Managers think Gen Z lacks soft skills and have unrealistic expectations

But it’s not likely that a half-week of modules and PowerPoint presentations will teach a new hire—much less a fresh college grad—how to receive blunt feedback or strike up a conversation with a senior manager if you run into them in the office kitchen. Those are soft skills, and according to new data from a Harris Poll carried out exclusively for Fortune, bosses say they’re what Gen Z lacks the most. 

Eighty-two percent of managers—among The Harris Poll’s pool of 1,200 knowledge workers—said their new Gen Z hires’ soft skills need more guidance, time, and training. They think Gen Z newbies also have unrealistic workplace expectations, more so than they used to, and three in four managers say it’s harder to train new hires in soft skills than in actual technical skills. 

It’s a problem that even the Gen Z employees in question can admit, but they’re asking for a bit of grace. Nearly 4 in 5 Gen Z employees (78%) that Harris Poll surveyed said that they feel some more ambient, abstract workplace soft skills can’t be taught and can really only be gained by watching more seasoned employees over time.

They also point out that, given the fact that many of them experienced Zoom college and Zoom internships instead of boots-on-the-ground training, they’re having a harder time than their predecessors adjusting to workplace norms and right-sizing their expectations. But as Gen Alpha creeps up behind them, it’s high time for Gen Z to get on board. 

Soft skills might be more important than hard skills

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