Soft skills, etiquette and Gen Z: What went missing and how to bring it back

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COVID-19 changed the way we work and for many in generation Z, also known as gen Z, it also disrupted the way they learn how to work.

Having entered the workforce during lockdowns and remote classes, a lot of young professionals missed out on the in-person learning that comes with internships and early jobs. Now, as return-to-office policies kick in and many companies bring employees back into a shared space, some experts say gen-Zers may need a bit of guidance.

“It’s in all kinds of companies,” said Julie Blais Comeau, chief etiquette officer at etiquettejulie.com, in a phone interview with CTVNews.ca. “What is now lacking (are) the communication skills, the interpersonal skills.”

Born between 1997 and 2012, according to Statistics Canada, gen-Z workers are entering the workforce during a period of generational change and those gaps are becoming more visible.

“We’re at a time where the newer generations are more educated than ever,” said Blais Comeau. “They have bachelor’s degrees, they have master’s degrees … but the whole side of the people skills, what is often referred to as the ‘soft skills,’ are not as developed.”

‘You don’t know what you don’t know’

Experts say the reasons are complex. Blais Comeau points to shifting family dynamics and the decline of once-routine social learning moments, such as Sunday family dinners, as contributing factors. She also says schools have also pulled back on teaching basic manners and professional behaviours.

Susy Fossati, director of Avignon Etiquette in Toronto, says what’s being described as a gen-Z problem starts long before they enter the workforce and it’s not necessarily their fault.

“You don’t know what you don’t know,” she said in a video interview with CTVNews.ca. “Whether (it’s) a skill that they were never taught in school, whether they were not taught at home, whether they were not taught correctly … and then decided, you know what, this is not important.”

Ashley Kelly, founder and CEO of the workplace inclusion consultancy CultureAlly, says gen-Zers simply missed out on the “micro-lessons” that previous generations learned through in-person exposure.

“They came into the workforce during COVID,” said Kelly in a video interview with CTVNews.ca. “They missed out on a ton of these micro-lessons that you pick up just by being in the office — seeing how people dress, how they handle tough conversations, how they show up in meetings.”

Kelly says this lack of in-office experience has left many younger employees uncertain about workplace norms, especially when it comes to things like boundaries, body language and communication tone.

“The blurred professional boundaries is a thing,” she said. “Gen Z grew up online. Casual communication was the norm for them. I think a lot of them do struggle to shift to a more formal method of communication.”

‘They do want to learn’

Still, Kelly says it’s important to recognize generation Z’s contributions to the work culture.

“They bring a ton of positives to the workforce,” she said. They really value transparency, flexibility and inclusion,” she said. “I’ll say too: they push organizations to live up to those values, and I think that that’s really good for everyone and for business in general.”

Kelly also stresses that the generation is eager to improve.

“They’re really eager to learn and grow, and they want that feedback, and they want clear expectations,” she said. “They do want to learn.”

Blais Comeau says she sees that eagerness firsthand in her workshops and coaching sessions. She says the response from gen-Z participants is consistently positive.

Both she and Fossati argue that etiquette should be reframed, not as rigid rules, but as a tool for confidence, clarity and connection — especially in today’s multigenerational workplaces.

“We actually have five generations of people in the workforce,” Fossati said. “That in and of itself is a diversity that we have to embrace … the more open we are to sharing our wealth of knowledge with one another, I think just the richer everyone comes out of it.”