{"id":132276,"date":"2025-10-19T16:30:37","date_gmt":"2025-10-19T16:30:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/132276\/"},"modified":"2025-10-19T16:30:37","modified_gmt":"2025-10-19T16:30:37","slug":"bosses-are-firing-gen-z-grads-just-months-after-hiring-them-heres-what-they-say-needs-to-change","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/132276\/","title":{"rendered":"Bosses are firing Gen Z grads just months after hiring them\u2014here\u2019s what they say needs to change"},"content":{"rendered":"

After complaining for the better part of two years that Gen Z grads are difficult to work with<\/a>, bosses are no longer all talk, no action: Now they\u2019re rapidly firing young workers who aren\u2019t up to scratch just months after hiring them.<\/p>\n

According to a report<\/a>, six in 10 employers say they have already sacked some of the Gen Z workers they hired fresh out of college in recent months.<\/p>\n

Intelligent.com, a platform dedicated to helping young professionals navigate the future of work, surveyed nearly 1,000 U.S. leaders. It found that the class of 2024\u2019s shortcomings will impact future grads.<\/p>\n

After experiencing a raft of problems with young new hires, one in six bosses say they\u2019re hesitant to hire recent college grads again.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, one in seven bosses have admitted that they may avoid hiring them altogether next year.<\/p>\n

Three-quarters of the companies surveyed said some or all of their recent graduate hires were unsatisfactory in some way.<\/p>\n

Why are companies firing Gen Z employees?<\/p>\n

So where is it going wrong for fresh-faced graduates?<\/p>\n

Employers\u2019 gripe with young people today is their lack of motivation or initiative\u201450% of the leaders surveyed cited that as the reason why things didn\u2019t work out with their new hire.<\/p>\n

Bosses also pointed to Gen Z being unprofessional, unorganized, and having poor communication skills as their top reasons for having to sack grads.<\/p>\n

Leaders say they have struggled with the latest generation\u2019s tangible challenges, including being late to work and meetings often, not wearing office-appropriate clothing, and using language appropriate for the workspace.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Now more than half of hiring managers have come to the conclusion that college grads are unprepared for the world of work. Meanwhile, over 20% say they can\u2019t handle the workload.\u00a0<\/p>\n

In reality, colleges know that their students are wholly unprepared for the workforce, and some have started stepping up to fill the gap.\u00a0<\/p>\n

For example, Michigan State University is teaching students\u00a0how to handle a networking conversation,\u00a0<\/a>including how to look for signs that the other party is starting to get bored and that it\u2019s time to move on.<\/p>\n

\n<\/p>\n

Read more from <\/strong>Fortune
<\/strong> \n<\/p>\n

  • This entrepreneurial couple cashed out their 401(k)s and sold a $126 million company\u2014now, they run a U.K. soccer team<\/a><\/li>\n
  • Trump\u2019s 25% tariffs are backfiring<\/a> and threatening Gen Z\u2019s trade career aspirations\u2014putting car manufacturing jobs in peril<\/li>\n
  • Gen Z women are being sold a risky dream<\/a>: the realities behind \u2018investing\u2019 in designer bags like the Herm\u00e8s Birkin<\/li>\n
  • Like Tim Cook and Gen Z, AEG\u2019s top exec eats the same lunch most days and wears the same outfit<\/a><\/li>\n
  • Warren Buffett reveals the unique education strategy he took in school<\/a>\u2014and eventually paid off with a $170 billion fortune<\/li>\n

    \u00a0<\/p>\n

    Meanwhile, a high school in London is trialing a 12-hour school day<\/a> to prepare pupils for adult life.\u00a0<\/p>\n

    Want to be more hirable? Attitude is everything<\/p>\n

    When asked what would make college grads more hirable, bosses responded: a positive attitude and more initiative.\u00a0<\/p>\n

    Intelligent\u2019s chief education and career development advisor, Huy Nguyen, advises Gen Z grads to observe how other workers interact to understand the company culture at any new firm they may join. From there, it\u2019s easier to gauge what\u2019s an appropriate way of engaging with others.<\/p>\n

    \u201cTake the initiative to ask thoughtful questions, seek feedback, and apply it to show your motivation for personal growth,\u201d Nguyen adds. \u201cBuild a reputation for dependability by maintaining a positive attitude, meeting deadlines, and volunteering for projects, even those outside your immediate responsibilities.\u201d<\/p>\n

    Amazon<\/a> CEO Andy Jassy recently echoed that an \u201cembarrassing\u201d amount of your success in your twenties depends on your attitude\u2014and the reason why is simple: Managers would rather work with positive people.<\/p>\n

    Some leaders have even insisted that a can-do attitude at work will advance young workers\u2019 careers more than a college degree.\u00a0<\/p>\n

    Richard Branson, the billionaire founder of Virgin, has repeatedly urged young people to ditch university in favor of the \u201cschool of life<\/a>.\u201d<\/p>\n

    Meta<\/a> CEO Mark Zuckerberg\u00a0recently claimed that\u00a0raw talent and personality trump credentials<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n

    To that end, Cisco\u2019s top executive in the U.K., David Meads, dropped out of school at 16 years old<\/a>. He told Fortune that \u201cattitude and aptitude are more important than whatever letters you have after your name, or whatever qualifications you\u2019ve got on a sheet.\u201d<\/p>\n

    Have you had to let go of a Gen Z employee? Or perhaps you are the Gen Zer who\u2019s just been fired. Fortune wants to hear from you. Email: orianna.royle@fortune.com<\/p>\n

    \u00a0A version of this story originally published on Fortune.com<\/a> on September 26, 2024.<\/p>\n

    More on Success:<\/strong><\/p>\n

    Fortune Global Forum<\/strong> returns Oct. 26\u201327, 2025 in Riyadh. CEOs and global leaders will gather for a dynamic, invitation-only event shaping the future of business. Apply for an invitation.<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"After complaining for the better part of two years that Gen Z grads are difficult to work with,…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":132277,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[176],"tags":[9605,5655,79,2788,298,18,32485,300,2234,19,17,227,1946,723,47636,58205,20934,3797,3798,5585,48433,7634],"class_list":{"0":"post-132276","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-jobs","8":"tag-always-free","9":"tag-bosses","10":"tag-business","11":"tag-careers","12":"tag-colleges-and-universities","13":"tag-eire","14":"tag-firing","15":"tag-gen-z","16":"tag-hiring","17":"tag-ie","18":"tag-ireland","19":"tag-jobs","20":"tag-leadership","21":"tag-management","22":"tag-no-copyright","23":"tag-no-index-rec","24":"tag-recruiting","25":"tag-recruitment","26":"tag-retention","27":"tag-talent-acquisition","28":"tag-the-interview-playbook","29":"tag-work-culture"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/132276","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=132276"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/132276\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/132277"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=132276"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=132276"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=132276"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}