Generational Divides
Last month, we published the conclusions of our second wave of research designed to help businesses make choices about how to earn reputation.
Our research showed that businesses must reflect the values of the public (which are largely shared across political and other divides), and use these insights to help inform decision making.
However, there is one divide in the data that deserves further scrutiny: the difference in outlook between older and younger people across Britain.
Over recent years, we’ve seen differences in age show themselves in general elections, and in debates over social issues.
How different are the views of younger people in Britain? And are these differences important?
While some of these cleavages may be attitudes that could shift as people get older, our judgment is that many represent a decisive break that businesses need to understand to prepare for the future.
First, a note of caution.
When we talk about ‘younger people’ in our research, we’re talking about people aged 18-35. These aren’t sixteen-year-old TikTokers. They are largely younger, working adults with shared concerns.
This is a growing and important cohort in society, whose outlook and values will shape our society for decades to come.
It’s also important to consider the background to this age divide. As a society, we are living longer and healthier lives, which means an increasing cost of pensions and care falling on the state. The generation now taking advantage of their pension pots have largely lived through a prosperous period of increasing growth and living standards (not to mention higher education funded by grants). For the coming generation, it is not obvious that this will be the case.
For the generation that graduated around 2008-2010, they have now lived through two global financial crises, their resulting recessions, and a period of fiscal austerity.
For those who have graduated in the past few years, they are facing the profound insecurity of the Covid pandemic and a rapidly changing economy. That means for anyone aged 18 to 35, the conditions they faced entering the world of work have been volatile and their future is far from certain.
These divides pose a challenge to companies hoping to engage with younger people across Britain – to encourage them into work, buy your products or understand your point of view. For older people, the relative stability that existed during their working lives has left them with a greater sense of confidence that is missing among younger adults. Existential threats such as climate change and Covid may lead to a generation that grows up far more cautious and worried about what may be around the corner.
This research provides a glimpse at these emerging divisions. We’d be delighted to share more detail on this research and our perspective.
(Methodology: We interviewed 3,200 British adults online between 30 July and 20 August. The data is representative of the British adult population.)
18 – 34-year-olds are likely to be far more worried about job security, making ends meet, accessing educational opportunities and reconnecting with their friends and family after Covid. They are also more likely to express concern about the mental health of their friends and their family – a sign of the increasing prevalence of mental health concerns among younger people.
Q: How worried are you about the following issues when you think about the coming year?
N=3,200
On average, younger adults are more worried than their older counterparts. For all issues - excluding climate change - 18-34 year olds say they are more worried about them than those aged 55+. The myth of the ‘care-free youth’ may be being replaced by a generation concerned about their prospects and the world around them.
Q: How worried are you about the following issues when you think about the coming year?
N=3,200
On average, younger adults are more worried than their older counterparts. For all issues – excluding climate change – 18-34 year olds say they are more worried about them than those aged 55+. The myth of the ‘care-free youth’ may be being replaced by a generation concerned about their prospects and the world around them.
How worried are you about the following issues when you think about the coming year?
N=3,200
Younger adults share the same values as older generations, but are less likely to hold them as firmly
How important are the following values to you?
N=3,200
The high level of uncertainty and worry that exists among the younger adults plays out in how they explain their values. While older generations seem generally more certain about what they want, younger generations are less confident across all the values.
However, the values we identified as uniting the country earlier this year still remain strong, and there is broad agreement between the generations.