The Digital Environment

This chapter provides the key highlights from our broad and integrative futures analysis which leads to our conclusion that the emerging digital environment will serve as a fundamental change in the conditions of change. We outlined five major domains experiencing new change conditions: Demographic, Biotechnology, Manufacturing, Energy and Knowledge. In each domain, the trajectory is toward a new ‘attractor of efficiency’ and shifts in transaction costs which, together, are likely to result in major shifts on what businesses exist and how work is conducted. We then situate today’s youth in this digital environment with initial comparisons of similarities and differences between the Millennials who are currently in the workforce and the Post-Millennials who will follow them. Caution is exercised throughout this volume to avoid sweeping generalizations however we offer initial indicators or ‘weak signals’ of ways in which these two age groups may diverge. Subsequent chapters draw on this environmental scan to extend our conclusions in the context of their current education; the characteristics they may bring when joining the full-time workforce and recommendations for how employers can start to implement changes now to harness the potential the Post-Millennials will offer.