An optimistic interpretation of terms such as opportunity, economic upturn and security is something that probably only few people associate with Covid19. And yet, according to the Zukunftsinstitut, exciting and promising scenarios – so-called mega-trends – can be developed for the post-Corona period in particular.
Security Through Uncertainty
The most astonishing thing up front: the more turbulent and uncertain the events of an era are, the greater the chance of achieving personal security. Because security “as the absence of an existential danger” is based, especially in Western countries, on a feeling that can be created by people themselves. Thus, security changes from a passive state to an active process. And this new perspective is important, because globalization and digitalization are breaking up old familiar patterns that previously provided an apparent sense of security. Whereas in the past, people used to have a job that they filled until retirement age and which allowed them to firmly establish themselves in a community with their home and family, many people are now confronted with changing employers and the home office more quickly than most forecasts predicted. The topic of fake news also makes people deeply insecure and requires a greater intellectual effort to filter out halfway objective information from as many trustworthy sources as possible and to put together their personal world view from this information. From a neutral point of view, change is more constant than stagnation and leads to further development and progress. Re-orientation is the order of the day and setting up in a world whose individual reality can be created anew by each individual on a daily basis.
Trendsetter Ü50 – Pioneers of Individual Self-Realisation
One of the greatest opportunities for progress and economic and monetary potential lies with the “old”, of all people, who are no longer old in the traditional sense. Many members of the so-called Silver Society, who used to move from the working world to retirement at the age of around 65, no longer even think about retirement. On the contrary: Due to the increasing age expectation with good physical condition, they are faced with the question: Where to go with all that energy? They answer this question in advance, for example, with professional reorientation, the leap into self-employment or further training and hobbies still at over 100.
Economic Growth Through Digital Natives and Creative Economy?
The pioneers are followed by a generation that already includes the first digital natives, people of the generation that grew up in the “digital world”. They will benefit from the fact that many companies have been forced to digitalize or expand their business due to the Covid19 virus. According to the Zukunftsinstitut, increasing digitalization and automation is accompanied by “an epochal upheaval” in the world of work. The ever more frequently asked question about the meaning of gainful employment is therefore leading to a departure from a purely rational economy of performance towards the development of the individual’s potential. And nowhere is this better expressed than in the so-called creative economy. It is made up of people who are also artistically creative in the broadest sense, such as authors, architects, designers, musicians or even developers of computer games, and since the end of the 1980s has been developing into one of the most dynamic branches of the global economy. According to the German Federal Ministry of Economics and Energy (BMWI), creative artists made a larger contribution to the overall economic performance in Germany in 2018 (100.5 billion euros) than the chemical industry, energy suppliers or financial service providers. This promising sector of the economy is mainly made up of freelancers and small and micro-entrepreneurs.
Hygge as a building block for perceived safety
During the lockdown, most people were banished to their own homes for longer than many of them would like. Suddenly, furniture, furnishings and quality of living became the focus of attention. For many people, the question of their own identity is linked to the personal interior. At a time when millions of people are traveling around the globe in search of security, freedom and quality of life, leaving their homes behind, a home takes on a whole new quality and meaning. For many people it is becoming increasingly important whether they spend their free time in an environment that is individually perceived as aesthetic, the furnishings of which also fulfill the aspect of sustainability as far as possible and thus help to preserve natural resources.
It is not only at home that the demand for a pleasant and sustainable environment is increasing; expectations of the working environment are also rising. Trends such as New Work are being further accelerated by Covid19 and the effects of related measures. This is because the abolition of the strict separation between workplace and private sphere through the relaxation of home office regulations and the increased use of digital technologies, which enable communication in a team and with customers from any location, is further increasing the needs of employees for the working environment. Not only employers, but also urban planners and the entire construction industry will have to respond to these trends, which have been rapidly accelerated by Covid19, now. New business models are emerging and developments that were at a snail’s pace in Germany before Covid19 are now gaining momentum.
Corona as an Accelerator of Mega-Trends
Covid19, apart from all the negative sides, also has a promising flip side and will become an accelerator of the mega-trends of the future. We at magility will be happy to support you in the development of new business models and we evaluate these mega-trends and innovative technologies for you, which can become an accelerator of your economic power.
