Millennials are the largest living adult generation and will change their buying habits on their views of a company's sustainability credentials- Hargreaves Lansdown.
I found this insight from Hargreaves Lansdown's (HL) 2024 Sustainability trends interesting. HL classifies millennials as those born between 1981 and 1996; the oldest millennial in 2024 will be 43, and the youngest will be 28. This group is significant for working, buying, and investing. One of the critical social issues in 2023 was quiet quitting. This is not just a Gen Z phenomenon; millennials were also camp "only do what I am paid for and where I want to do it. "
If millennial attitudes towards work, buying and investing directly affect behaviour and a company's sustainability credentials, what does this mean for social and economic sustainability in business?
My view:
Social
- Flexible working is here to stay, irrespective of how many business leaders 'require' their workers to be in the office and reference the negative impact of remote work.
- Discretionary effort will continue to be a gift to companies.
Economic
- Cost-cutting measures, including redundancy/layoffs, downsizing and restructuring, will continue as a trend to respond to the shifting behavioural patterns of consumers and buyers.
- Suppliers and freelancers will continue to fill gaps that employees leave, creating commercial opportunities and jobs.