We can learn from what the kids have to say

The genuine bafflement expressed by my two 12-year-old granddaughters to my saying I was popping to the shop to buy a daily newspaper got me thinking about the challenges facing business.

The reason for their bewilderment was two-fold. First, they automatically assumed anyone could find news on their phone at any time of their choosing, and second, there was an environmental element and the question of trees and paper production. They had no experience of the pleasure of sitting down with a paper, browsing through a variety of news, sport, comment and the opinions of others, so why would they consider it ? But that is just the tip of the iceberg and in just six years from now they will be young adults with an expectation of how the world should be, so we would be well advised to consider their view.

I know the end of newspapers has long been predicted and has not happened so far, though perhaps the doom mongers will finally have their day. But what about a wide range of other issues ? Statistics seem to suggest younger people are drinking less alcohol. Pubs and restaurants are already under huge pressures and are closing at a steady rate. Could they also be going the same way as newspapers if they don’t change how they operate ?

When it comes to the world of work, young people have very definite views of how they want to do it. Employers can either stand firm and hope for the best, or imaginatively enhance the sort of flexibility forced on them during Covid. In fact, with latest figures showing almost 300,000 households with no one who has ever had a job, might employment become seen as strictly optional ? I sense employers will have to work harder to sell what it means to have a career and make the world of work an attractive place to be.

Previous generations almost took it for granted they would buy a house, often making significant sacrifices to pay mortgages at much higher rates than are the case these days. Young people who see home ownership as a forlorn hope may be much more likely to settle for renting and as the proportion owning their homes reduces, the people involved in the housing market will have to adapt.

History shows us that change has been an ever present in the development of societies, but in the past that was usually a gradual evolution from one way of life to another. What is different today is the speed at which things are shifting in every walk of life. I am optimistic that my granddaughters will bring fresh ideas and creative thinking which will be positive for the future, but for now, radical thinking will be essential to preserve the strength of our economy and a chat with some young people will provide valuable food for thought.