WSJ Opinion: Potomac Watch What Does Gen Z Want From the Workplace?
10 snips
Sep 29, 2025 
Joining the conversation is Suzy Welch, a Professor of management at NYU Stern and former editor of Harvard Business Review. She delves into Generation Z's distinct workplace values, emphasizing flourishing, voice, and altruism. Welch contrasts these with hiring managers' traditional focus on achievement and work-centricity, revealing a mere 2% overlap. They discuss the impact of the pandemic and cultural shifts on Gen Z's priorities and predict how businesses may need to adapt to attract younger workers, highlighting implications for competitiveness and education.
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Generational Values Diverge Sharply
- Gen Z's top values are eudaimonia (flourishing/self-care), voice (authentic self-expression), and non-sibi (altruism).
- Only about 2% of Gen Z match hiring managers' top values of achievement, learning, and work-centrism.
What Employers Actually Seek
- Hiring managers prioritize achievement, learning, and work-centrism for knowledge-industry roles.
- These three values only align with about 2% of Gen Z respondents in the study.
Why Gen Z Feels Differently
- Students attribute their values shift to the pandemic and to growing up amid threats like climate change and school shootings.
- They believe the old bargain—work hard now, reap rewards later—no longer guarantees payoff.
