12% of managers say they've fired a Gen Z employee in their first week of work — and being too easily offended is often to blame, new survey finds

• Nearly 75% of managers in a recent survey said Gen Z is more difficult to work with than other generations.
• About 12% and 16% of that group said they have fired a Gen Zer in their first week or month of work, respectively.
• Many said they would rather work with Millennials or Gen X employees because they feel they're more productive.

In a new ResumeBuilder survey of more than 1,300 managers, 74% of respondents said they find Gen Z more difficult to work with than other generations, and of those 12% reported having to fire a young worker within their first week on the job. 

Of the 1,000 managers who said they felt Gen Z was difficult to work with, about half said it was difficult to work with the younger generation "most or all of the time," according to the survey.

While generational differences in the workplace have long been a point of contention, ResumeBuilder's chief career advisor Stacie Haller said the pandemic has further exacerbated challenges around areas like communication and work style. 

"As a result of COVID-19 and remote education, it's possible that GenZers lack the foundation to be more successful than older generations in entry-level positions," Haller said in a statement. 

She continued: "We know that with remote work and education, communication skills do not develop as well and people tend to work more independently. Hiring managers need to be cognizant of this when interviewing GenZers for positions. This generation may need more training when it comes to professional skills."

According to the survey, just under 60% of the 1,000 managers who said the generation is difficult to work with said they have had to fire at least one Gen Z employee. About 20% of these managers said they have fired a Gen Z worker in their first week of work and 27% within their first month.

The managers cited a variety of reasons for their disinterest in working with Gen Z, ranging from a lack of effort and productivity to how they believe young workers are easily offended.

Adam Garfield, marketing director at Hairbro, said in a statement that while Gen Z employees can be "highly innovative and adaptable" and "not afraid to challenge the status quo and bring new ideas to the table," they can also struggle with effective communication.  

"While they are proficient in using digital communication tools, they may lack some of the interpersonal skills required for face-to-face interactions," Garfield said in a statement. "GenZers could benefit from developing their communication skills to build stronger relationships with colleagues and client.

About 64% of the managers who found Gen Z difficult said they would rather work with Gen X (30%) or Millennial workers (34%), while another third said they had no preference, and just 4% said they would rather work with members of the Baby Boomer generation.