Managers’ Perceptions of Gen Z’s Communication Readiness

Abstract

This exploratory study investigates how frontline managers (n = 10) interpret Generation Z’s early-career communication challenges. Analyzed via constructivist grounded theory and Communication Accommodation Theory (CAT), three themes emerged: professional communication readiness, interpersonal adaptability, and emotional regulation. Findings suggest that early-career communication breakdowns often reflect interpretive mismatches and accommodation failures rather than simple skill deficits. Rather than presenting definitive conclusions, these provisional insights offer a foundational framework to guide future large-scale validation studies, curriculum design, and workplace onboarding.

Cite this work

No public copy is stored for this record, so only the metadata is cited.

Stored only when both papers are in the corpus — 0 citations exist upstream.

Papers that cite the same references — the relational fallback while embeddings are still backfilling.