Changing cultural and societal behaviours

Our needs have shifted and certainly during the current crisis. Since 2008 recession, millennials have not been buying houses the way earlier generations did. They prefer to rent rather than buy. Asset creation is not the mantra, but suitability, and living with time is the policy adopted. Human aspirations and behaviour change during crisis, of course economic necessity plays a role in it. SUVs have suddenly become uncool and hybrid electric alternative is the option preferred to these flashy ones. Generation Z prefers buying clothes from a discounted stores and this habit is led by Generation X and Millennials, so buying clothes at discount is a new norm. 

We humans have been prioritizing based on our basic needs, wants and we satisfy these needs through earning money, maintaining health and well-being. But during the current crisis of COVID-19, we see the behaviours drastically changing. People have been taking a leap in their purchases of basic needs resulting into hoarding and creating a shortage in the market. It is witnessed that people are concerned about their health and finances as they are out of work or sick or both, resulting into buying of masks, sanitizers, medicines, and not only this but guns and ammunitions where legally permissible as people fear social unrest in the time ahead which is unknown.

Such a behavioural change has happened because of wide spread violence and unreliability of the future, like 9/11, 26/11, 2008 crisis, easy availability of information through smartphones and communication networks getting instant access through 24/7 news and social media. Information has prominently become a basic need of the society to act upon rather than esteem and self-actualization.

There is a change that can be seen in societal values. The current crisis has supported people to work remotely, which will be normalized sooner impacting the childcare industry, flexi-timing, morning-evening routines, etc. In December baby boom is expected which will aggravate the need for remote working.

There is a shift towards authenticity as people have been sharing stories about their family, pets and so on – behind the scene realities and no longer hide the juggling act between work and life. The real image of a person (employee) is displayed, which can be called new-found-freedom showing who the person really is and the challenges faced. There will be many who may return to the old routines but it is expected of people to be transparent about the struggles and joys gained during this crisis which will display a new level of authenticity in dealing with each other.

In reference to the corporate culture, to stay relevant companies are trying to understand their employees and customers changing needs and retune their client strategies. Companies are observing the shift in consumer behaviours to be relevant so that they can differentiate themselves to stay ahead of competition. 

During the crisis many companies have realised that they need to implement technology at a speed expected by their customers and employees to enable them to operate in the digital world. This speed will be a influencing factor on various industries driving massive changes on the behaviours of people. Those companies who seek better understanding of the customers will be the winners. Because understanding today’s needs will help companies to seek opportunities in future thus rearranging their organisations and charting a future path.  

Companies are presented with a new rare opportunity to put human at the center and meeting the needs of their customers and employees. It is the strategy of the company to decide whether to revert back to the old routine or change for a short period and observe or look at this as an opportunity to innovate.