# Is Gen Z Unemployable?

1 Opinion September 24, 2025 The Wall Street Journal ![Suzy Welch headshot](/sites/default/files/styles/246w/public/2025-09/sw5936.png?itok=eDcc0dc6)By Suzy Welch

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I came late to a career as a business-school professor—I’m now in my fourth year. When I first stepped into the classroom, I didn’t expect that my research would soon agitate nearly everyone.

It started innocently enough, with a class I created about how to find your purpose—which, I posited, lies at the intersection of your values, aptitudes and economically viable interests. Intrigued by what I was learning about Generation Z by teaching, I decided to conduct a study about generational values, and, because it seemed relevant in an M.B.A. environment, I thought it would be interesting to see how Gen Z’s values compared with the values most prized by hiring managers in today’s economy.

The analysis produced a number that startled my co-researchers and me. A mere 2% of Generation Z members hold the values that companies want most in new hires, namely achievement, learning and an unbridled desire to work.

Read the full [*The Wall Street Journal* article](https://www.wsj.com/opinion/is-gen-z-unemployable-288d2ec9?mod=hp_opin_pos_4).
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*Suzy Welch is Professor of Management Practice at NYU Stern.*

## More from Suzy Welch

- [For Americans, Family Comes First—or Does It?](https://www.stern.nyu.edu/experience-stern/faculty-research/americans-family-comes-first-or-does-it)
- [They Love Self-Care, Hate Hustle, and Need a Job — a CEO’s Advice for an ‘Unemployable’ Gen Zer.](https://www.stern.nyu.edu/experience-stern/faculty-research/they-love-self-care-hate-hustle-and-need-job-ceos-advice-unemployable-gen-zer)
- [Never Give These 3 ‘Sudden Death’ Answers at a Job Interview, Says CEO — You’ll ‘Instantly Disqualify Yourself.’](https://www.stern.nyu.edu/experience-stern/faculty-research/never-give-these-3-sudden-death-answers-job-interview-says-ceo-youll-instantly-disqualify-yourself)
- [Success Comes Down to Just 3 Things: Companies ‘Will Be in a Cage Match Over You,’ Says CEO.](https://www.stern.nyu.edu/experience-stern/faculty-research/success-comes-down-just-3-things-companies-will-be-cage-match-over-you-says-ceo)
- [One Stunning Data Point Explains the ‘Gen Z Stare’—and Why it’s Going to Backfire on Them.](https://www.stern.nyu.edu/experience-stern/faculty-research/one-stunning-data-point-explains-gen-z-stare-and-why-its-going-backfire-them)