For Americans, Family Comes First—or Does It?

A new survey finds that for most of us, especially the young, personal well-being matters more.

By Suzy Welch. She is a professor of management practice at NYU’s Stern School of Business.

I see this as an article about tastes and preferences, one of the shift factors for demand. Even though it does not discuss why we have these tastes it is still interesting.

Excerpts:

"Only 11% of Americans rank family as their No. 1 value." 

"Less than half of all Americans (48%) place family in their top five values, 35% rank it midrange, and 17% put it in their bottom five values."

"Our data measures how much people give priority to family considerations versus other motivations when taking action or making decisions."

"But the implication is clear: For many Americans, personal well-being matters more than family. Across nearly every demographic, two values almost always outrank family. The first is eudemonia, a Greek term the Values Bridge uses to encompass self-care, leisure and pleasure—essentially, things that feel good to us. This is a top-five value for 62% of Americans, albeit skewing higher with younger generations. The second value is voice, the term we use to describe the desire for authentic, individualistic self-expression—for instance, the freedom to be oneself without judgment from others. It is a top-five value for 59% of Americans, especially among younger generations."

"affluence also takes priority over family, and for men, romantic love takes priority."

"the drive for connection through friends or community . . . generally appears among Americans’ bottom five values."

Related post:

Two article about Generation Z's attitudes towards work (2025). This has excerpts from the following articles:

Is Gen Z Unemployable? Hiring managers prize achievement, learning and work. Today’s youth value pleasure and individuality by Suzy Welch.

Layoffs Aren’t Shaking Gen Z’s Commitment to Work-Life Balance: Recent layoffs have reinforced beliefs among some younger professionals that loyalty to a company won’t be returned by Oyin Adedoyin and Ray A. Smith of The WSJ.