A new report from LEVRA, released on 21 May, examines the current state of Generation Z’s human skills in the workplace. The 2025 Human Skills Gap Analysis & Insights report presents data from over 2,700 participants aged 16 to 29 and reveals consistent challenges in areas such as timekeeping, collaboration and professional behaviour.
Despite entering the workforce with high expectations of communication and feedback, many Gen Z employees are struggling with core interpersonal and behavioural skills. The findings point to a mismatch between Gen Z’s values and their workplace performance, particularly in navigating hierarchy and managing working relationships with senior staff.
The report also highlights that employers are not meeting demand for structured and constructive feedback. This gap, combined with limited training in soft skills, leaves young professionals underprepared for the behavioural norms expected at work.
LEVRA, the company behind the report, provides immersive and personalised human skills training. Its findings suggest that employers must act earlier in the employee lifecycle to equip young talent with essential non-technical skills needed to adapt and grow in professional environments.
Workplace Hierarchies Remain a Challenge
Gen Z employees report difficulty in engaging with senior staff. Skills such as dealing with senior colleagues and managing upwards scored lowest across all participants, indicating a widespread discomfort in asserting themselves or navigating traditional workplace hierarchies.
While many Gen Z workers express strong collaborative intentions, their actual teamwork performance lags behind. Scores show that although a collaborative mindset is present, the ability to execute that in practice is inconsistent. This points to a gap between intention and action, which employers may need to bridge through coaching or targeted team-based training.
Professional behaviour also emerged as a persistent weak area. Traits like reliability, consistency and adherence to workplace etiquette received low ratings across the board. The report notes little evidence of improvement with age, suggesting that current onboarding processes may be failing to address behavioural expectations effectively.
Decline in Emotional Intelligence and Motivation Raises Questions
The study shows that emotional intelligence, initially high among younger participants, drops sharply in the 22–25 age group. This decline coincides with the early stages of entering the workforce and may reflect the pressure of navigating complex work environments without adequate support systems.
Self-motivation also weakens significantly in this age group, raising concerns about the long-term engagement and resilience of Gen Z employees. The decline suggests that early professional transitions can have a negative impact on emotional regulation and internal drive, particularly if support structures are not in place.
Feedback culture appears to be another area where Gen Z’s expectations and capabilities diverge. While many are open and even eager to receive feedback, their ability to give constructive feedback is underdeveloped. This imbalance limits two-way communication and may hinder team performance and individual development.
Employers Urged to Rethink Early-Career Development
LEVRA’s CEO and co-founder, Bartek Ogonowski, said: “Human Skills are what make us human – the ability to connect, lead, adapt and build trust. Yet in most workplaces, they’re treated as intangible nice-to-haves, not measurable business drivers. This report should act as a wake-up call to employers to recognise that ‘Human Skills’ such as how to listen, influence and handle pressure, are skills that shape future leaders – and right now, they’re being overlooked.”
The report serves as a call-to-action for organisations to embed human skills training early in the employee journey. As automation and AI shift the nature of work, LEVRA argues that investing in interpersonal and behavioural skills will become a core differentiator for both employee engagement and business success.
By treating these abilities as trainable and measurable, companies can help younger employees adapt more effectively, navigate professional settings with greater confidence and build the emotional resilience required to thrive long term.
