University has started teaching its students how to handle networking and the best way to connect with other professionals, including key signs of when someone is uninterested in talking and when to look for signs to move on.
The university's business-school career center has even urged companies to be explicit about what students should expect at work, to over-communicate details about how a first day will play out, what to wear, and what people typically do for lunch, according to the Wall Street Journal.
Gen Z often gets the brunt of workplace criticisms, but what bosses fail to realize is that young adults may not know or understand the expectations that they need to adhere to yet.
Most 20-somethings are simply trying to find their footing in the world, and bosses should be willing to work with them before completely dismissing them.
The unemployment rate amongst recent college grads is exponentially higher compared to other groups.
According to data from the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, the unemployment rate of recent college graduates between the ages of 22 and 27 has been higher than the overall U.S. unemployment rate every month since January 2021. This means that young college grads have been more likely to be unemployed than the broader population, despite the job market returning to an improved post-pandemic state.
While a lot of it can be attributed to bad luck, especially considering young adults are entering the job market during a time when hiring has slowed, one of the main reasons that Gen Zers are struggling is because of the perception that's attached to them.
It's definitely frustrating, considering not every recent college grad falls under these stereotypes, and even if they do, they should be allowed room for improvement.
Nia Tipton is a Chicago-based entertainment, news, and lifestyle writer whose work delves into modern-day issues and experiences.