As another school year begins, the graduating class of 2023 is settling into their post college lives. So far, the transition has not been smooth.  

A recent report from Intelligent found that four in 10 business leaders say recent grads are unprepared for the workforce, citing work ethic and communication skills as the top reasons why they’re not ready.

But are they unprepared, or are they trying to bridge both a generational and technological gap?  

“This generation spent some of their most formative education years remote. They’ve missed some of the in-person social interaction that typically would have happened for a lot of us,” said Christine Cruzvergara, chief education strategy officer at Handshake, an online career platform, told HR Dive. At the same time, these digital natives are more likely to be comfortable with technology that can improve a workplace overall, which could benefit older workers if these differences are embraced before being scored or even mocked.

HR Dive spoke to two HR experts about what is going on with the Generation Z work transition and what HR managers can do to make their path smooth.

Understanding how new workers think

In some cases, the problem isn’t workers not being ready but that they are from a different generation and have different expectations than their millennial, Generation X or baby boomer co-workers.  

For example, since recent college graduates most likely did some of their coursework online during the pandemic, remote work and schedule flexibility is the norm, said Susan Hanson, chief people officer at Rainfocus, an event management company. “Their desire to work is more about traveling or getting to do new things and enjoying life versus working to live, maybe like it used to be,” she said.

These workers also face different economic realities than previous generations did. Student loan debts, inflation and rising housing costs might mean that new workers are living at home after graduating and for longer than previous generations did. “This generation is okay with that, which is fine. It’s just a difference,” Hanson said.

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