Do a lot of young people lack interpersonal skills in the workplace and life in general now?

Tabieth

dumpster_fire2025 said:

Bigbobby said:

Is it just me or do other people think that in the workplace and life in general that in many cases young people seem to lack communication and social skills? I have been working in the NHS in pharmacy for just under 10 years now and started off as a pharmacy assistant and I have now worked my way up to a supervisor.  It is now that I am really starting to notice this issue in many of the younger staff in particular.
Several things I have noticed:
-You try and initiate conversation whether work related or banter during quiet periods...how was your weekend? How are you finding your new role?  Did you watch the footie last night?  All I seem to get is a few word response at best.
-The stare is the big one.  Again you ask a question and they just seem to freeze and do not know how to respond
-Lack of initiative and problem solving themselves.  As soon as something happens that is outside their routine, comfort zone or out of kilter a bit again they just seem to freeze, panic and expect me to solve all their problems.
-Scared of answering the phone.  As soon as the phone goes which of course requires verbal skills they just ignore it or just pass it on to a senior member of staff.
These are just some examples and I am not giving a blanket opinion saying these apply to every young person but from experience in many cases they do. 
I then ask myself way is this? 
-Is it social media/technology where communication is just through your phone which could mean that you are not developing proper face to face communication skills.  I see it all the time are work, down the street, on the bus etc where people are just on their phone all the time
-Lack of socialising in general?  When I was younger I climbed trees, played football on the park, then went to pub when older, fishing, hiking etc.  Looking back it was fun and it developed my social skills.  Is it the case that young people are now more isolated, staying at home more on their phones and computer playing games?  
-Are young people now being mollycoddled by their parents more and as a result are not developing their own independent living skills?
-Has the COVID pandemic/lockdowns has a lasting impact on young people?
-Financial constraints?  I remember the 2008 financial crisis and more recently the cost of living post pandemic.  Could it be a lack of UK economic growth over recent years, wage growth and inflation means young people have less money in their pocket? As a result they are less likely to afford social activities?  The amount of pubs and shops in my town that have shut is just absurd.
I am 39 now and looking back when I was younger I was more of an introvert.  I lacked life experience but by the time I hit my 20s I became more confident and learnt how to socialise and communicate better.  Fast forward to today and it seems that in many cases people who have now hit their 20s have still not developed their communication skills and this adds pressure and stress to other member of staff which I think is incredibly rude.
Again and I will emphasise again that this does not apply to every single young person.  I will totally respect other people other people's views who may disagree with me, I am just more interested in what other people's opinions, views and observations are?

Welcome to the HR culture.

I rarely speak to colleagues because my views are not DEI friendly. I suspect most people, whether they have my political views or not, know that a misunderstood word results in job termination. So we just don't bother anymore.

In my experience “a misunderstood word” never results in job termination. To dismiss someone for gross misconduct (quite rightly) requires a high bar. I have as a manager seen people dismissed for what they’ve said but it’s always been pretty vile and extreme. Never a “misunderstood word”. 

gwynlas

I am suprised that these problems are  so obvious in the retail industry as I believed that hospitality and retail were two areas that forced young people to learn communication skills.

Whilst technology obviously plays a part i think the demise of traditional activities and the increased pace of life play a huge role.

Cars replace public transport or walking with push chairs and the interactions with strangers
Children no longer get sent on errands to local shops and if they do these are self service.
There are fewer traditional activities church groups, scouts or guiding
Knocking on strangers doors for bob a job  or seeking sponsorship is frownded upon.
Screen time replacing board games, reading or outdoor pursuis or parental interaction
Structured play becoming an activity rather than children seeking friends and using imagination.
Children and Adolescents being confronted with media images of talent contests etc with 15 minutes of fame.

Older generations leant through observation, trial and error getting things wrong as often as getting things right without current expectations that everyone is perpetually happy and that life can be perfect

zagfles

Tabieth said:

dumpster_fire2025 said:

Bigbobby said:

Is it just me or do other people think that in the workplace and life in general that in many cases young people seem to lack communication and social skills? I have been working in the NHS in pharmacy for just under 10 years now and started off as a pharmacy assistant and I have now worked my way up to a supervisor.  It is now that I am really starting to notice this issue in many of the younger staff in particular.
Several things I have noticed:
-You try and initiate conversation whether work related or banter during quiet periods...how was your weekend? How are you finding your new role?  Did you watch the footie last night?  All I seem to get is a few word response at best.
-The stare is the big one.  Again you ask a question and they just seem to freeze and do not know how to respond
-Lack of initiative and problem solving themselves.  As soon as something happens that is outside their routine, comfort zone or out of kilter a bit again they just seem to freeze, panic and expect me to solve all their problems.
-Scared of answering the phone.  As soon as the phone goes which of course requires verbal skills they just ignore it or just pass it on to a senior member of staff.
These are just some examples and I am not giving a blanket opinion saying these apply to every young person but from experience in many cases they do. 
I then ask myself way is this? 
-Is it social media/technology where communication is just through your phone which could mean that you are not developing proper face to face communication skills.  I see it all the time are work, down the street, on the bus etc where people are just on their phone all the time
-Lack of socialising in general?  When I was younger I climbed trees, played football on the park, then went to pub when older, fishing, hiking etc.  Looking back it was fun and it developed my social skills.  Is it the case that young people are now more isolated, staying at home more on their phones and computer playing games?  
-Are young people now being mollycoddled by their parents more and as a result are not developing their own independent living skills?
-Has the COVID pandemic/lockdowns has a lasting impact on young people?
-Financial constraints?  I remember the 2008 financial crisis and more recently the cost of living post pandemic.  Could it be a lack of UK economic growth over recent years, wage growth and inflation means young people have less money in their pocket? As a result they are less likely to afford social activities?  The amount of pubs and shops in my town that have shut is just absurd.
I am 39 now and looking back when I was younger I was more of an introvert.  I lacked life experience but by the time I hit my 20s I became more confident and learnt how to socialise and communicate better.  Fast forward to today and it seems that in many cases people who have now hit their 20s have still not developed their communication skills and this adds pressure and stress to other member of staff which I think is incredibly rude.
Again and I will emphasise again that this does not apply to every single young person.  I will totally respect other people other people's views who may disagree with me, I am just more interested in what other people's opinions, views and observations are?

Welcome to the HR culture.

I rarely speak to colleagues because my views are not DEI friendly. I suspect most people, whether they have my political views or not, know that a misunderstood word results in job termination. So we just don't bother anymore.

In my experience “a misunderstood word” never results in job termination. To dismiss someone for gross misconduct (quite rightly) requires a high bar. I have as a manager seen people dismissed for what they’ve said but it’s always been pretty vile and extreme. Never a “misunderstood word”. 

There've been a few high profile examples of exactly that happening (eg John Torode singing a song with a bad word). But yes it's different when the mass media get involved and organisations fall over themselves to say they treat this sort of thing "very seriously" and immediate knee-jerk reactions are required for PR reasons. 

Tabieth

zagfles said:

Tabieth said:

dumpster_fire2025 said:

Bigbobby said:

Is it just me or do other people think that in the workplace and life in general that in many cases young people seem to lack communication and social skills? I have been working in the NHS in pharmacy for just under 10 years now and started off as a pharmacy assistant and I have now worked my way up to a supervisor.  It is now that I am really starting to notice this issue in many of the younger staff in particular.
Several things I have noticed:
-You try and initiate conversation whether work related or banter during quiet periods...how was your weekend? How are you finding your new role?  Did you watch the footie last night?  All I seem to get is a few word response at best.
-The stare is the big one.  Again you ask a question and they just seem to freeze and do not know how to respond
-Lack of initiative and problem solving themselves.  As soon as something happens that is outside their routine, comfort zone or out of kilter a bit again they just seem to freeze, panic and expect me to solve all their problems.
-Scared of answering the phone.  As soon as the phone goes which of course requires verbal skills they just ignore it or just pass it on to a senior member of staff.
These are just some examples and I am not giving a blanket opinion saying these apply to every young person but from experience in many cases they do. 
I then ask myself way is this? 
-Is it social media/technology where communication is just through your phone which could mean that you are not developing proper face to face communication skills.  I see it all the time are work, down the street, on the bus etc where people are just on their phone all the time
-Lack of socialising in general?  When I was younger I climbed trees, played football on the park, then went to pub when older, fishing, hiking etc.  Looking back it was fun and it developed my social skills.  Is it the case that young people are now more isolated, staying at home more on their phones and computer playing games?  
-Are young people now being mollycoddled by their parents more and as a result are not developing their own independent living skills?
-Has the COVID pandemic/lockdowns has a lasting impact on young people?
-Financial constraints?  I remember the 2008 financial crisis and more recently the cost of living post pandemic.  Could it be a lack of UK economic growth over recent years, wage growth and inflation means young people have less money in their pocket? As a result they are less likely to afford social activities?  The amount of pubs and shops in my town that have shut is just absurd.
I am 39 now and looking back when I was younger I was more of an introvert.  I lacked life experience but by the time I hit my 20s I became more confident and learnt how to socialise and communicate better.  Fast forward to today and it seems that in many cases people who have now hit their 20s have still not developed their communication skills and this adds pressure and stress to other member of staff which I think is incredibly rude.
Again and I will emphasise again that this does not apply to every single young person.  I will totally respect other people other people's views who may disagree with me, I am just more interested in what other people's opinions, views and observations are?

Welcome to the HR culture.

I rarely speak to colleagues because my views are not DEI friendly. I suspect most people, whether they have my political views or not, know that a misunderstood word results in job termination. So we just don't bother anymore.

In my experience “a misunderstood word” never results in job termination. To dismiss someone for gross misconduct (quite rightly) requires a high bar. I have as a manager seen people dismissed for what they’ve said but it’s always been pretty vile and extreme. Never a “misunderstood word”. 

There've been a few high profile examples of exactly that happening (eg John Torode singing a song with a bad word). But yes it's different when the mass media get involved and organisations fall over themselves to say they treat this sort of thing "very seriously" and immediate knee-jerk reactions are required for PR reasons. 

I take your point but I don’t think Masterchef (or the BBC) are typical of workplace dignity at work HR policies. And it goes both ways, Wallace’s behaviours went unchallenged for many years before any action was taken…

lincroft1710

Nearly 60 years ago I read an article in Reader's Digest, probably by a US contributor. When her children came home from school she would ask them about their day, but got the briefest of replies. One evening she decided to go to a public phone and phone home. One of the children answered and she asked them about their day, the child talked solidly for several minutes telling Mum about everything that had happened!


So perhaps not a recent phenomenon.


To the OP. If you know the young staff's mobile phone numbers, try texting them if you want to ask them a question.

EnPointe

Tabieth said:

dumpster_fire2025 said:

Bigbobby said:

Is it just me or do other people think that in the workplace and life in general that in many cases young people seem to lack communication and social skills? I have been working in the NHS in pharmacy for just under 10 years now and started off as a pharmacy assistant and I have now worked my way up to a supervisor.  It is now that I am really starting to notice this issue in many of the younger staff in particular.
Several things I have noticed:
-You try and initiate conversation whether work related or banter during quiet periods...how was your weekend? How are you finding your new role?  Did you watch the footie last night?  All I seem to get is a few word response at best.
-The stare is the big one.  Again you ask a question and they just seem to freeze and do not know how to respond
-Lack of initiative and problem solving themselves.  As soon as something happens that is outside their routine, comfort zone or out of kilter a bit again they just seem to freeze, panic and expect me to solve all their problems.
-Scared of answering the phone.  As soon as the phone goes which of course requires verbal skills they just ignore it or just pass it on to a senior member of staff.
These are just some examples and I am not giving a blanket opinion saying these apply to every young person but from experience in many cases they do. 
I then ask myself way is this? 
-Is it social media/technology where communication is just through your phone which could mean that you are not developing proper face to face communication skills.  I see it all the time are work, down the street, on the bus etc where people are just on their phone all the time
-Lack of socialising in general?  When I was younger I climbed trees, played football on the park, then went to pub when older, fishing, hiking etc.  Looking back it was fun and it developed my social skills.  Is it the case that young people are now more isolated, staying at home more on their phones and computer playing games?  
-Are young people now being mollycoddled by their parents more and as a result are not developing their own independent living skills?
-Has the COVID pandemic/lockdowns has a lasting impact on young people?
-Financial constraints?  I remember the 2008 financial crisis and more recently the cost of living post pandemic.  Could it be a lack of UK economic growth over recent years, wage growth and inflation means young people have less money in their pocket? As a result they are less likely to afford social activities?  The amount of pubs and shops in my town that have shut is just absurd.
I am 39 now and looking back when I was younger I was more of an introvert.  I lacked life experience but by the time I hit my 20s I became more confident and learnt how to socialise and communicate better.  Fast forward to today and it seems that in many cases people who have now hit their 20s have still not developed their communication skills and this adds pressure and stress to other member of staff which I think is incredibly rude.
Again and I will emphasise again that this does not apply to every single young person.  I will totally respect other people other people's views who may disagree with me, I am just more interested in what other people's opinions, views and observations are?

Welcome to the HR culture.

I rarely speak to colleagues because my views are not DEI friendly. I suspect most people, whether they have my political views or not, know that a misunderstood word results in job termination. So we just don't bother anymore.

In my experience “a misunderstood word” never results in job termination. To dismiss someone for gross misconduct (quite rightly) requires a high bar. I have as a manager seen people dismissed for what they’ve said but it’s always been pretty vile and extreme. Never a “misunderstood word”. 

thge problem is that those who  promote this view  have views which are  , frankly, not worthy of consideration ina  civilised society,  it;s just they have been Groomed ( actual meaning of the word ) into beleiveing that their extreme  , often  fascist , virews  and that their  sexualised bheaviours are normal, by the likes of  D Trump , N Farage and S Yaxley-Lennon 

EnPointe

My on take on this is  is that it is very variable. 

I currently work in a  Training / Supervisory  role for a well known  food services  organisation ...   we have a lot of younger  (  both 16-18 and 18-25 )   workers  including in the latter  a good chunk of the  people in my role and the people in the  Shift Leader role, the majority of Site leadership teams are older than 25  as are a  decent slew of the Shift leaders and the trainer/ supervisors. 

we are fortunate  in that the normal policy of the organistion bans  Phones  and personal devices on the shop floor  unless you are a Manager or have a specific purpose for having your phone  etc on the shop floor, that said a lot of  the work  the trainers and the  managers do  does use  work supplied  tablet devices, although trainers can access  the training  materials on their own devices and  managers can access  training, food safety and operational analytics...  the upshot is  that 'da yoof' cannot bury their faces in their phones ... also  ' if there's time to lean there's time to clean ' ... 

some of  our young workers are very confident and capable dealing with the public, with colleagues and with  Supervisors  including up to the fraqnchisee and the  regional Team from the Brand , they can also have  involved conversations within their own  areas of knowledge and experience, although  often  as a more senior team we avoid too much  that could turn political  for obvious reasons and will  keep relationships stuff  under wraps because there have been problems elsewhere in the wider business with  Sexual Safety ...   

zagfles

EnPointe said:

Tabieth said:

dumpster_fire2025 said:

Bigbobby said:

Is it just me or do other people think that in the workplace and life in general that in many cases young people seem to lack communication and social skills? I have been working in the NHS in pharmacy for just under 10 years now and started off as a pharmacy assistant and I have now worked my way up to a supervisor.  It is now that I am really starting to notice this issue in many of the younger staff in particular.
Several things I have noticed:
-You try and initiate conversation whether work related or banter during quiet periods...how was your weekend? How are you finding your new role?  Did you watch the footie last night?  All I seem to get is a few word response at best.
-The stare is the big one.  Again you ask a question and they just seem to freeze and do not know how to respond
-Lack of initiative and problem solving themselves.  As soon as something happens that is outside their routine, comfort zone or out of kilter a bit again they just seem to freeze, panic and expect me to solve all their problems.
-Scared of answering the phone.  As soon as the phone goes which of course requires verbal skills they just ignore it or just pass it on to a senior member of staff.
These are just some examples and I am not giving a blanket opinion saying these apply to every young person but from experience in many cases they do. 
I then ask myself way is this? 
-Is it social media/technology where communication is just through your phone which could mean that you are not developing proper face to face communication skills.  I see it all the time are work, down the street, on the bus etc where people are just on their phone all the time
-Lack of socialising in general?  When I was younger I climbed trees, played football on the park, then went to pub when older, fishing, hiking etc.  Looking back it was fun and it developed my social skills.  Is it the case that young people are now more isolated, staying at home more on their phones and computer playing games?  
-Are young people now being mollycoddled by their parents more and as a result are not developing their own independent living skills?
-Has the COVID pandemic/lockdowns has a lasting impact on young people?
-Financial constraints?  I remember the 2008 financial crisis and more recently the cost of living post pandemic.  Could it be a lack of UK economic growth over recent years, wage growth and inflation means young people have less money in their pocket? As a result they are less likely to afford social activities?  The amount of pubs and shops in my town that have shut is just absurd.
I am 39 now and looking back when I was younger I was more of an introvert.  I lacked life experience but by the time I hit my 20s I became more confident and learnt how to socialise and communicate better.  Fast forward to today and it seems that in many cases people who have now hit their 20s have still not developed their communication skills and this adds pressure and stress to other member of staff which I think is incredibly rude.
Again and I will emphasise again that this does not apply to every single young person.  I will totally respect other people other people's views who may disagree with me, I am just more interested in what other people's opinions, views and observations are?

Welcome to the HR culture.

I rarely speak to colleagues because my views are not DEI friendly. I suspect most people, whether they have my political views or not, know that a misunderstood word results in job termination. So we just don't bother anymore.

In my experience “a misunderstood word” never results in job termination. To dismiss someone for gross misconduct (quite rightly) requires a high bar. I have as a manager seen people dismissed for what they’ve said but it’s always been pretty vile and extreme. Never a “misunderstood word”. 

thge problem is that those who  promote this view  have views which are  , frankly, not worthy of consideration ina  civilised society,  it;s just they have been Groomed ( actual meaning of the word ) into beleiveing that their extreme  , often  fascist , virews  and that their  sexualised bheaviours are normal, by the likes of  D Trump , N Farage and S Yaxley-Lennon 

Their views, whether you like them or not, have to be taken into consideration in a democratic society especially when they win or do well in elections. If you believe in democracy then you can't go round shutting down views shared by a large proportion of the country regardless of any arrogant "civilised" elite thinking they know better. 

That may be one of the problems the OP is referring to, maybe young people are brought up too scared to express "incorrect" views or challenge the orthodoxy they are taught and that feeds into a "follow the process" type attitude to jobs rather than think outside the box. 

zagfles

Tabieth said:

zagfles said:

Tabieth said:

dumpster_fire2025 said:

Bigbobby said:

Is it just me or do other people think that in the workplace and life in general that in many cases young people seem to lack communication and social skills? I have been working in the NHS in pharmacy for just under 10 years now and started off as a pharmacy assistant and I have now worked my way up to a supervisor.  It is now that I am really starting to notice this issue in many of the younger staff in particular.
Several things I have noticed:
-You try and initiate conversation whether work related or banter during quiet periods...how was your weekend? How are you finding your new role?  Did you watch the footie last night?  All I seem to get is a few word response at best.
-The stare is the big one.  Again you ask a question and they just seem to freeze and do not know how to respond
-Lack of initiative and problem solving themselves.  As soon as something happens that is outside their routine, comfort zone or out of kilter a bit again they just seem to freeze, panic and expect me to solve all their problems.
-Scared of answering the phone.  As soon as the phone goes which of course requires verbal skills they just ignore it or just pass it on to a senior member of staff.
These are just some examples and I am not giving a blanket opinion saying these apply to every young person but from experience in many cases they do. 
I then ask myself way is this? 
-Is it social media/technology where communication is just through your phone which could mean that you are not developing proper face to face communication skills.  I see it all the time are work, down the street, on the bus etc where people are just on their phone all the time
-Lack of socialising in general?  When I was younger I climbed trees, played football on the park, then went to pub when older, fishing, hiking etc.  Looking back it was fun and it developed my social skills.  Is it the case that young people are now more isolated, staying at home more on their phones and computer playing games?  
-Are young people now being mollycoddled by their parents more and as a result are not developing their own independent living skills?
-Has the COVID pandemic/lockdowns has a lasting impact on young people?
-Financial constraints?  I remember the 2008 financial crisis and more recently the cost of living post pandemic.  Could it be a lack of UK economic growth over recent years, wage growth and inflation means young people have less money in their pocket? As a result they are less likely to afford social activities?  The amount of pubs and shops in my town that have shut is just absurd.
I am 39 now and looking back when I was younger I was more of an introvert.  I lacked life experience but by the time I hit my 20s I became more confident and learnt how to socialise and communicate better.  Fast forward to today and it seems that in many cases people who have now hit their 20s have still not developed their communication skills and this adds pressure and stress to other member of staff which I think is incredibly rude.
Again and I will emphasise again that this does not apply to every single young person.  I will totally respect other people other people's views who may disagree with me, I am just more interested in what other people's opinions, views and observations are?

Welcome to the HR culture.

I rarely speak to colleagues because my views are not DEI friendly. I suspect most people, whether they have my political views or not, know that a misunderstood word results in job termination. So we just don't bother anymore.

In my experience “a misunderstood word” never results in job termination. To dismiss someone for gross misconduct (quite rightly) requires a high bar. I have as a manager seen people dismissed for what they’ve said but it’s always been pretty vile and extreme. Never a “misunderstood word”. 

There've been a few high profile examples of exactly that happening (eg John Torode singing a song with a bad word). But yes it's different when the mass media get involved and organisations fall over themselves to say they treat this sort of thing "very seriously" and immediate knee-jerk reactions are required for PR reasons. 

I take your point but I don’t think Masterchef (or the BBC) are typical of workplace dignity at work HR policies. And it goes both ways, Wallace’s behaviours went unchallenged for many years before any action was taken…

Yup - it's not typical but there have been examples of people in ordinary jobs being disciplined or sacked for a one off misunderstood or disputed remark. 

And there are a lot of older people who simply don't know "the rules", I've heard some use words or phrases that would probably get them into trouble in a lot of workplaces but there was no malice or "hate" just a lack of knowledge about the correct terms people should use these days. 

magicmoneyportaloo

I'm sure when I get older I will complain about "kids these days".

I am looking forward to getting old because I can starting talking about In My Time, there wasn't self aware AI, and if you wanted to find out something you had to Google it yourself!