Meet The New People Shaping Our Future According To The Oliver Wyman Forum

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02/01/2022 - 02:44 PM

NEW YORK, Feb. 1, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Consumers and employees emerging from the Covid-19 pandemic will accelerate disruptive economic trends including work from home careers, climate activism, the rise of the metaverse, social media influenced investing, cannabis use and experimentation with psychedelics.

A year-long study of over 100,000 adults across ten countries conducted by The Oliver Wyman Forum identified new consumer and employee archetypes who will drive trillions in spending in 2022. Representing over half of the population and the intersection of more than 30 critical trends, the Oliver Wyman Forum archetypes are:

NEW COLLARS - Current or former blue-collar workers who learned new skills during the pandemic so that they could find better jobs – are leading a blue-collar revolution. While the entire world has felt the effects of the pandemic, the impacts have not been felt equally. Though blue-collar workers were front and center during the spread of COVID-19, concerns around their wellbeing were side-lined. But rather than accept this fate, many set their sights on new horizons.
CLIMATE CATALYST - Those that don't believe business and government are taking adequate steps to address climate change and have taken activism into their own hands. They have both widened their perspectives and deepened their resolve.
HIVEMIND INVESTOR - The Hivemind Investors are those for whom social media drives investment decisions. Our research reveals that their seemingly volatile behavior is not malice, but rather a search for community, learning, and information equality as these newly minted investors dive into, and revolutionize, the world of retail investing.
VIRTUAL NATIVE - Those that have graduated during the pandemic and have had their working experiences be largely virtual. They are redefining the nature of white-collar employment, and the ways employers engage with their employees and the way companies engage with their consumers. The pandemic has allowed them to curate their professional surroundings to their specific habits, making them less willing to sacrifice their comforts.
PSYCHEDELIC EXPLORER - The Psychedelic Explorers are those intrigued by and willing to try psychedelics in a clinical or experiential setting. They are curious and open-minded, and as more of these therapies move closer to market, they will be in the vanguard of early adoption. They will be at the forefront in destigmatizing mental healthcare and in transforming the outdated perception of the 1960s era "hippy tripper."
WELLNESS PROTAGONIST - The Wellness Protagonists are those who leveraged multiple products and services to enhance the full spectrum of their wellbeing. While the pandemic evoked a universal focus on wellness, Protagonists doubled down and leveraged the new and existing technologies. Their behaviors will permanently alter our understanding of healthcare and encourage society to integrate self-care into daily life.
CITIZENS OF THE METAVERSE - The Citizens of the Metaverse (Metazens) are people willing to participate in the metaverse without hesitation. They are ready for the next iteration of the internet, poised to dive into the immersive and integrated parallel world it will forge. This group is the extreme amalgamation of others. They embrace the virtual work lifestyle of the Natives, investment attitudes of the Hive, and the new age approach to wellbeing of the Protagonists. They are molding a new market and will shape how the metaverse emerges and becomes enmeshed into a global future.
DIGITAL BLOOMER - Those over age 45 who entered the digital ecosystem due to Covid-19 and who until recently might have been labeled "digitally reluctant". As a result of the pandemic, they've made the switch from analog to digital and have adopted a variety of behaviors that are new for them, including ordering online groceries, doing online banking and connecting with loved ones over video. This is the group whose altered behavioral profile will ensure the ways we work, interact, and do business do not return to their pre-pandemic norms.

Lastly, THE SPECTRE OF DISINFORMATION: These eight new people will shape our future and present new avenues and positive perspectives – however; a shadow of a ninth archetype stalks them -- disinformation. Our research found a disturbingly high percentage of respondents reported believing false narratives around COVID, the vaccine and the role of the government during the pandemic.

"Our data shows that values about work and life are becoming more disruptive as people emerge from the pandemic," said Ana Kreacic, Chief Operating Officer of The Oliver Wyman Forum. "A new set of consumers and employees are coalescing around health and safety, workplace flexibility, on-line investing, and climate concerns. We mapped these values to personas in order to enable companies to rethink their value propositions and business models."

The Oliver Wyman Forum study is one of the most comprehensive and dynamic examinations of attitudes and behaviors. Featuring original photography by Michelle Watt, the survey includes a wealth of data and verbatim responses of those surveyed to provide insight into what the post-COVID world will look like and how companies should respond.

About the Oliver Wyman Forum
The Oliver Wyman Forum is committed to bringing together leaders in business, public policy, social enterprises, and academia to act on shared global challenges. The Oliver Wyman Forum strives to discover and develop innovative solutions by conducting research, convening leading thinkers, analyzing options, and inspiring action. Together with our growing and diverse community, we think we can make a difference. For more information, visit www.oliverwymanforum.com.

About Oliver Wyman
Oliver Wyman is a global leader in management consulting. With offices in 60 cities across 29 countries, Oliver Wyman combines deep industry knowledge with specialized expertise in strategy, operations, risk management, and organization transformation. The firm has more than 5,000 professionals around the world who work with clients to optimize their business, improve their operations and risk profile, and accelerate their organizational performance to seize the most attractive opportunities. Oliver Wyman is a business of Marsh McLennan [NYSE: MMC]. For more information, visit www.oliverwyman.com. Follow Oliver Wyman on Twitter @OliverWyman.