Even when hit hard by the crisis, Millennials and Gen Zs refuse to compromise their values in business

Millennials and Gen Zs are hit hard by COVID-19 pandemic, yet they view this period as an opportunity to reset and take action, reveals Deloitte survey*. At the time of polling, almost 30% of Gen Zs and nearly a quarter of younger millennials (25-30 years old) said they had either lost their jobs or been placed on temporary, unpaid leave. Only a third of millennials and 38% of Gen Zs said their employment and income status had been unaffected. Yet there are positive impacts of the crisis too:

High stress levels tend to decrease

Prior to the pandemic, 52% of Gen Zs and 50% of millennials in the countries that were surveyed twice – before and during the pandemic – said they were stressed all or most of the time. Respondents cited family welfare, long-term finances, and job prospects as primary sources of stress. Interestingly, stress levels fell eight points for both generations in the survey conducted during the pandemic, possibly indicating that the slowdown of life in lockdown may have reduced stress levels.

Despite the slight declines seen in the pulse survey, stress and mental wellness remain critical issues for young generations and these issues are manifested in work settings. Approximately one-third of millennials and Gen Zs took time off work due to stress before the pandemic, though around half told their employers it was for a different reason.

“Flexible working arrangements—which were widely implemented as a result of the pandemic—may present a solution. Nearly seven in 10 millennials said having the option to work from home in the future would relieve stress, besides working from home gives an opportunity to save commuting and other expenses of employee and employer. Our internal surveys reveal also Deloitte employees are willing to take the opportunity of the remote work in the future, and I believe this will be an important change to stay with a lot of companies after the pandemic.

Financial concerns are a particularly acute stressor for millennials, many of whom began their careers in the wake of the Great Recession around 2008 and now face another downturn. In the primary survey, more millennials (50%) believed their financial situations will worsen or stagnate in the next year than improve (42%). When analyzing results from only the countries included in the pulse survey, 61% of millennial respondents conveyed the same lack of optimism during the pandemic, a seven percentage-point jump from the primary survey. Still, there is some short-term optimism as more than half of millennials in the pulse survey, and nearly half of Gen Zs, say they have savings of roughly three months of income, which may help them as the financial ramifications of the pandemic come to bear.

The environment remains a top concern

Younger generations take the issue of social purpose as a personal calling. In the pulse survey, respondents indicated they were taking “socially conscious” actions to benefit the planet and society. The COVID-19 crisis may have reinforced these inclinations, as nearly three-fourths said the pandemic has made them more sympathetic to the needs of others, and that they will take action to positively impact their communities.

Millennials and Gen Zs’ focus on doing good is reflected in their purchasing habits as well. About 60% said they plan to buy more products and services from large businesses that have taken care of their workforces and positively impacted society during the pandemic. Around three-quarters will make an extra effort to buy products and services from smaller, local businesses.

Once again, climate change emerged as a critical issue for millennials and Gen Zs both before and during the COVID-19 crisis. Prior to the pandemic, half of respondents said they believe it too late to repair the damage caused by climate change and only 40% expressed optimism that future efforts to protect the environment will succeed. However, four months later in the pulse survey countries, the percentage of millennials believing we’ve reached the point of no return dropped by eight points, perhaps suggesting that the environmental impact of reduced activity during the pandemic has given hope that there’s still time to act.

A vast majority (80%) also think governments and businesses need to make greater efforts to protect the environment, yet they are concerned that the economic impact of the pandemic might make this less of a priority.

Millennials and Gen Zs aren’t just hoping for a better world to emerge after the COVID-19 pandemic releases its grip on society—they want to lead the change, and we see it in our Baltic offices too – our teammates are more engaged in social activities, standing for diversity and inclusion, and other topics.

Even though the view of business overall continues to decline employer loyalty increases

While views of business continue to decline, millennials and Gen Z will actively support companies that make positive impacts to society. The view of business in general around the world continues to wane. In the primary survey, 51% of millennials said business is a force for good, down from 76% three years ago and 55% in 2019. In the pulse survey, these numbers continued to decline to 41% for millennials and 43% for Gen Zs (Gen Zs reported 52% favorability in the primary survey).

These results suggest companies must do more to demonstrate how they are positively impacting employees and society. Job loyalty rises as businesses address employee needs, from diversity and inclusion to sustainability to reskilling —young people believe in companies with a purpose-driven strategy. These are the companies that will lead in the post-pandemic future.

However—whether employers are finally starting to better meet workers’ needs, or millennials were feeling the need to find stability even before the pandemic—for the first time since asking the question four years ago, more millennials in the primary survey said they want to stay with their employers for five or more years than leave within two years. Those who would leave in two years or less dropped from 49% to 31%, while those who’d prefer to stay long-term jumped from 28% to 35%.

Respondents were also largely receptive to how employers were navigating the COVID-19 crisis—two-thirds said they were pleased with the speed and manner by which employers acted. Around 60% believe these actions have made them want to stay with their employers for the long term.

More details on the survey here: https://www2.deloitte.com/global/en/pages/about-deloitte/articles/millennialsurvey.html

My thoughts on the topics in Latvian for Dienas Bizness here: https://www.db.lv/zinas/mileniali-klust-lojalaki-darba-vietai-497380?linkId=93357564

A great #podcast with Michele Parmelee discussing Deloitte’s #purpose journey and our 2020 #MillennialSurvey, which explored connections between purpose and what drives loyalty among #millennials and #GenZ here: https://purpose360podcast.com/episodes/deloittes-michele-parmelee-shares-the-power-of-people-purpose#Purpose360Podcast

* The 2020 report consists of two parts: a “primary” survey of 18,426 millennials and Gen Zs across 43 countries conducted between November 2019 and early January 2020, and a “pulse” survey of 9,102 individuals over 13 countries taken between April and May of 2020 in the midst of the worldwide pandemic. Many questions from the first study were repeated to gauge the effect of the pandemic on opinions.

Millennials included in the study were born between January 1983 and December 1994. Gen Z respondents were born between January 1995 and December 2002. The overall sample size of 27,500 represents the largest survey of millennials and Gen Zs completed in the nine years Deloitte Global has published this report.