Even as global challenges are mounting, the world seems to be a little less anxious than previously according to a new report by Deloitte.
The new report, A world less anxious, said despite mounting global challenges, anxiety levels are falling worldwide as easing concerns around the economy, geopolitics and more are likely helping to drive the trend.
It said collectively, the world has confronted a lot over the last few years - pandemic, inflation, war, global recession warnings, energy crisis and climate change. Some observers have referred to this unique moment in time as ‘polycrisis’—the convergence of many disparate social, economic, geopolitical, environmental and technological stressors, whose combined impact surpasses the sum of their parts.
But against the backdrop of polycrisis, consumer sentiment is not moving in the direction some might expect. Over the past year, global anxiety levels have started to fall. In fact, the drops has been significant in a handful of countries, from Canada to Germany, Belgium and the Netherlands. Following the recent swell of global challenges, consumer anxiety is showing meaningful signs of receding for the first time in years.
Beyond finances and geopolitics, some lingering pandemic anxiety faded away as well, likely helping to drive down overall anxiety levels even further.
The report said anxiety also fell across a number of other drivers. Climate change offers a good example. Over the past year, the percentage of global survey respondents who cited feeling anxious about climate change slipped.
The trend runs against the grain of rising global consumer consciousness and perpetual extreme weather events. One potential explanation could be the effect of polycrisis itself. As consumers confront new challenges, particularly those presenting a more immediate impact on daily life (like rising prices), consumers may lose some focus on broader concerns. M