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They hate hustle but need a job—a CEO’s advice for an ‘unemployable’ Gen Z
There’s a sharp divide between what Gen Z values and what hiring managers are actually looking for.
My team at Becoming You Labs recently conducted a study using our values-assessment tool, The Values Bridge, which ranks 16 values using 100 behavioral questions. Since May, over 77,000 people have taken it. We then cross-referenced the study with a national survey of 2,100 hiring managers across industries like tech, consulting, banking, and professional services. (Read more about our research here.)
The disconnect was clear — and pretty stark: Gen Z’s top three values are self-care, authentic self-expression, and helping people. The people hiring them, on the other hand, are looking for employees who value achievement, learning, and hard work. When you cross-reference the two studies, only 2% of Gen Z shares their bosses’ priorities.
In response to the findings, one CEO said: “This explains exactly why we can’t hire.” A hospital executive put it more bluntly: “We are now hiring two or three new docs to replace a retiring one. They tell us we should not be expecting them to work hard because life as a cardiologist isn’t what it used to be.”
One head of HR summed all the comments up with the line: “This is crazy. And confirming.”
Gen Z’s response? Starkly different. One recent grad on TikTok: “Why would we want to live by Boomer values when their values ruined the world?” Another added: “Old people hate young people because our lives prove theirs were wasted. I’m not going to wish I worked more on my deathbed.”
The intensity of the debate didn’t shock me. I’ve watched this clash build for years — in classrooms and in boardrooms. Companies are frustrated. Young people are frustrated. And looming over it all? AI, threatening to replace the few entry-level jobs Gen Z already struggles to land.
Given this context, what’s an “unemployable” (as one WSJ headline put it) Gen Zer supposed to do? Nobody wants to suppress their values, and that’s understandable. But most people can’t go without work. Is there a way forward for the 98% of Gen Zers who put self-care, authenticity, and altruism above company success and career propulsion?
Here’s my advice for the vast majority of Gen Zers stuck in what probably feels like a very untenable place.
1. Come to terms with the value you place on wealth
When I teach my class “Becoming You” at NYU Stern School of Business, I don’t let students self-report when it comes to their desire for wealth. The reason is simple: People rarely tell the truth about their relationship with money — to themselves and others — because there’s thought to be a faint stink off of wanting to be rich.
But you cannot make any sustainable career decisions without getting very honest about the number in your head. That is, the amount of money you want and need to feel, “That’s enough.” It could be “one good vacation a year,” as a student once put it, it could be as another admitted, “one private helicopter per kid.”
My research shows that 42% of Gen Z has affluence in their top five values, 35% consider it a moderate value, and 23% have it in their bottom five values.
Once you know where affluence ranks for you, you can make more thoughtful choices about whether to nudge yourself toward the 2% or not. After all, even with self-care as a top value, if wealth is close behind, something has to give. On the other hand, if wealth ranks No. 10 or even No. 16, a whole different world of work enters your realm of possibilities.
2. Join or start a company that accommodates your values
If you do not want to suppress your values, your best strategy is to find a company that supports the ones you already have.
Keep your eyes open for the published lists of businesses that are said to support employee wellbeing, authenticity, and giving back. Just know that these companies are often magnets for job-seekers. If you end up applying to one, make sure to level up with an excellent cover letter and top-notch resume.
Then there’s entrepreneurship. As a two-time founder myself, I know how grueling it can be. But if you have the right idea, with market fit and the stamina to match, creating your own workplace culture is the surest way to be able to live by your values.
3. Make a decade-long deal with yourself
I rarely suggest people try to change their values. It’s like changing your personality; it usually doesn’t stick. But if landing a job is an urgent priority, and affluence is a long-range one, you may choose to suppress your desire for wellbeing, balance, and authentic self expression for a period of time and embrace achievement and workcentrism.
In other words, make like the Boomers and say hello to delayed gratification.
My word of warning, however, is if you follow this strategy, don’t dabble and don’t relitigate your decision daily. Instead, commit. And commit for long enough to see results. I recommend a full decade. Overnight success is a myth, even for those in the 2%.
How much you live by your values is one of the most personal, consequential choices you’ll ever make. That choice can shape your income, your sense of purpose, and the arc of your career. Approach it not with panic or resignation, but with the wisdom of your years — both the ones you’ve already lived and the many still ahead.
Suzy Welch is an award-winning NYU Stern School of Business professor, acclaimed researcher, popular podcaster and three-time NYT best-selling author, most recently with “Becoming You: A Proven Method for Crafting Your Authentic Life and Career.” A graduate of Harvard University and Harvard Business School, Dr. Welch is a frequent guest of the Today Show and an op-ed contributor to the Wall Street Journal. She serves on the boards of public and private companies, and is the Director of the NYU | Stern Initiative on Purpose and Flourishing.
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