More millennials, Gen Zs want to travel than buy home, start family: Report

Millennials and Gen Zs are not satisfied with their lives, their financial situations, their jobs, government and business leaders, social media, or the way their data is used, a Deloitte report says

More Millennials and Gen Zs would rather travel the world than buy a home or start a family,  says a report by Deloitte. Moreover, the gig economy appeals to four in five millennials and Gen Zs.

In a gig economy which is a free market system, it is common for organisations to contract with independent workers for short-term engagements.Almost half of the surveyed millennials believe gig workers can earn as much as those in full-time jobs, and the same number think gig workers have a better work/life balance.   

The Deloitte Global Millennial Survey 2019 considered the views of 13,416 millennials questioned across 42 countries and territories, and 3,009 Gen Zs from 10 countries. Millennials included in the study were born between January 1983 and December 1994. Gen Z respondents were born between January 1995 and December 2002. 

Millennials and Gen Zs are not satisfied with their lives, their financial situations, their jobs, government and business leaders, social media, or the way their data is used, the report says.

These two cohorts of youngsters not only want to be wealthy, but also make positive contributions to society. While 52 per cent of millennials and 56 per cent of Gen Zs want to earn high salaries, 46 per cent and 47 per cent of them, respectively, seek to make positive impact on their community.

Millennials believe their ambitions are within reach. Two-thirds who want to reach senior levels in their careers believe it’s attainable. Seven in 10 who want to see the world think it’s possible. Three-quarters who want to buy homes are confident they’ll be able to. And 83 per cent of those desiring families don’t believe barriers will prevent it.

Among 20 challenges facing society that most concern respondents on a personal level, climate change, protecting the environment and natural disasters topped the list. And it wasn’t close. 29 per cent cited it as a worry, seven points more than the next-highest concern, income inequality. 

Only 20 per cent are concerned about corruption in business and politics, whereas 19 per cent are worried about terrorism.

49 per cent of millennials believe new technologies will augment their jobs, 25 percent expect Industry 4.0 to have no impact, and only 15 percent fear it will replace all or part of their job responsibilities.

Consumerism—walking the talk

Millennials and Gen Zs start and stop relationships with companies for very personal reasons, often related to a company’s positive or negative impact on society.

For example, 42 percent of millennials said they have begun or deepened a business relationship because they perceive a company’s products or services to have a positive impact on society and/or the environment. Further, 37 percent said they have stopped or lessened a business relationship because of the company’s ethical behavior; conversely, 36 percent started/deepened a relationship because they believed a company was ethical.