Tough call for the smartphone generation

Millennials are tonguetied in corporate America. The generation raised on a rich diet of social media and selfies are, ironically, the worst telephone communicators in the office, according to a shocking new study. Nearly seven out of 10 young people between ages 16 to 34 are scared of using the office telephone — and the numbers soar for the youngest millennials, the study by TollFreeForwarding.com reveals.

Anxiety, rejection, nerves — and a glaring incapacity to effectively communicate telephonically — are some of the reasons uncovered.

“It doesn’t surprise me at all,” New Yorkbased millennial career expert and mentor Joan Kuhl told The Post.

“It confirms what I see on college campuses. Young people have high anxiety about their communications skills,” she added. “The smartphone never leaves their side — but they are using it for everything except the voice capabilities.”

By contrast, only 35 percent of US workers 55 and older express fear of picking up the office phone, compared with a stunning 72 percent of 16 to 24yearolds, who’d much prefer email communications on corporate assignments, the study showed.

Overall, nearly half of US workers are shy of the office phone.

“It’s dependent on the type of industry, but we can safely assume the cost of business lost runs into the tens of millions of dollars a year,” said Matt Jones of TollFree Forwarding.

“Sometimes I get frustrated when I call a company and nobody picks up,” said Luis Massieu, founder of legal service Apostille.net in downtown Manhattan.

“If I am shopping around, the first supplier on the phone with the best answers may get my business. And if I am a recurring client I might consider moving my business elsewhere if nobody is taking my call.”

“A top recruiter tells me of their fabulous resumes, excellent social profiles, blogs and Web sites,” said Kuhl. “But when this recruiter meets these young people, it is a completely underwhelming reality.”