Why developing soft skills requires a new approach for Gen Z 

For generations, a first job was a rite of passage. 

Whether bagging groceries, waiting tables, working retail, or lifeguarding at the local pool, young people were learning far more than how to perform a job. They were learning how to show up on time, communicate with people of different ages, solve problems under pressure, receive feedback, navigate conflict, and earn the trust of customers and coworkers. 

Most of us never realized we were learning professional skills. 

They developed almost by accident. 

A new employee overheard a difficult conversation with a customer. They watched a manager navigate conflict. They observed how a colleague asked a thoughtful question in a meeting or responded to constructive feedback. They learned when an email needed more context, when a phone call was more appropriate, and how experienced professionals built trust with one another. 

Some professional skills were taught intentionally. Others were learned simply by watching experienced colleagues navigate the everyday realities of work.  

Today’s newest professionals have had fewer opportunities to learn that way. 

According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, between 35% and 37% of Gen Z teenagers participated in the workforce between 2018 and 2024. By comparison, 53% of Millennials and 55% of Generation X worked during their teen years. In other words, nearly one in five more Millennials and Gen Xers entered adulthood having already spent time learning in a workplace. 

Then came the pandemic. 

Many Gen Z professionals experienced disruptions to education, internships, early employment, and the everyday workplace interactions previous generations often took for granted. Some completed college without stepping foot into a traditional place of business. Others began their careers remotely, joining meetings with microphones muted and cameras off, where workplace norms were difficult to observe because they were largely invisible. 

As organizations continue to welcome Gen Z into the workforce, this shift has sparked an important conversation around soft skills. Leaders frequently cite communication, professionalism, and workplace readiness as areas where early-career employees need additional development. Interestingly, Gen Z places a high value on developing these same skills as well. Deloitte’s 2025 Gen Z and Millennial Survey found that they view communication, leadership, empathy, and networking as critical to career success and actively seek mentorship and opportunities to learn on the job.  

The opportunity, then, is understanding how these skills are developed and how that process has changed.  

Different Experiences, Different Development

Professional skills are not something that you naturally graduate knowing. They are strengthened through repeated opportunities to observe, practice, receive feedback, and try again. 

For many previous generations, those opportunities often began long before a first full-time job. Part-time jobs, internships, and everyday workplace interactions provided countless chances to build confidence, navigate conflict, communicate professionally, and learn the unwritten norms of work. 

Today’s path often looks different. 

While the pandemic certainly played a role, fewer teenagers were working part-time jobs than previous generations long before 2020. Competitive athletics, demanding academic schedules, and résumé-building extracurricular activities increasingly replaced traditional entry-level employment. At the same time, growing up in a digital world has made many young people less accustomed to face-to-face communication, leaving some feeling less confident in interpersonal interactions. 

Smartphones also created new opportunities to earn income through freelancing, online businesses, and digital marketplaces, reducing the need for traditional first jobs. Then the pandemic further limited opportunities for in-person learning through internships, classrooms, and early career experiences, accelerating a trend that was already underway. 

This meant that Gen Z experienced learning responsibility quite differently than the generations that preceded them.  

Many developed remarkable discipline through athletics, leadership through student organizations, entrepreneurial thinking through online businesses, and resilience through balancing demanding schedules. These experiences have equipped Gen Z with valuable strengths that can complement the expertise and institutional knowledge of more tenured generations.  

What many of these experiences did not provide, however, were the countless informal workplace interactions that once helped young professionals build confidence in communication, feedback, conflict, and workplace relationships. Those experiences matter because soft skills are strengthened through repeated practice.  

A Leadership Opportunity

For years, organizations could assume many professional behaviors would develop naturally. 

Today, those opportunities can no longer be assumed. 

That does not mean lowering expectations. It means becoming more intentional about how we develop the next generation of professionals. 

Rather than assuming new employees understand workplace norms, leaders can explain them. Rather than expecting confidence in difficult conversations, they can create opportunities to practice them. Rather than relying on trial and error alone, they can provide timely coaching and meaningful feedback.  

Organizations have long invested in developing technical expertise. Soft skills deserve the same level of intentionality. 

If you can focus on only three areas, start with the fundamentals: workplace expectations and norms, professional communication, and resilience. These foundational skills help employees navigate challenges, build strong relationships, and grow with confidence. 

Gen Z has an important role to play as well. 

Growth requires curiosity, practice, feedback, and personal ownership. Learning to navigate conflict, communicate professionally, ask thoughtful questions, and build trust are all skills strengthened through experience. 

Developing soft skills takes intentional investment from leaders and intentional effort from employees. 

Building the Next Generation of Talent

For commercial real estate organizations, this presents a meaningful opportunity. 

Whether onboarding property managers, engineers, facilities professionals, leasing teams, or emerging leaders, organizations that intentionally develop professional skills will strengthen collaboration, accelerate readiness, and build a more resilient talent pipeline. 

Every generation enters the workforce shaped by the world around them. Gen Z is no different. 

The organizations that will thrive won’t simply expect professional skills to develop the way they always have. They will  intentionally create opportunities for the next generation to observe, practice, receive feedback, and grow. 

Every generation has something to teach. Every generation has something to learn. The organizations that create space for both will build stronger teams, stronger leaders, and a stronger future. 

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