NYU Stern professor Suzy Welch conducted a September 2025 study juxtaposing the values of incoming Gen Z workers with those of hiring managers. Welch’s study included survey data from 2,100 hiring managers and a behavioral assessment of over 45,000 respondents (7,500 of which were Gen Z).

In a Wall Street Journal Op-Ed, Welch writes, “A mere 2% of Gen Z members hold the values that companies want most in new hires, namely achievement, learning and an unbridled desire to work.” According to Welch’s study, Gen Z members mostly value well-being and self-care, helping others and authenticity and expression. Oh, heaven forbid.

Not to be outdone, in March 2026, another NYU professor wrote a Wall Street Journal Op-Ed on “Why Gen Z is unprepared for the workplace.” The one, from psychology professor Tessa West, laments Gen Z’s lack of communication skills and failure to understand older generations. West writes, “Younger generations—Gen Z specifically—have learned to communicate in a digital world, sending texts and instant messages instead of interacting in person.”