WELCOME TO THE REAL WORLD: Gen Z wants work to be fulfilling and flexible — and they don’t like deadlines.

Students need to learn workplace etiquette and expectations, says Shannon Anderson, a sociology professor at Roanoke College in Virginia, who teaches a course to prepare students for internships. When schools went remote, high school teachers were urged to let students turn in work late, and some college professors are still giving “grace,” Anderson says. So, “when somebody comes in and says, ‘You have to get things in by the deadline,’ they feel angry.” And they don’t realize employees can’t just grant themselves a “self-care day.”

Gen Zers want “to be included in decision-making, kept informed, given personalized attention, provided flexibility in the work schedule, given a clear growth path, provided an opportunity for work-life balance, and to be part of an organization that does good,” according to a 2024 study by Wake Forest’s Patrick Sweeney and colleagues. Young workers have “to earn their stripes” before being listened to, employers tell Sweeney.

I’m so old, I remember when college prepared young people for real-world work environments.