300,000 Global Voices Reveal How People Have Changed In The Past Five Years

New research captures how crises and rapid technological change have reshaped what people value, how they feel, who they trust, and how they engage with institutions

January 12, 2026

Pandemic, inflation, AI, geopolitics. The first five years of the 2020s have been anything but stable.

Since 2020, the Oliver Wyman Forum has surveyed more than 300,000 people across 20 countries to track how priorities, behaviors, and expectations are shifting. A quick selection of what was found:

  • We want fulfillment at work: Fulfillment jumped to #2 among workplace needs, up from #8 in 2023 (just behind pay).
  • We are the last generation to work only with humans: 67% of employees already interact with AI in human-like ways; 28% would prefer an AI manager over a human one (37% for Gen Z).
  • We dream of financial independence: Financial independence is now the #1 fastest-growing unmet need (2022–2025), alongside a +80% increase in pressure to “make money to feel successful.”

See which shifts matter most for how you lead, invest, and plan for the next five years.

Charts that show at least 25% gains in how important money, achievement, and pleasure are to people since 2021. And yet, rates of physical and mental health have declined.
Exhibit showing that employees rank fulfillment as the second-most important workplace need in 2025, up from #8 in 2023, just behind pay.
Exhibit showing that the fastest growing unmet need among consumers from 2022-2025 is financial independence. In the same timespan, there was an 80% increase in people feeling pressure to make money to feel successful, and a 54% increase in interest in retiring early through financial independence.
Exhibit showing that 67% of employees already interact with AI in human-like ways and that 28% would prefer an AI manager over a human one (37% for Gen Z).
Exhibit that shows a 105% increase in those the percentage of those who maintain wellness in communities and encourage others since 2021; and a 46% use in healthcare, up 28% since 2023.