Mandating a return to the office is one thing. Ensuring that workers are ready for prime time is another. As it turns out, most workers aren’t even close.
After years without ever setting foot in an office, some employees have forgotten how to dress, how to interact, and how to behave in a way consistent with their office’s expectations. According to their bosses, at least. Nearly half (45%) of companies are offering etiquette classes to their workers and another 18% are planning to do the same by the end of the year, per a ResumeBuilder survey that polled 1,000-plus leaders.
Such classes educate attendees on everything from making polite conversation to learning proper dress code to crafting professional emails. Some programs also address more abstract lessons, like how to receive constructive criticism, which hot-button topics (like politics or religion) to avoid in the workplace, or even just taking appropriate lunch breaks.
While these ideas might seem intuitive to a more seasoned worker, the pandemic has eroded norms to such a point that bosses believe many people need the reminders. Plus, Gen Z entry-level employees who graduated into the pandemic aren’t familiar with office professionalism. But it’s also not just about the office as the world navigates remote and hybrid work; one CEO told ResumeBuilder he’s also held classes on virtual etiquette, which centers on mindfulness regarding time zones, managing video call fatigue, and communicating online effectively. Most leaders who offer the professionalism lessons told ResumeBuilder they’ve been highly effective.
A decline in workers’ interpersonal skills and professional conduct revealed “a growing need for this type of training,” Young Pham, cofounder of media company Bizreport, told ResumeBuilder. Pham’s company initially offered training just to new hires, but quickly realized “that office etiquette training is beneficial for all employees, regardless of experience level or position,” he said.
Of the leaders offering etiquette classes, 60% said these classes are mandatory for workers across the board—even older people who spent decades in their cubicles prior to the pandemic. But of this group, 54% said they’re required for Gen Z workers in particular. The younger a worker is, the likelier they need help honing soft skills, especially given that they may have few formative in-person work experiences. Big Four consultancies like Deloitte, KPMG, and PwC offer specialized training just for Gen Z workers.
“Gen Zers get criticized for lack of professionalism, which is code for not having the ‘soft skills’ needed to be effective at work,” Stacie Haller, ResumeBuilder’s chief career advisor, wrote in the report. That’s because they had far fewer opportunities to learn them on-site. As such, the classes shouldn’t be viewed as a punishment so much as a helping hand.
Jon Holt, CEO of KPMG U.K., told Fortune’s Paolo Confino he admires Gen Z’s resilience. “It’s important that as a business we support them as they begin their training and careers with us,” he said. “This includes offering additional courses to help them build soft skills.”
KPMG U.K.’s incoming campus hires receive lessons on skills Holt considers fundamental, such as teamwork, giving presentations, and effective face-to-face communication. But the fact that most companies ResumeBuilder spoke to said they offer classes for all workers implies that even the oldest workers could benefit from getting back to basics.