How the College Covid-Crisis Will Impact the Future of Work

The college experience isn't limited to the academic curriculum, but the people you meet and the life lessons you learn. By participating in the culture on campus, and all the activities you have access to from sports to parties, you become more self-aware and grow both personally and professionally. I received just as much, if not more, value from engaging with other students and discovering my strengths and interests, than I did from completing my coursework. While we may forget most of what we learned in our college classes as we age, we never forget the memories we share with our college friends.

While reflecting on my own college experience, I couldn't be more grateful that I'm not currently enrolled because Covid has diminished social connectivity due to fears of virus contraction. This month, colleges across America have had to balance reopening their campuses while simultaneously keeping students and faculty safe. As with every institution during Covid, there are almost no consistencies between how colleges are taking their precautions even though the CDC has published guidelines because cases are different across the country, the virus has been politicized and budgets are unequal. Colleges have taken a variety of approaches like remaining closed, opening up, embracing distanced learning, or a hybrid approach.

While college helps prepare students for the working world, it's also a social hub that educates them on how to be independent but also part of a community of like-minded peers. But, Covid has recreated the college experience with social distancing that has made it much more challenging to have study groups or throw parties. While it's generally known that those with pre-existing medical conditions and the elderly are more likely to die due to Covid, the CDC confirms that students can be harmed by it and then pass it to adults. And in this case, it could mean the faculty that oversees college life and the professors that educate the students.

The complications of college during Covid

What would you do if you were just starting college right now? If you ask many students this question, they would respond by saying they won't go until things get better. As many as 40 percent of students in America are "seriously considering" taking a gap year or a 12-month sabbatical from schooling to travel or volunteer. This is due to the conditions on campus, as well as their disapproval of online education for the same tuition. When I was growing up gap years had a stigma around them signaling that the individual was not ready for college, a lack of good parenting, or was a rebel of some sort. But, over three-fourths of students who take a gap year claim it was beneficial to their lives. Gap years have become much more common and respectable during Covid.

College undergraduate enrollments are down 2.5 percent this year, with declines as much as 8 percent for minorities and 11 percent for international students. This decline is directly attributed to Covid, where 69 percent of students are somewhat or very concerned about the potential for transmission on campus if students are allowed back. The social fabric of campus life is imperative to helping students transition from both high schools to college and from college to the workplace. Covid has caused a ripple in that fabric, creating chronic anxiety for students and faculty alike. One paper found that Covid cases increase dramatically when schools are reopened and not every school or classroom is prepared to handle the spread if and when it occurs.

Colleges that have already welcomed students back are experiencing a myriad of challenges that might make them reverse course. Northeastern sent eleven freshman home after they violated social distance protocols, while police broke up a party at Florida State University with 1,000 students who ended up testing positive for Covid, and Penn State suspended a fraternity that had a party with seventy students. Colleges have had to proactively communicate their policies around social gatherings in and around campus to protect their students. And with one-quarter of all American universities either fully or partially reopening their classes this Fall, there's no question more situations like these will occur.

The value of college is being challenged during Covid

As a result of the altered and diminished campus experience, students and their parents are now questioning the current value of high education and college degrees. This belief has existed for many years, as the cost of college increases, yet wages have remained stagnant and new educational options have risen to prominence. Their battle cry is "what's the ROI?" and during this recession, money is harder to come by and families are coming up short to pay tuition. Harvard University, for example, faced a backlash for maintaining its tuition of $49,653 a year even though they are offering online coursework during the 2020 to 2021 academic year. Some students are even suing colleges seeking repayment for tuition.

Students view face-to-face classes as the most appealing part of academic life and social events as the most important part of campus life. Almost one-third of students would transfer if their school only offered online learning this fall and half of students feel like college isn't worth the cost anymore. And the cost is STEEP! For the 2019 to 2020 school year the average tuition was $36,880 for private colleges and $26,820 for public ones. Tuition has been rising by about six percent a year and at this rate, babies today will be paying more than $120,000 for private and $54,000 for public colleges when they turn eighteen. Even in a healthy economy, these costs are astronomical and my father always reminds me of how little he paid to go to a public school when he was growing up.

During this recession, where families are struggling so much, almost two-thirds have experienced financial pain that has affected their ability to pay for college. As a result, over one-fourth have changed their college plans, taken a gap year, or are going to a public instead of a private college. There are other factors like a student's ability to secure student loans from providers and the challenge right now with finding part-time jobs to subsidize tuition. All of these financial setbacks have not only made it harder to afford college but have longer-term employment ramifications.

Covid has impacted recent college graduates’ employment prospects

While those students who are active on campus have their own challenges and worries, recent grads are up against the worst recession we've ever experienced. To further understand how Covid has impacted grads employment prospects, NACE found that about eight percent of employers revoked full-time offers for the class of 2020 and almost two-thirds have delayed start dates. A separate study found that an entire 40 percent lost either a job, internship, or offer, and 13 percent delayed graduating out of fear of not getting a job, all due to Covid's impact on the job market. Those grads who are fortunate enough to find a job will more than likely be working remotely, without the normal onboarding experience and with a weaker connection to their colleges due to safety reasons.

Their struggles are more expansive than just getting a job. For one, their financial futures could be irreparably harmed causing them to earn less than prior generations at the same age. A full two-thirds of college students (13.3 million undergraduates) in a WalletHub survey said that Covid has "changed how they feel about their financial future". Lower-income students are 55 percent more likely than higher-income peers to have delayed graduating due to Covid. On top of their financial hardships, there's the rising student loan debt ($1.6 trillion outstanding), the sheer number of grads living alone, and major concerns about their mental health. In fact, over half of job-seeking students are concerned about their mental health while working remotely and report increased anxiety due to Covid.

Companies need to prepare for a new generation of worker 

The hidden problem that hasn't been exposed or addressed is that companies are going to be just as responsible for handling the impact of Covid on the next generation of workers as the workers themselves. While each individual has their own unique circumstances based on their family income and a wide range of other variables, companies will eventually employ as many of these students and graduates as possible to maintain their economic standing with so many older workers retiring in the coming decade (10,000 baby boomers retire every day!). I've spent much of my career researching and uncovering generational trends in order to help organizations understand and connect with young professionals. Much of what we had known about Gen Z's needs to work for a purpose-driven organization and to have flexibility has been put to the test at this very moment.

The big question is, what will be the needs, preferences, strengths, and weaknesses of this upcoming generation that is dealing with Covid right now unlike previous generations at the same age? About one-third of parents say their child's career goals were changing in light of Covid, which will have a long-term impact on the job market. Graduates will be more inclined to settle for jobs even if their values aren't aligned to the organizations in order to meet their immediate financial needs. They will also expect the jobs to be remote because many of their parents are at home working remotely already. And, of course, young professionals will expect that companies invest in, and implement, the latest technologies that they use in their personal lives in order to collaborate and be productive in their jobs.

College students are experiencing a deterioration of their social skills from a broken social fabric caused by Covid but already inflicted by their addiction to technology. Aside from a socially-distant campus experience, students aren't traveling so they will have to forgo having experiences that shape their global worldview and fuel their self-growth. A study found that 80 percent of students don't' have any plans to travel again for the next year. In addition, your social life during college greatly impacts not only your career options, but also how you see yourself, think critically, and relate to the world around you. Without the normal face-to-face non-mask-wearing conversations that students had pre-Covid, their social skills will be weaker than prior generations.

Organizations that take the time to understand the next generation of workers will make the right investments to support their needs and fully maximize their talents as they continue to try to fill gaps in their workforce. Through investments in the virtual classroom experience, real-life simulations, and being empathetic to what students have experienced during this time, companies will be able to effectively recruit and engage with the next generation.

The future of work amidst disruptions in higher education

Higher education has always been influenced by both cultural norms and employer demands. It's still socially acceptable to have a college degree and if you don't have one, in many cases you will be filtered out of most corporate databases. But, with the cost of high education increasing at a similar rate to student loan debt, during both a recession and pandemic, there's no doubt that a recalibration is in our future as the college bubble eventually pops. All of the edtech companies that were gaining traction pre-Covid are experiencing a major boost right now, raising a combined $803 million in the first half of 2020. Through their course credentialing systems, we'll see companies start to consider them as an alternative to a traditional degree.

The future of education will be fragmented, creating healthy competition that will lower costs while raising the quality and relevance of the skills students will develop. The jobs of the future will focus more on the skills that workers gather than a set amount of courses accumulated over a set period of time. Therefore, if you're looking to have a successful career you'll want to start to assemble the skills required to position yourself for current and future roles that will yield the best job prospects. And, if you're a corporate leader you should be more open-minded and skill-centric when hiring, expanding your view of what a suitable candidate is, and not judging them based on a brand or degree.

When the dust settles, the economy will start to rebound and those individuals and institutions that have evolved during this time will become more prominent than those that continue business as usual.

_________________________________________________________________________

Listen to the 5 Questions Podcast for interviews with world-class humans like Reed Hastings, Andrew Yang, Richard Branson, Stacey Abrams, Flea, Alyssa Milano & Neil deGrasse Tyson.

Read my bestselling book Back to Human: How Great Leaders Create Connection in the Age of Isolation.

Subscribe to the Promote Yourself Newsletter for more workplace trends, news, research, career advice, interviews, and book recommendations.