Barbara Corcoran's Key Advice For Gen Zers Entering The Workforce

Graduating from college can be simultaneously thrilling and nerve-wracking. On the one hand, life — and the potential to embark on a successful and rewarding career path — awaits. But on the other hand, there may be some feelings of worry about how, exactly, to begin that journey to success. For recent graduates, it's easy to let that fear take over and accept the first job offer that comes their way, especially if that job has a decent starting salary and it's within their area of study. However, even if the money is good and the daily responsibilities are fulfilling, one thing can completely transform a good work experience into a negative one: a bad boss.

Poor leadership comes in all shapes and forms, from the micromanaging boss to the one who never recognizes their employees' contributions, and everything in between. Barbara Corcoran, one of the lead investors on ABC's "Shark Tank" (speaking of, check out these super-successful businesses that rejected their "Shark Tank" offers), understands this firsthand. Prior to launching her real estate firm The Corcoran Group in 1973, she worked for 20-plus different bosses, the majority of whom lacked leadership skills. Now, as a portion of Generation Z prepare to enter the workforce (what will happen to the economy when Gen Alpha enters?), Corcoran is offering some vital words of advice based on her own experience.

As a fresh crop of college graduates prepared to kick-start their careers in May of 2024, Barbara Corcoran took to TikTok to offer some important guidance. "Always choose the best boss," she said. "Having a good boss will have more to do with your happiness at work than actually what you do with your day."

Over the years, Barbara Corcoran has been extremely vocal about how a boss can make or break a job experience. On Episode 27 of her "Business Unusual" podcast, for example, entitled "Fire Your Boss," she elaborated on how, even if you've landed your dream job, poor leadership will eventually cause the job to lose its luster. "I never met anyone who worked for a bad boss and enjoyed the job or, for that matter, ever got ahead," she said, adding that finding a good boss is actually harder than finding enjoyable work.

Bad bosses, explained Corcoran, can result in employees feeling a lack of self-respect and drive to want better for themselves, saying, "It's a dangerous situation to be in." Still, if a new Generation Z employee — or even a tenured one — finds themselves on a team with toxic leadership, all hope isn't lost. They just need to recognize the negative work environment that they're in and set a deadline to get themselves out, whether that be moving to a new company or just another department under better management.

Barbara Corcoran may have been speaking from her own personal experience when advising Gen Zers to choose a job based on the best boss, but studies prove that poor management can significantly impact an employee's well-being (though finding this one thing at work can make you happier).

A 2023 report by the Society for Human Resource Management found that employees with highly effective managers were nearly twice as likely (81% to 41%) to feel satisfied with their jobs, while the same group was more than twice as likely to feel valued by their organization, as well as hold a sense of belonging to that organization. SHRM found that only 38% of workers with a non-highly effective manager felt fulfilled by their work.

Employees who work for a bad boss may experience both physical and mental effects, as well as decreased motivation to do an above-average job. A decade ago, a study by Everest College found that while 80% of those surveyed admitted to being stressed by their job, 75% said the cause was their immediate boss. A decade-long Swedish study, meanwhile, of over 3,000 people, published in Occupational and Environmental Medicine, found that people with a toxic boss were 60% more likely to suffer a life-threatening cardiac condition.