The Millennial Survey 2014

Deloitte’s third annual Millennial Survey surveyed nearly 7,800 Millennials from 28 countries across Western Europe, North America, Latin America, BRICS and Asia-Pacific about business, government and innovation. The questionnaire focused on the role business plays in society; its objectives, impact and outcomes; the responsibility of business and government and how well each is addressing the challenges faced by society; the potential impact of new technologies and innovation; and how businesses help people to bring out new ideas and develop their leadership skills.

Across the globe 70 percent of tomorrow’s future leaders might ‘reject’ what business as traditionally organized has to offer, preferring to work independently through digital means in the future.  This and other findings in Deloitte’s annual study of Generation Y point to significant challenges facing business leaders if they are to meet the expectations of the Millennial generation.  Other key findings from the survey include:

• Business could achieve more. While most Millennials (74 percent) believe business is having a positive impact on society by generating jobs (48 percent) and increasing prosperity (71 percent), they think business can do much more to address society’s challenges in the areas of most concern: resource scarcity (68 percent), climate change (65 percent) and income equality (64 percent). Additionally, 50 percent of Millennials surveyed want to work for a business with ethical practices.
• Government is not doing enough. Millennials say government has the greatest potential to address society’s biggest issues but are overwhelmingly failing to do so. Almost half feel governments are having a negative impact on areas identified as among the top challenges: unemployment (47 percent), resource scarcity (43 percent), and income inequality (56 percent). 
• Organizations must foster innovative thinking. Millennials want to work for organizations that support innovation. In fact, 78 percent of Millennials are influenced by how innovative a company is when deciding if they want to work there, but most say their current employer does not greatly encourage them to think creatively.  They believe the biggest barriers to innovation are management attitude (63 percent), operational structures and procedures (61 percent), and employee skills, attitudes, and (lack of) diversity (39 percent).
• Organizations must nurture emerging leaders. Over one in four Millennials are ‘asking for a chance’ to show their leadership skills. Additionally, 75 percent believe their organizations could do more to develop future leaders. 
• Millennials are eager to make a difference.  Millennials believe the success of a business should be measured in terms of more than just its financial performance, with a focus on improving society among the most important things it should seek to achieve. Millennials are also charitable and keen to participate in ‘public life’: 63 percent of Millennials donate to charities, 43 percent actively volunteer or are a member of a community organization, and 52 percent have signed petitions. 

View of a summary of the results in the infographic. Join the conversation at #DeloitteDavosLive.