Survey finds 7 in 10 managers compare supervising Gen Z to babysitting or parenting

Almost seven in ten (68 percent) of U.S. managers say managing Gen Z employees feels like parenting, and more than half (54 percent) compare it to babysitting. That’s according to a recent survey from the job-seeker-resource website ResumeTemplates.com. Additionally, a majority (61 percent) of survey respondents reported that Gen Z workers require frequent hand-holding, and 52 percent said they struggle to follow basic instructions.  The survey, commissioned by ResumeTemplates.com, was conducted by Pollfish in July 2025 among 1,000 workplace managers in the U.S. who supervise Gen Z workers. A key insight from the study was the managers’ widespread belief that Gen Z lacks basic workplace skills. Nine out of ten respondents said they have had to teach their young employees foundational skills. The most commonly cited skills were: • Accepting feedback without taking it personally (59 percent) • Interacting appropriately with clients and coworkers (46 percent) • Multitasking effectively (45 percent) • Admitting mistakes professionally (42 percent) • Dressing appropriately for work (36 percent) Significant numbers of managers also reported needing to remind Gen Z workers about routine concerns such as arriving on time (48 percent), completing assignments on time (46 percent), putting their phones away (41 percent), and making eye contact during conversations (38 percent).  In response to an open-ended question, managers described working with Gen Zers. The responses included these two comments: • “It has been exhausting. Most of the time I feel like a babysitter trying to teach children lessons they refuse to learn. The worst challenges are time management and staying off their phones.” • “This generation of workers is like nothing I’ve ever seen before. They are adults who still act like teenagers.” Julia Toothacre, a chief career strategist at ResumeTemplates.com, posited some possible reasons for the management challenges presented by Gen Z, saying, “Gen Z’s entry into the workforce looked really different from previous generations because of the pandemic. Many missed out on in-person training and onboarding.” “Organizations need to do more to support managers, otherwise they risk burnout, frustration, and disengagement,” Toothacre said of the workplace problems caused by the increasing supervisory demands. “One solution is better group training, so managers share in the workload. Additionally, college prep courses and internships can help prepare Gen Zers.”  A full summary of the survey’s findings are available at: https://www.resumetemplates.com/7-in-10-managers-liken-supervising-gen-z-to-babysitting-or-parenting