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I did a Google News search with the terms “Gen Z” and “soft skills” and came up with nearly 1,500 news stories that left me rather depressed. The problem with my search results was discovering a surplus amount of news coverage that portrayed Gen Z as inarticulate and socially awkward when having to deal with the workforce.

Among the articles I discovered were “Gen Z’s workplace communication and networking skills need work,” “Gen Z grads are struggling to dress properly and meet deadlines as they enter the workforce after years of disruption. Colleges are trying to help,” “Is Our Digital Future At Risk Because Of The Gen Z Skills Gap?” and “Companies are learning that Gen Z isn’t the easiest generation to work with.” If these headlines are any indication, George Bernard Shaw’s memorable wisecrack about youth being wasted on the young has a bitter resonance – especially if you’re the employer trying to work this younger generation.

The fourth of those headlines belongs to a CNBC story that interviewed Tara Salinas, a professor of business ethics at the University of San Diego, who tried to explain why Gen Z is viewed with skepticism or worse.

“Gen Z are digital natives and they’ve always communicated online, so their interpersonal skills, or soft skills, have suffered,” said Salinas. “They took an even bigger hit because of Covid-19, and it has shifted the way that we need to interact with them in the workplace.”

My apologies to Salinas, but I am not buying that. I’ve been communicating online since AOL used to attach floppy disks to PC magazines. But I also know how to pick up a phone and call someone, how to speak directly to a person while maintaining eye contact and how to address a room full of people. Granted, I was doing those benign tasks before the online world enveloped the real world, but there is no excuse for being proficient in one method of communication and incompetent in another.

As for Covid, throughout the pandemic I put on a mask and went out – to the stores, to the gym, to the vet for the family dog and on assignments for my work. I was also on a personal real estate hunt, so I interacted with agents, albeit while wearing masks and standing six feet apart. If Salinas is to be believed, did every Gen Zer stay at home and never see other people in the flesh for two years?

My experience with Gen Z co-workers has been mixed – I’ve been impressed with some people and disappointed with others. From the Gen Zers I’ve encountered, I can only think of one who put 100% of themselves into their work. More than a few of the younger workers I’ve been with, in my humble opinion, had no skills and needed too much handholding to get through their duties.

But in the same CNBC article, University of San Diego’s Salinas insisted Gen Z could offer companies indispensable expertise on the tech side, especially with social media. I can assure you that some of the worst social media marketers I’ve ever encountered were from Gen Z, so let’s now embrace that stereotype.

However, my experience is not your experience, and the Gen Zers I’ve encountered are (I hope) not representative of their generation. After all, the lazy and clueless Gen Zer in an office is not the same Gen Zer doing life-and-death missions on behalf of our armed forces – just because someone was born around the same time doesn’t mean the share traits.

So, let me put this question out to you – if you have a Gen Z workforce, are you satisfied with their work? What do you see as their strengths and what do you see as their weaknesses? And what advice would you give to your peers when it comes to hiring Gen Zers?

Leave your answers in the comments section below – let’s start a conversation. And if you’re a Gen Zer, I certainly want to hear your input on how your generation is viewed.

Phil Hall is editor of Weekly Real Estate News. He can be reached at [email protected].