The oldest members of Generation Alpha—kids born starting in 2010—are now 15-16 years old and beginning to enter the workforce through part-time jobs, apprenticeships, and early internship programs. And if you thought Gen Z changed workplace norms, buckle up. Gen Alpha is arriving with expectations shaped entirely by iPad babysitting, algorithmic content feeds, and a world where AI has always existed.

Early reports from companies running youth internship programs suggest we're about to experience another generational learning curve. And this time, the gap between "how things work" and "how they expect things to work" might be wider than ever.

Who Is Gen Alpha?

Generation Alpha includes anyone born from 2010 onwards, making them the first generation born entirely in the 21st century. They're the children of Millennials, raised with smartphones from infancy, educated during or after the pandemic, and socialized primarily through digital platforms.

The oldest Alphas are now entering high school work-study programs, tech apprenticeships, and early career exploration internships. Companies with youth development programs—tech companies, retailers, hospitality chains, and professional services firms—are getting their first glimpses of what this generation brings to the workplace.

And it's... interesting.

Communication That Makes Gen Z Look Old-Fashioned

Remember when we had to teach Gen Z about professional email etiquette? Gen Alpha doesn't use email at all. Not even for school. They communicate entirely through messaging apps, voice notes, and short-form video.

According to research from Pew Research Center, 89% of Gen Alpha prefer voice messages over text, and 76% would rather send a video response than write anything longer than two sentences. The concept of formal written communication is foreign to them.

Companies running Gen Alpha internship programs report having to explicitly teach basic email formatting: subject lines, professional greetings, when to use reply vs. reply-all. One tech company's internship coordinator told SHRM they had to create a "professional communication bootcamp" because interns kept sending voice memos to senior executives and using emojis in project updates.

It's not that they're unprofessional—they genuinely don't know that voice memos aren't standard business communication. This is how they've communicated their entire lives.

Attention Spans Shaped by TikTok

Gen Alpha's attention patterns are fundamentally different because they were raised on algorithmic feeds that serve them exactly what they want every 15-30 seconds. Research from Microsoft found Gen Alpha workers can process multiple information streams simultaneously but struggle with sustained focus on single tasks longer than 10-15 minutes without breaks or context switches.

Companies are adapting by restructuring internship work into shorter, more varied tasks rather than long-form projects. One software company told Fast Company they redesigned their summer program to include 30-minute work sprints with built-in breaks, and saw productivity and satisfaction increase significantly.

The question is whether this is "bad attention spans that need fixing" or "different cognitive processing that we need to accommodate." Experts disagree, but either way, it's reality.

AI Is Not Impressive—It's Baseline

Gen Alpha has never known a world without AI assistants, smart recommendations, and automated everything. To them, AI isn't cutting-edge technology—it's infrastructure.

According to interviews with Gen Alpha interns conducted by Bloomberg, they expect AI assistance for everything: scheduling, task prioritization, information lookup, content creation, even interpersonal communication suggestions. When told certain tools or AI features weren't available, common responses included "why not?" and genuine confusion about doing tasks "manually".

One financial services firm reported that Gen Alpha interns asked why they couldn't use ChatGPT to analyze client data and seemed genuinely puzzled when told about confidentiality, accuracy concerns, and compliance requirements. The concept that AI might not be appropriate for certain tasks was foreign to them.

Learning Styles That Break Traditional Training

Gen Alpha learns primarily through video content and interactive experiences, not reading documentation or sitting through presentations. Companies trying to onboard Gen Alpha interns with traditional training materials report poor engagement and retention.

Organizations that shifted to video-based microlearning modules, interactive simulations, and gamified training saw significantly better results. One tech company told Training Industry magazine they converted their intern orientation from a full-day presentation to a series of 5-minute video modules with interactive quizzes, and completion rates went from 60% to 95%.

Gen Alpha also expects immediate feedback and progress tracking—they're used to apps that show real-time progress bars, achievement badges, and constant validation. Traditional annual reviews feel absurdly slow to them.

Social Awareness Beyond Previous Generations

Here's what's surprising: Gen Alpha shows higher baseline social consciousness than previous generations at the same age. They care deeply about environmental sustainability, social justice, and corporate ethics, and they expect employers to demonstrate real commitment to these values, not just PR statements.

According to research from Deloitte, 82% of Gen Alpha workers say they would leave a job or reject an offer from a company whose values don't align with theirs. That's higher than Gen Z (71%) and significantly higher than Millennials (54%) at the same age.

They also expect diversity and inclusion to be baseline, not initiatives. One retail company running a Gen Alpha apprenticeship program told SHRM that interns questioned why leadership demographics didn't reflect workforce demographics within their first week. Not as complaints—as genuine confusion about why the company hadn't already solved this.

Career Expectations: Side Hustles and Portfolio Careers

Gen Alpha is entering the workforce expecting to have multiple income streams and fluid career paths. Research from LinkedIn shows 68% of Gen Alpha workers plan to maintain side hustles or freelance work alongside traditional employment.

They've watched their Millennial parents get laid off, their Gen Z siblings job-hop strategically, and social media influencers build careers outside traditional employment. The concept of "one job for stability" doesn't resonate. They expect flexibility to pursue multiple interests and income sources.

The Challenges Companies Are Facing

Let's be honest: integrating Gen Alpha into the workforce is creating friction.

Companies report challenges with professional norms, communication standards, and work expectations. Managers who are Millennials or Gen X struggle with communication styles that feel too casual, work approaches that seem distracted, and expectations that seem unrealistic.

But companies are also recognizing advantages: Gen Alpha workers are highly adaptable to technology, comfortable with constant change, and bring fresh perspectives on efficiency and automation. They question "we've always done it this way" more readily than previous generations, which can drive innovation.

What This Means for Recruiting in 2026 and Beyond

If you're recruiting Gen Alpha workers in the next few years, expect to adapt your approaches significantly:

• Communication: They won't check email regularly. Text, social media DMs, or video messages will get better responses.
• Application processes: Long forms and document uploads will fail. Mobile-first, quick-apply options are essential.
• Interviews: Traditional hour-long interviews might feel painful to them. Shorter, more interactive formats will work better.
• Work flexibility: They expect side hustles and personal projects to be accommodated, not discouraged.
• Values: They will research your company's actual practices on diversity, sustainability, and ethics—and call out inconsistencies.
• Technology: They expect cutting-edge tools and AI assistance. Legacy systems will frustrate them.

The Bigger Picture

Gen Alpha's entry into the workforce marks another generational shift in workplace norms and expectations. Just as Millennials pushed for work-life balance and Gen Z demanded flexibility and purpose, Gen Alpha will reshape work around their technology-native, AI-integrated, multi-income-stream expectations.

The question isn't whether to adapt to Gen Alpha—they're coming whether we're ready or not. The question is whether companies will proactively evolve or wait until they can't attract young talent and then scramble to catch up.

Early movers who redesign youth programs, internships, and entry-level roles around Gen Alpha preferences will have significant recruiting advantages. Those who dismiss their preferences as "kids these days" will struggle to compete for emerging talent.

Gen Alpha is bringing the future of work with them—and it looks nothing like what we're used to. Time to start adapting, because they're not going to meet us where we are. They'll just find companies that meet them where they are instead.

Welcome to recruiting for the iPad generation. It's going to be a wild ride.