In recent years, many young people have felt that powerbrokers and politicians across the World have consistently failed to listen to their concerns.
As a result, there has been an increasing apathy by this group towards critical political decisions. These include last year’s Brexit Referendum which could, if young voters had turned out to vote, have resulted in the UK remaining as part of the European Union.
Indeed, when young people did decide to mobilise as a political force during the last general Election over concerns such as tuition fees, it was enough to stop Theresa May’s Government from gaining a majority.
Such a trend of increased activism may be set to continue globally given that over half of the world’s population is currently under the age of 30, are slowly waking up to the fact that their collective voice can make a difference and that increasingly, their views will need to be taken into account before important decisions are made.
That is why politicians from across the political spectrum should be reading the latest Global Shapers Annual Survey from the World Economic Forum, which interviewed almost 25,000 people aged between 18 and 35 from 186 countries.
Given the concerns of this generation, it is not surprising that the key global issue for many young people is climate change and the environment, with nearly half stating this to be the most critical matter ahead of concerns such as large scale global conflict and inequality.
And whilst over 90 per cent of young people agree that the human race is responsible for climate change, many young people are also willing to change their lifestyles to protect the environment. Most importantly, their view of the environment affects the way they relate to different organisations and the green approach being undertaken by businesses could be a key driver in terms of their perceived power as consumers in the future.
In terms of governance and civic engagement, it is heartening that young people have a clear vision of a world where values of fairness, equality, integrity and accountability are at the core of society. They see corruption as the main driver of inequality and especially within the workplace where integrity and honesty is valued above all other characteristics, another potential issue for businesses looking for new talent.
With regard to trust, it is worth noting that academic institutions, schools and employers are appreciated the most by young people. In contrast, government, banks and big business are the least trusted, which suggests that the heads of these organisations need to redouble their efforts in engaging in the future if they are to continue to be relevant to this important part of the population.
In terms of further empowerment, it is fascinating that young people feel that the most important factor is for Government to favour a start-up ecosystem and support youth entrepreneurship, suggesting that working for oneself has become an accepted lifestyle choice.
Currently, one of the key concerns of policy makers is that technology will impact negatively on society and yet nearly 80 per cent of young people believe that technology will create rather than destroy jobs in the future. In particular, it is expected that the sectors that will benefit the most from adoption of new technologies will not be the private sector but health and education.
Most importantly, the survey seems to blow the perception that young people are feckless and have no interest in work out of the water. Indeed, the top three most important criteria for young people when considering job opportunities are “salary/financial compensation” (49 per cent), “sense of purpose/impact on society” (41 per cent) and “growth/career advancement” (40 per cent). It is also noteworthy that 42 per cent also believe that it should be part of the employer’s mandate to ensure work-like balance, suggesting that a significant number place a strong emphasis on meaningful and personally fulfilling work.
In terms of applying for jobs, the main reason given by young people as to why they feel disadvantaged is a lack of experience which could suggest that more needs to be done to ensure that, during their education, they are linked into the business community.
But once appointed to their jobs, young people are not content to sit back and just accept the status quo. Instead, they want employers to create a more youth friendly culture in the workplace by ensuring they are given more opportunities to get involved in strategy and get access to mentoring (and become involved in mentoring senior managers). Organisations should also accept failure as part of the learning experience.
Therefore, with young people becoming an increasing proportion of the workforce and the voting population (as well as having growing consumer influence through increased spending power), governments and businesses need to ensure that they listen to not only their concerns but also ensure they are a vital part of plans for the future.
Indeed, one thing is certain namely that if governments, businesses and other institutions continue to ignore the current generation of young people, they do so at their peril.