Companies are rapidly firing Gen Z employees just months after they hired them, according to a new report from Intelligent.com, but instead of putting the blame on G Z-ers, one expert told Newsweek whose fault it may really be.
The survey revealed that one in six businesses said they were hesitant to hire recent college graduates over concerns about how prepared they are for the work as well as their communication skills and professionalism.
And a whopping six in 10 employers had already fired college graduates who were hired in 2024. One in seven said they might refrain from hiring new college grads next year as well.
The survey looked at responses from nearly 1,000 business leaders in August, who revealed a strong skepticism from companies about how worthwhile Gen Z-ers are as employees.
"Many recent college graduates may struggle with entering the workforce for the first time as it can be a huge contrast from what they are used to throughout their education journey," Intelligent's Chief Education and Career Development Advisor Huy Nguyen said in the report.
"They are often unprepared for a less structured environment, workplace cultural dynamics, and the expectation of autonomous work. Although they may have some theoretical knowledge from college, they often lack the practical, real-world experience and soft skills required to succeed in the work environment."
And because Gen Z already has a stereotype of being lazy or uncooperative in the workplace, employers might be primed to find problems with the generation of workers that is adapting to full-time jobs for the first time.
"It can be easy for managers to buy into typical stereotypes of Gen Z and dismiss them entirely," Nguyen said. "However, companies have an equal responsibility to prepare recent graduates for their particular workplace and give them the best chance to succeed."
Across the board, 75 percent of companies reported that some or all of their recent college graduate hires were unsatisfactory.