A marker of youth is that young people detach themselves from their families and become independent. We found this to be somewhat true in the insights from our 30/30/30 Project, but Gen Z also value family ties as much as they value the connection with their friends.
Our findings also illustrated, like in their friendships, the role social media plays in helping them stay in touch with their family. This realisation highlights why they put their family bonds first when determining where they live and work.
If you want to discover the motivation behind this insight, continue reading.
What we learnt:
Our research picked up a strong emphasis on family, indicated by the answers to a variety of our questions.
“They taught us family structure, the importance of family, the importance of building the importance of unity and just keeping together as siblings. My siblings are amazing. My relationship with my siblings is amazing.” – Balekane (28, Black, female)
The average family size in this group is 4.2 people, more than we expected. The family units described extended beyond the parents to include grandparents, aunts, cousins, etc.
“I grew up in a very loving home, very strong family. I’m very close with my first and second cousins, uncles and aunties.” – Bryan (White, male)
Facebook was mentioned several times as a social media platform to stay connected with family and elders.
“And I like to catch up with uncles, and aunties, and grandparents who like to post on Facebook.” – Carol (White, female)
Of all those who answered this question, 100% indicated that they had a happy childhood.
“Investment in your family was also quite interesting in some of the more softer insights that came through here. Both in terms of investment in the past, in other words, commitment to their families, their parents that raised them, and then also their views on the future when it comes to children. I mean, some of them want like one, two, nine, four, five, six kids, which is always interesting to see.” – Bronwyn Williams, Futurist, Economist & Trends Analyst.
Focus on the family is evident when looking at their past and future. They are grateful to their parents and elders for raising them and, as such, view black tax as a way to thank their parents.
“And if I did get a job, like when I was working, it didn’t even feel like tax, but it felt like I’m relieving my mom’s pressure in terms of finances by just helping out as well.” – Hlengiwe (28, Black, female)
“I don’t really look at it as tax, you look at it more as a thank you” – Aviwe (28, Black, male)
“But as soon as I can, I’d love to help her [my mum] as much as I can and hopefully retire her early. [That] would be the goal.” – Dustin (20, White, male)
In terms of the future, many interviewees who expressed an interest in leaving South Africa said they would come back – to be closer to their families. Of those who answered this question, the average number of children they wanted was 2.4.
The matriarch archetype features strongly in this dataset concerning who they were raised by and their role models, with 23% raised by single mothers. 23% had grandmothers involved in raising them and 3% aunts. Regarding role models, 57% had female role models, while 23% had both male and female.
“I thought that was one of the most surprising, because culturally it’s very much a South African thing, but just how strong it came through the importance of grandmothers, all of the presence of grandmothers in that family circle, whether there was a single mom, but then there was grandmothers.” – Dion Chang, Founder & CEO of Flux Trends.
What does the research/experts say:
The trend towards individualism versus collectivism has risen in many parts of the Western world. The focus has been on one’s own immediate family. Elders live by themselves or in aged care homes. Unemployed adults are also left to fend for themselves.
In political scientist Robert Putnam’s book ‘Bowling Alone: The Collapse and Revival of American Community’, he speaks of how American individualism has triumphed over the traditional sense of community, especially as middle-class families moved into the suburbs and severed traditional ties. He says, “Something important happened to social bonds and civic engagement in America over the last third of the twentieth century. We are still more civically engaged than citizens in many other countries, but compared with our recent past, we are less connected.” Among the many culprits (obsession with work, urban sprawl, generational change). He notes that “the downturn in civic engagement coincided with the breakdown of the traditional family unit — mom, dad, and the kids.”
This collectivist mindset is slowly gaining popularity among Western nations as families start to embrace multigenerational living again and the nuclear family starts to disintegrate. South Africa has long been a community-minded country. The spirit of ‘Ubuntu’ which describes “a set of closely related African-origin value systems that emphasise the interconnectedness of individuals with their surrounding societal and physical worlds” has long been part of our culture. South Africa differs from the global trend of individualism and that this is to our collective advantage.
According to the 2021 General Household Survey released by Statistics South Africa, South Africa had an average household size of 3,34 persons. 58.1% of households had three or more members – slightly more than one-third (33,6%) of households were extended, meaning they contained biological parents and their children as well as in-laws, grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins. Extended family members can play a significant role in people’s lives.
What can businesses and policymakers do about this?
The consumer this trend represents has grown up with and is still closely connected to immediate and extended family. Products and services that will appeal to this segment align with family values. Party planners and venue hire for birthday parties for over seventy-year-olds or family reunions is an example of this. Shopping lists for grandparents purchasing gifts for grandchildren and vice versa is another.
From an employee perspective, taking care of family beyond immediate members should be accommodated by employers within reason. Leaders should be aware that South Africans are likely to be close to their extended family and occasionally required to take time off for caregiving tasks. An employee accustomed to interacting with different generations of family would apply these interpersonal skills within the workplace.
Paying parents back once young people start working is something policymakers should consider. Financial institutions with lawmakers could offer adult children low-fee, tax-free savings solutions to save for giving back to their parents. Large families need large homes. Government-subsidised housing understandably caters to a nuclear family size. Access to sizeable properties is inaccessible to low to middle-income South Africans. Communal living can be insular if the family rarely engages with people outside their bubble. Public spaces and events that encourage integration with society should be provided. This includes parks, recreation centres and sporting facilities. Lawmakers should consider expanding the definition of families. Same-sex married couples, for example, should be entitled to the same legal benefits as heterosexual ones.
By Flux Trends
The data and quotes mentioned above refer to a project that we are in the midst of, in conjunction with Student Village called “The 30/30/30 Project” whereby we collected insights from 30 South Africans, under the age of 30, 30 years into our new democracy.
WHERE TO FROM HERE?
Use these and many more insights from the 30/30/30 Project Report to BUILD your team, by booking a Bridgebuilder™ Workshop.
Close the generation gap and dive into the future of work and how to manage it.
Contact Bethea Clayton at connected@fluxtrends.co.za or +27764539405, if you are interested in exploring any of these options with your team or clients.
—
Image credit:
