The Future Report

Choosing a name for your child is a huge decision! It’s very personal, and with more naming options than ever before, it can be hard. Analysing baby names over time also paints a fascinating snapshot of that era. While the Builders generation (born before 1945) chose traditional names such as Peter, Paul, John, Karen, Jennifer or Sharon for their children, in the 1980s, we saw Baby Boomer and Gen...

Like many other aspects of society, marketing has changed over time. Cutting-edge technologies are changing how organisations connect with consumers.   But it's not just about technology - there is also the human side of marketing, and how consumers have changed over time. All of this is reshaping the landscape as we know it. In today's episode, our host, Ashley Fell, sits down with McCrin...

Economic uncertainty, the rising cost of living, and rising interest rates are having impacts on Australians, as well as the "recessionette" environment that we find ourselves in. Despite these tough times, people still have financial dreams, goals and aspirations. In today's episode, our host, Ashley Fell, sits down with social researcher and futurist, Mark McCrindle, to discuss som...

Never in the history of the world has education been more accessible, more flexible, and more vulnerable to disruption. That’s why, in the latest instalment of our future of education study, we chose to not only identify these disrupters to the future of education, but also the unique opportunities that flow from them, so that we can all play a part in equipping students to thrive in this changing...

The waves of change impacting the education sector are perhaps unparalleled. There are the demographic trends of new generations entering the classroom, combined with the challenges of attracting and retaining younger staff, technological transformations, social changes, funding challenges, global influences, empowered parents (and students) and the growing expectation of holistic student developm...

Although it seems like Artificial Intelligence has only been on our radar for the last couple of years, it has in fact been something talked about and considered for decades. In recent years, AI has been utilised in the background, but now with it becoming more accessible and its use widespread, what does it mean for the way humans work and the type of work they will do in the future? It’s an impo...

Every generation has different characteristics. They have different motivators, preferences, and ways of engaging with companies. Learning about these is vital for organisations to remain relevant for the future. This is especially the case for not-for-profits and charities, who rely on donors and supporters to continue to do great work in our communities. Our latest report about the not-for-profi...

Australia has long been blessed with stable governments, high-functioning democracy, and the rule of law. However, what actively enables the flourishing of our society is not just government and its agencies, or even our local communities, but the for-purpose sector. While the retail sector facilitates vitally needed communities of interaction, and our diverse local suburbs for many are communitie...

According to a recent study, the average amount of time that an employee stays in one job is now down to two years and nine months. This means that for a school leaver today, who will live longer and work later into their life, we predict that they will have 18 jobs, across 6 careers, in their lifetime. Now when we share this forecast, sometimes people audibly gasp in shock. And that’s understanda...

Generation Z describes those born between the years of 1995 and 2009. That places them in their late teens and twenties, today. People in this life stage are often viewed as a bit of an enigma by other generations – particularly those older than them. They wear different fashions, they listen to different music and at times it can feel like they speak a different language. While their age does pla...

It is undisputed that the world of work is undergoing a massive transformation. From artificial intelligence to robotics and automation, what humans currently do and what we will be doing for work in the future is changing. Yet, it is not only technological shifts that are having big impacts on the workforce. Although they redefine our world, social and demographic changes also have profound impli...

As futurists, we study trends and factors that impact the future. However, futurists are not crystal ball gazers. We don’t just make wild predictions of what the future might be. Rather, we gather evidence and extrapolate the trends that are set to shape the years ahead. Businesses and consumers have encountered huge amounts of change in the last few years and this doesn’t appear to be slowing dow...

It is true that over the last decade, Artificial Intelligence has been increasingly applied to our everyday lives. Artificial Intelligence is the simulation of human intelligence processes by machines, especially computer systems. One of our trend predictions for 2023 has been Humanit-AI, where we predict that humans and machines will increasingly work closely with one another, and continue to be...

Happy 2023 and welcome to another season of The Future Report podcast! We are delighted that you have joined us again for more insightful discussions around trends and the future. In today's episode, our host, Ashley Fell, sits down with social researcher and futurist, Mark McCrindle, to explore how we can go about understanding, interpreting, and even strategically leveraging the trends that are...

If you can believe it, Christmas is upon us and we are about to say goodbye to another year. As we look ahead to the future, it’s also a worthwhile endeavour to look back at the year that was. From demographic changes to political events. From social trends to consumer shifts and technology trends. We’re discussing some of the most memorable societal events from 2022 in this episode, with McCrindl...

Generations. Always such a fun topic for us to discuss. Why? Because everyone belongs to one. There are various generations intermingling in our workplaces and communities, so understanding the unique perspectives of each one is vital. It was George Orwell who said, ‘ Every generation imagines itself to be more intelligent than the one that went before it, and wiser than the one that comes after i...

They’re the first generation to be fully born in the 21st Century. The oldest of them began being born in 2010, the same year Instagram and the iPad launched. Yes, we’re talking about Generation Alpha – the cohort born between 2010 and 2024. While the youngest of them are yet to be born, the oldest of them are about to become teenagers. In today's episode, our host, Ashley Fell, sits down with the...

Recently, the world’s population ticked over 8 billion people. That’s right. 8. Billion. We’ve reached this latest billion in record time, and the majority of population growth we've seen has occurred in the last 100 years. In today's episode, our host, Ashley Fell, sits down with demographer and futurist, Mark McCrindle, to discuss if this historic milestone is an exciting one, or something to be...

Starting out in your career is a memorable experience. Often our first foray into paid work can be daunting, exciting, overwhelming and memorable - all at the same time. The world of work is changing, especially for today’s school leavers, Generation Z. They are entrepreneurial, career mobile, and could have 18 jobs across 6 careers in their lifetime! In today's episode, our host, Ashley Fell, sit...

There are many factors that contribute to our overall health and wellbeing. This can include physical exercise, sleep, sense of satisfaction, sense of meaning and purpose, and how one feels their life is going. Holistically it is often a blend of physical, mental, emotional and spiritual aspects. In a a study of employed Australians that McCrindle conducted with Reventure, we found that the majori...

Have you ever kept a diary of how you spend your time? Well, the Australian Bureau of Statistics has. They have released their time use study which measured the daily activities of 2,000 diverse households, and of those aged 15 years and over in those households, had them keep a diary over two days and account for all their time. It’s a pretty fascinating study and reveals a lot about how much tim...

Gen Z and Millennials describe those in their teens, twenties, and thirties today. This life stage is often characterised by the need to keep up with their peers and the culture around them. As society continues to adapt to changing lifestyles and economic conditions, our team at McCrindle was commissioned by Afterpay to conduct a study about Gen Z and Millennials. The study sought to determine ho...

Avatars. NFTs. Blockchain. Bitcoin. Cryptocurrency. Virtual and augmented reality. What do all these words have in common?  They relate to The Metaverse. While it may have begun as a vague concept, over the last year it has gained immense traction, and many are now calling it the future of the internet. Particularly as it relates to Generation Alpha. Gone are the days when kids plugged a cons...

Over the last few years, remote work or work-from-home became widespread. This is because it wasn’t something that was just promoted or strongly encouraged. It was mandated. And it went on for some time. Because of various lockdowns and restrictions, some companies work-ed-from-home, full-time, for years. And possibly still are. Now, as we (with fingers crossed) say goodbye to lockdowns and work-f...

Breaking into the housing market is a hot topic amongst today’s younger generations with skyrocketing house prices, the rising cost of living, and low wage growth making it pretty difficult to get a foothold. So, if younger generations can’t break into the housing market, what sort of impact will this have on their financial aspirations and wealth accumulation? Joining Ashley Fell to shed some lig...