A recent survey of hiring managers on Gen Z new hires raised some concerning points. My take—backed by our internal data—is that much of it likely stems from a lack of basic exposure to work environments.
Anyone who came of age before Y2K was in a peer group where after-school or summer jobs were the norm. Half of their friends held some sort of job, gaining early exposure to managers, customers, and workplace expectations. That experience built resilience in ways today’s younger workforce may be missing.
Adam Grant’s recent op-ed highlighted a trend among college students: many now expect an A for effort and a B for showing up, regardless of actual performance. This mindset reflects a broader shift in the education system—where K-12 students aren’t adequately challenged, and in higher education, adjuncts and TAs (with little career stability) hesitate to push students too hard for fear of job risks. The result? New grads who need mental health days because of tough bosses, rude customers, or everyday personal crises.
Building resilience—anti-fragility (a topic for later)—comes from exposure to small, manageable difficulties. Just as vaccines introduce controlled doses of germs to build immunity or workouts tear muscle fibers to make them stronger, early work experience develops critical life skills.
So, should teens take fast food or cashier jobs? It depends. But here’s a rule of thumb: a kid who avoids challenges at 15 likely won’t embrace them at 25—and by 35, they may have completely given up on doing hard things. If a child refuses all challenges, it’s likely a failure of parenting.
Biologically, a parent’s primary instinct is to ensure their offspring survive and thrive—this principle holds across species. In fact, declining birth rates (another topic for later) can be understood through this framework: animals instinctively have fewer offspring under stress.
The surest path to weakness is avoiding hard things. So, why would anyone choose the harder path when an easier one is right there? Because they want to be special—and they’re willing to pay the price, decade after decade, to get there.
