What is a generational shift? The commercial environment is rapidly evolving. Americans who own small businesses today look very different from how they did ten years ago. The baby boomer generation is quickly being replaced by millennials, who are now leading these businesses.
What Is A Generational Shift?
Compared to the generations before them, millennials have grown up in a completely different world. The gender pay gap is a hot topic, sexual harassment laws are widely in place, and social media has provided us with a convenient platform from which to voice our opinions. Because they grew up in the midst of this change revolution, millennials are more likely to assume that men and women can work together in the workplace and that they will be treated with the same respect and opportunities as men. This contrasts with Generation X, who might have been more inclined to brush allegations of sexual harassment under the rug. For older generations, workplace harassment wasn’t as common as it is for millennials today, who are often taken aback by the deluge of stories about it. This emphasizes the change from the way gender was once perceived and tolerated.
Factors Shape Generations
A new generation’s emergence is most likely caused by three important factors.
Social and economic circumstances This represents a significant shift in the values, culture, and problems that affect the state of the economy. The Great Depression (roughly 1929–1933) is one instance.
Biggest technological changes whenever a significant change in activities, behaviors or the economy occurs as a result of technology. Examples might include the space race (around the middle of the 1960s) and the development of personal computers (around the late 1970s and early 1980s).
Times of War: Regrettably, a period of war also appears to affect or contribute to a change in the generational framework. Examples could include the Gulf War, Vietnam, and World War II.
These Children Will Soon Be Consumers
The upcoming generations are likely to have higher expectations for both their employers and the businesses and brands they use to make purchases.
These kids might exercise their right to free speech in a way that previous generations did not once they start earning money. The millennial generation, who came before them, already prioritizes using their purchasing power to address social issues.
Current consumer trends among millennials, such as rising interest in hybrid and electric vehicles and increasing popularity of vegan, vegetarian, and flexitarian diets, are likely to continue with the coming generation. Businesses will need to prove more and more that their goods and services are compatible with a responsible, low-carbon lifestyle as time goes on and these young consumers become wealthier and more influential in the market. Indeed, according to Mercer, 87% of businesses view rising customer expectations as a key business disruptor.
These Children Will Soon Be Voters
Within one election cycle, the majority of the young climate protesters will be of voting age. In fact, many were calling for the voting age to be lowered. Voting is currently the most popular way for millennials to support a cause, and it is expected that Gen Z will follow this trend. In contrast to older generations, the majority of millennials and almost three-quarters of Gen Z in the U.S. believe that the government should take more action to address societal issues.
Evidence suggests that millennial voters are more concerned about climate change than previous generations, with 80% of younger millennials and Gen Z in the U.S. attesting to this. According to a study, the future of human life on Earth as we know it is seriously threatened by climate change.
The political salience of climate change will likely only rise as politicians try to win over young voters by making more aggressive commitments to combating it. Climate change has already entered the mainstream political discourse.
Therefore, businesses should prepare for governments to deepen and broaden their climate policies by stepping up efforts in priority sectors like energy and introducing new regulations in previously untapped ones like agriculture. Governments are required by the Paris Agreement to submit new national emissions targets by 2025, and it is likely that voters in the coming years will have higher expectations of politicians than in the past.
Conclusion
So, what is a generational shift? Do you understand it?
However, generational shifts have always been described as being somewhat elusive and occurring in the distant future. The thing is, though, those generational shifts are happening now. And the real question is, is your association ready?
You must consider these generational shifts from two angles as an association professional: first, from a workforce perspective, and second, from a membership perspective. What do millennials want from your organization? In a workplace, what do they hope to get?
