Why Gen Z Struggles at Work — 3 Strategies for Success

Why are companies firing Gen Z employees — and what can be done to help them succeed?

In August, I attended the 2025 Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication conference in San Francisco.  

My colleague, Dr. Nandini Bhalla of Texas State University, led a stellar panel titled “Why are companies firing Gen Z employees? Workforce Strategies and Solutions for PR’s Next Generation.”

The panel featured an all-star lineup of experts:

• Caitlin Haskins – Vice President of AI, Big Data & Cloud at 10Fold Communications
• Michelle Galey – Washington State University
• Jeffrey Ranta – Coastal Carolina University
• Caitlin Cieslik-Miskimen – University of Idaho
• Moderator - Nandini Bhalla, Texas State University

After the panel, I pulled out my iPhone and asked Caitlin Haskins a couple of questions about what she sees in the workplace.  In this short interview, Caitlin shared practical strategies that every Gen Z professional can use to thrive in today’s workplace. The AEJMC Public Relations Division co-sponsored this panel with the Internships & Careers Interest Group.

Caitlin's tips are clear and actionable.  Listeners will walk away with 3 strategies they can use immediately. 

• Reliability — show up, meet deadlines, and build trust
• Proactive communication — keep projects and teams aligned
• Growth mindset — turn feedback into a tool for long-term success

You can learn more about Caitlin Haskins from her LinkedIn profile and in this Ragan PR Daily article. 

Hi Friend - Thanks for listening!

Check out my TEDx talk. Why you should take action - then figure it out.

Episode Transcript

Judy Oskam (00:02):
Welcome to Stories of Change and Creativity.
I'm Judy Oskam at Texas StateUniversity.
What if the reason so many GenZ employees are losing their
jobs isn't about talent at all?
In this episode, you'll learnabout three strategies that can
help Gen Z workers thrive.
In August, I attended theAssociation for Education in

(00:25):
Journalism and MassCommunication International
Meeting in San Francisco.
I sat in on a great teachingpanel led by my colleague, Dr
Nandini Bhalla, assistantprofessor of Public Relations at
Texas State University.
The title of her panel was WhyAre Companies Firing Gen Z
Employees?

(00:45):
Workforce Strategies andSolutions for PR's Next
Generation.
Well, one of the panelists,Caitlin Haskins, is Vice
President of AI, big Data andCloud at Tenfold Communications.
She joined me for a quickconversation.
I just pulled her out intoanother meeting room and we

(01:06):
talked about the strategies thatcan turn things around for Gen
Z workers for when they come tothe workplace,

Caitlin Haskins (01:33):
there's real consequences to those.
So it's one thing to miss anassignment and get a poor grade
and then you have some time towork up to that again or change
that, but that's not.
The stakes are higher in theworkplace.
It doesn't work quite that way.
If you miss a deadline, you'relosing credibility with a team
and as a new employee that'scritical.
You need to demonstrate you'rereliable, demonstrate you
understand the impact of yourwork and you take it seriously,

(01:54):
and you don't have sometimes alot of other shots to show that.
So you have to show up everyday knowing that everything that
you do matters in that contextof a team.
What are the main things thatyou see that students need to
work on?
I think one of the things thatcomes across most strongly is

(02:18):
just when there's an agreement,you're going to do something,
you're going to contribute in acertain way, you're going to do
something, you're going tocontribute in a certain way, and
there's not communicationaround when that needs to change
, or if something comes up andyou have competing priorities
and you just kind of decide todo whatever you're going to do
and you surprise the peoplearound you negatively.
That's not a good plan.

(02:38):
So, just in the context ofdoing group work in school, you
need to communicate, understandwho's doing what part of
projects, what part, what timedo you need to deliver yours?
How do you need to worktogether?
And so when, when people comein and deliver things that are
not what was asked for or maybethey didn't ask questions, they

(03:00):
didn't know they didn't theynodded their head, yes, because
they thought that was agreeableand that was what they should do
, but they didn't ask clarifyingquestions.
It's not great.
So I think there's a lot of room.
We know that the first severaltimes you do something, you're
not going to get 100%.
Our goals are never it's goingto be perfect, but we want to

(03:21):
see sustained growth.
So noting the feedback thatyou're given and implementing
that like literally keeping alog of next time I do this, what
should I do differently?
That really separates out thepeople who seem like they care
and they sincerely want to workand do better, and the people
who you know they're justthey're not operating under the

(03:44):
right context.
Those I can't change that.
If you don't have that, I can'treally give it to you.
You've got to come come withthat already prepared.

Judy Oskam (03:53):
You talked a little bit about growth mindset in
there.
Talk a little bit about whatthat means and what that looks
like.

Caitlin Haskins (04:01):
Growth mindset is so incredibly important.
Um, one thing that some peoplethat can hinder someone from
implementing the feedback thatthey're given is if they take it
very personally and it's notthat clearly they delivered that
work.
It is personal, not quite, soit's really.
We're all really there todeliver great work for our

(04:22):
clients and so we all know thatwe have different experience
levels and so we're.
Everyone kind of has a reviewprocess.
I have things reviewed by myCEO sometimes because I just
want to make sure I didn't missanything.
I want to add a differentperspective.
If I, if I'm working onsomething and I know somebody
else has more technicalknowledge, I'm going to seek
their feedback.
So that level of collaborationis that is implicit to what we

(04:47):
do.
So when someone gives themfeedback on something, it's
really met in that context andsometimes, like, the people who
are successful are the ones thatcan see that and they're like
great, the more I know if I'mdoing well or not well, or
what's good or what's not, youknow what I can prove.
Those are the thing that.
That's how I learn.

(05:07):
It's when you're not getting thefeedback that you're that's bad
.
When people are not investingin delivering that feedback to
you, you may have already lostthat trust.
So the people who are the mostsuccessful are the ones that
actively seek it.
So if somebody sends back adocument and it has some red
lines in it, call them.
So if somebody sends back adocument and it has some red
lines in it, call them, slackthem, say hey, can I just talk

(05:27):
through what I see here so thatI understand the feedback that
you're giving me?
Sometimes we just move too fastand it's difficult to kind of
stop and deliver that.
But it's the people who areactively seeking that.
I know they're going to dogreat because they're looking
for it and they're payingattention.
You know it's the kiss of deathif you just get those red lines

(05:48):
and you just accept all thechanges and think you're done,
like, eh, not so much.

Judy Oskam (05:53):
You talked about how important it is to ask
questions, and you always lookfor people that ask questions.

Caitlin Haskins (06:00):
Yeah, it was an interesting kind of thought
around.
You know what shows initiativewhen you're at a junior level,
when you're just starting.
You may not know how to showthat you really care, you really
want to grow.
But initiative at that levelreally looks like for me asking
questions to understand whyyou're doing what you're doing.

(06:21):
You know if you don'tunderstand, you know you're
given an assignment and you'relike sure I'll do that, great,
you know, here we go.
But if you don't know what it'sfor, you may come across
something that would make itmore valuable.
So, asking understanding, likewell, what does success look
like here?
Is it going to be this numberof media contacts?

(06:43):
Is it going to be this lengthof content?
Is it going to be this numberof media contacts?
Is it going to be this lengthof content?
Is it going to be right if Iinclude this data, include data.
Don't include data Like whatdoes success look like?
Is there a template?
Is there a good one that I canlook at?
So I understand what I shouldbe shooting for.
People who ask those questions.
I know they are reallycommitted and they want to

(07:05):
deliver something great.
So, even if you don't know howto show that you're really in it
and you're really gung-ho, likeasking some questions about the
process, getting confirmationthat you know the right process.
So my first couple steps aregoing to be doing this and then
this and then this.
Is that right?
Things like that give everyonea lot of confidence that you're
really on it.
This and then this Is thatright.

(07:26):
Hey, the three strategiesCaitlin shared, I think, are
pretty clear and actionable.
Number one reliability Show up,meet deadlines and build trust.
Maybe keep a log on what workedand what didn't.
Number two proactivecommunication Keeps projects and
teams aligned.
So don't hold back, ask thosequestions and communicate.

(07:49):
And number three have a growthmindset Turning the feedback
into a tool for your ownpersonal.
Long-term success benefits notonly you but it also benefits
the organization.
So if you found this episodevaluable, please reach out and
share and give me some feedbackon that.

(08:10):
And remember, if you've got astory to share or tips or
strategies to share, reach outto me at judyoskam.
com.
Thanks for listening.