Editor’s Note: The Generational Shift

Many among the Gen X and millennials are completely flummoxed by the attitude and habits of the Gen Z, the oldest ones being around 27-28 years. They are often seen as too casual about life and their choices, not as hardworking as the earlier generations were, and with a different moral compass and work ethics.

The process of change between generations is all too natural. I still remember my aunt telling us how she could cook and sew things to perfection when she was 10, and how my siblings and I were good for nothing. At 10, I (a part of Gen X) was caught between somehow finishing my homework, and rushing to the nearby park in the evening to play. But, I was open to sharing spaces with family (there was always someone visiting) and doing sundry household chores. At 10, my child, who is a Gen Z, had to be cajoled to leave his gadgets behind and go out to the park in the evening, was not held responsible for any household chores, and had a defined sense of his individuality and privacy.

A lot of these changes are also a function of availability of different things and myriad choices we have. As a kid, I never had a gadget for personal use or the choice of different brands from where to shop from. The Gen Z, however, have been born in an era when what was luxury and privilege to the previous generations is an everyday need—like eating out, having a family car, a personal gadget, and so on. Pegged on by e-commerce, it’s become an age of instant gratification, especially for those belonging to the middle class and above.

With the Gen X, millennials and Gen Z interacting in homes and workplaces (and this is expected to go on for at least another 10-15 years), times are challenging for all the three generations given their disparate dispositions. In these times, what can help is a little effort from all sides—the Gen X and millennials can step up to understand how and why Gen Z thinks and behaves like they do, while the Gen Z need to embrace certain ethics that have stood the test of time.

The challenge is perhaps far greater for policymakers, especially financial regulators, who need to rethink their approach and adapt to the changing landscape to ensure they serve the next generations (not just the Gen Z, Gen Alpha is not far behind) well. For instance, the communication strategy needs a sea change to serve these digital natives.

In an age where finfluencers are more popular than regulated advisors and entities, the lines and regulations need to be sharply defined. The “boring” needs to be repackaged into something “appealing”.