Millennials’ biggest worries are war, terrorism, and political tensions, according to a report by Deloitte, one of the largest professional-services firms in the world.
War, terrorism, and political tension top the list of fears for millennials, or those ages 18 to 34, living in both developed and emerging markets:
“Millennials, especially those in mature European economies, have serious concerns about the directions in which their countries are going,” Deloitte says in the report. “They are particularly concerned about uncertainty arising from conflict, as well as other issues that include crime, corruption, and unemployment.”
It’s perhaps unsurprising that millennials might be concerned about the direction the world is heading in. US President Donald Trump has two key proposals or policies that some fear could start a war or at least spark instability.
The first is his position on trade. Trump is firmly protectionist and in January pulled the US out of the Trans-Pacific Partnership trade deal. The TPP deal, which would lower tariffs for 12 Pacific Rim countries including Japan and Mexico but excluded China, was negotiated under the Obama administration.
Trump has previously said he wants to put US interests at the heart of international relationships. He made the debate about free trade one of the central topics of his campaign after criticizing China, Mexico, and Japan. Trump argued in favour of ripping up trade deals, said the North American Free Trade Agreement was “the worst trade deal in the history of the country,” and called TPP “a rape of our country.”
At the beginning of December, Trump said the US should view trade "almost as a war" and vowed to implement protectionist policies. He said his administration would renegotiate trade deals and "defeat the enemy on jobs."
On Saturday, Chinese tech billionaire Jack Ma said in no uncertain terms that a retreat from globalisation would only result in trouble.
"If trade stops, war starts," Ma said while in Melbourne to launch Alibaba's Australia and New Zealand headquarters. "We have to actively prove that trade helps people to communicate. And we should have fair trade, transparent trade, inclusive trade."
The second Trump policy that could spark tension is his position on immigration. A judge blocked Trump's executive order temporarily barring immigrants from seven majority-Muslim countries from entering the US. That executive order sparked mass protests across the globe and was dubbed "a propaganda gift for terrorists" by International Rescue Committee CEO David Miliband.
Despite millennials' fears, Deloitte says they should not simply sit and worry. The report says: "The millennials covered by the survey are not mere observers; increasingly and collectively, they have the potential to change the world around them. This is especially true within the workplace-once again, business has the potential to be a force for positive change that shines through as a core belief of the millennial generation."