Millennials seem to be itching for the 70s. Two new scan hits show that modern trends in working and playing might be headed for a downturn.
1. Millennials’ workplace backlash. Everyone knows that a Millennial thrives with technology and would just as soon work from the beach as a corner office. Not so, according to a recent study. Younger workers are feeling overloaded with information and tech tools and underserved in authentic, face-to-face collaboration. Though they don’t mind flexibility, they aren’t willing to sacrifice mentorship and meaningful communication for it. How old school.
2. Many Millennial kids are under constant, watchful protection to ensure good decisions are made and nothing gets broken, and some argue that’s not good for their growth. The days of kids riding bikes through construction sites and not leaving a note for Mom might be experiencing a resurgence, thanks to some parents and experts, who say unsupervised risk taking is an essential part of development. They argue creativity and innovation are fostered in those moments of play when anything could happen.
As we examine how students will learn, work, play, connect, participate, and live in 2025+, what from the past will find its way into the future?
The University of Houston Foresight program is exploring the future of Student Needs 2025 and Beyond for the Lumina Foundation, a leading higher education foundation with a goal of raising higher educational attainment levels from 40% today to 60% in 2025. We are tasked with providing Lumina a view of how student needs are evolving over the next dozen or so years. Put simply, could changes in student needs alter the equation of what higher education will need to providing by 2025 and beyond?
To map the student needs landscape of the future, the Houston Foresight program has assembled a team of two dozen faculty, alums, and students organized around six teams exploring evolving student needs related to living, learning, working, playing, connecting, and participating. We are using Houston’s Framework Foresight process to produce forecasts of student needs and identify the implications and issues they suggest for higher education.