Suzy Welch: Only 2% of Gen Z Possess Desired Employer Values

Gen Z Values vs. Employer Expectations

• 💡 A study using the 'Values Bridge' tool, analyzing 45,000 individuals, revealed Gen Z's top values: utopia (encompassing self-care, recreation, leisure, fun, employment), authentic self-expression, and helping others.
• 🎯 In contrast, hiring managers in knowledge industries prioritize achievement (desire for visible success), learning, stimulation, and growth, and work centrism (desire to work hard).
• 📊 Cross-referencing these data sets showed that only 2% of Gen Z hold the values that hiring managers are actively seeking.

Factors Influencing Gen Z Values

• 🧠 Gen Z's values may be shaped by significant global events experienced during their formative years, including 9/11, the great financial crisis, and the pandemic.
• ⚠️ This has led to a potential reluctance to adopt the same values their parents held, especially if those values did not lead to positive outcomes for their parents.
• 🗣️ Many Gen Z individuals express defiance, believing older generations have ruined the world through issues like climate change, terrorism, and school shootings, thus questioning the validity of traditional work values.

Corporate America's Response

• 🏆 Companies with strong brand equity are actively seeking out the 2% of Gen Z who align with employer values, describing the recruitment process as a "cage match."
• 🤔 Other companies face a dilemma: whether to accommodate the values of the broader Gen Z workforce or attempt to gradually shift their perspectives.
• 🎓 While some MBA programs, particularly in finance, show a higher prevalence of desired employer values, this is not representative of college students generally.
• 🔒 The strategy for many successful companies is to identify and secure this high-value 2% early on.