An office etiquette battle is brewing between managers and young workers

Many business leaders believe recent college graduates are lacking a certain level of professionalism. 

A recent survey from Intelligent.com highlighted how widespread this issue is, with 8 in 10 business leaders saying recent college grads need workplace-etiquette training. 

The report, which surveyed 1,000 business leaders, found managers believe recent grads are struggling with professionalism in areas like communication, receiving feedback and appropriate workplace conversation. 

There was a slight difference in how managers of fully in-person workers responded versus those with hybrid and remote employees. 

For employers at companies with full in-person work schedules, 83% said recent grads definitely or probably need etiquette training. That’s compared to 79% of managers at companies with hybrid work and 76% of managers at fully remote companies. 

Huy Nguyen, Intelligent.com’s chief education and career development advisor, said in-person work is more likely to reveal perceived gaps in professionalism. 

“Remote work can mask certain deficiencies, but in a physical office setting, managers and other employees observe firsthand how new hires handle conflicts, respond to feedback and manage their responsibilities in a shared workspace,” Nguyen said in the report. “As more companies push return-to-office mandates, expectations and scrutiny around professional workplace etiquette will also rise.” 

Taking criticism, cellphone etiquette among top issues  

Two issues in particular stood out among survey responses on the areas new grads are lacking in.

Fifty-six percent of managers said younger employees are either somewhat incompetent or highly incompetent at taking constructive criticism. And 51% of managers also identified understanding cellphone etiquette in the workplace as an area where recent college graduates are somewhat or highly incompetent. 

A notable share of managers also labeled recent college graduates as incompetent in addressing and resolving conflict (48% of respondents), dressing professionally (44%), exercising common sense (44%) and keeping controversial topics out of the workplace (43%). 

Nguyen said there are two key reasons for these struggles among new hires, both largely because of the Covid-19 pandemic.  

“This limited their exposure to the interpersonal dynamics of in-person workspaces where soft skills such as communication, conflict resolution and time management are developed through direct experience,” Nguyen said. “Recent grads have spent most of their lives in academic institutions that focus more on theoretical knowledge and inherently give less exposure to practical skills needed to be successful in the workplace. Leaving a structured environment with clear and constant guidance to enter the professional workplace where they are expected to be more autonomous and deal with ambiguity can be a difficult transition.” 

To help alleviate these issues, one-third of managers said their company currently offers workplace etiquette training, while 1 in 5 said their company will start providing the training in the future, most likely before the end of 2024 (according to 20% of respondents) or in 2025 (73%). 

“Having a formal program specific to a company helps to provide transparency, set clear expectations and can help bridge the gap between recent graduates’ educational experience and the professional skills and procedures needed to thrive in the workplace,” Nguyen said.