Why Your Managers Are Failing Gen Z

Manager ignorance of cognitive differences is creating workplace friction and driving away your most critical talent pool.

It may be that your newest potential employees are rejecting you before you even interview them. One in five Gen Z candidates will not apply to job opportunities simply because companies lack neuroinclusion resources or visible neurodiversity workplace initiatives. This speaks to a substantial but still overlooked issue. A generation with a new consciousness of different thinking styles is entering a workplace led by managers who often remain uninformed about how to manage neurodivergent employees or optimize team communication training.

The "Entitled Generation" Myth

When Gen Z employees request written meeting summaries or flexible deadlines, many managers blame generational differences. Perhaps twas-ever-thus when it comes to older generations considering younger generations entitled, but it is a dynamic clear to see here.

However, this narrative has business risks if it goes unchallenged. Research shows generational workplace differences are small. The real issue is Gen Z’s level of recognition around neurodiversity. Remarkably, over half (53%) of Gen Z identify as in some way neurodiverse, reflecting an enhanced awareness that we do not all think alike. Yet managers (often of older generations) have received no neurodiversity training for managers, no exposure to autism awareness training, and little guidance on reasonable accommodations for ADHD or autistic employees. This gap creates friction at work and damages the talent acquisition funnel, with 20 percent of potential young talent not even applying.

The Brain-Aware Generation

Gen Z is the first to grow up with widespread neurodiversity awareness training. The term itself was only coined in the late 1990s, and diagnostic access has since become far more widespread. Social media has amplified neurodivergent voices, popularizing terms like executive dysfunction and sensory processing. Schools have also increased efforts to recognize different learning styles. By contrast, many workplaces and managers still lack disability training, conflict management strategies, and inclusive leadership training.

As a result, Gen Zers are more likely than older generations to report having a learning difference, being diagnosed with ADHD, or self-identifying as neurodivergent. No surprise, then, that 82 percent of Gen Z say diversity and inclusion is very important at work, and 80 percent would be more likely to apply to employers with readily available neurodiversity resources.

The Training Gap Crisis

If you are in HR and have seen managers come to you for support and guidance on this topic, the idea of manager ignorance will already resonate. There is quantifiable data here too. Thirty-four percent of workers do not know what neurodiversity means (CIPD & Uptimize report 2024), and Uptimize has found that more than half of managers entering its training programs feel anxious and unprepared.

This dynamic is building as Gen Z becomes a greater proportion of the workforce, creating risks when it comes to workplace accommodations. Reasonable accommodations, under the ADA, are available to neurodivergent and other disability category employees. Yet with little manager understanding of neurodiversity, teams often fail to discuss different thinking styles, leaving employees to try to fit in with team norms. This inevitably causes challenges and disclosure conversations that too often take place in heavily medicalized processes.

Under the ADA today, employers face mounting lawsuits for failing to accommodate neurodivergent employees. Gen Zers are significantly more likely than any other generation to request an accommodation, and also significantly more likely to say their request has been denied. Among those who do not ask, stigma remains a major barrier.

Manager Ignorance is Creating Conflict

Without familiarity around cognitive differences, managers often default to harmful stereotypes that damage team performance and create legal exposure.

Daily interactions become minefields. A request for noise-canceling headphones for sensory processing may be interpreted as antisocial. A request for deadline flexibility may be seen as poor work ethic. A request for more context on changes may be dismissed as wasting time. These reflect cultures shaped without awareness of different cognitive styles.

How This Is Hurting Businesses Right Now

This generational and organizational gap is compounding problems that affect team effectiveness, legal liability, and the bottom line.

Worker expectations have shifted. Many Gen Zers expect their thinking style to be appreciated and leveraged, yet this is not happening. The leading reason employees leave jobs is a toxic or negative environment, followed by poor leadership and dissatisfaction with managers. Without proper neuroinclusion training, managers create exactly these conditions, while organizations face escalating compliance risks.

Performance is also impacted. When teams struggle with communication challenges instead of leveraging cognitive diversity, productivity stagnates. Organizations miss out on proven benefits that neurodivergent talent bring, such as pattern recognition, detail orientation, and creative problem solving.

This is also a leadership pipeline issue. Not all managers are older or neurotypical. Many learn and think differently themselves. Companies that do not develop neuroinclusion capabilities today will continue to struggle with leadership development tomorrow.

Building Cognitive Understanding

Organizations can move from confusion to fluency through neuroinclusion training across all levels: managers, HR, team members, and leadership.

This training is proven to deliver rapid results. Games company Keywords Studios saw two-thirds of participants report immediate improvements in collaboration through better understanding of cognitive differences. Large companies such as IBM and Accenture have rolled out global programs that build confidence in supporting team members with varied working styles.

Leading organizations also complement training with frameworks that support daily collaboration across neurological differences. This includes sensory-friendly spaces, flexible communication protocols, and structured skills development.

It is likely that your organization lacks preparation for neurodivergent employees, costing you talent, performance, and creating legal exposure. The question is whether you will develop the capacity to leverage neurodiversity as a business advantage or continue to face compliance issues while competitors capture the cognitive diversity edge.

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To learn how to equip managers with the tools to avoid these risks and unlock performance, download our free guide: The L&D Guide to Managers’ Biggest Blind Spot.