Trend Check: Work, Health and Luxury

Our annual Future 100 report dives into the trends, innovation and cultural changes that will drive the next year. How did last year’s predictions fare? Below, we look back at our most accurate predictions in work, health and luxury.

Two mobile app screens: a home screen with a user's chats, connections, and communities; a chat page between two connected users. — Pineapple app

Work

Gen Z workforce (#97)

Brands are refocusing their recruitment strategies to attract gen Z employees for the long term, and gen Z recruits are stepping up to the plate.

Pineapple, an app released in November, is reinventing professional networking for gen Z with visual story profiles and digital portfolios.
According to the BBC, reverse mentorship practices between young and experienced employees are replacing traditional top-down mentoring as some companies turn to their youngest hires for direction on new hybrid work settings, diversity and inclusion practices, and larger generational divides within teams.
The first gen Z member of Congress, 25 year old Maxwell Alejandro Frost, was elected to represent Florida’s 10^th Congressional District in November and will begin his position in January. Personal values are central to gen Z recruits, and now the generation will elevate their beliefs and desire to help the greater good themselves.

A woman with tan skin and dark curly hair stands looking to the viewer's left, holding a tennis racket. She is wearing a gray tennis dress. — Naomi Osaka

Health

Emotional health (#90)

Public programs that prioritize emotional health are popping up globally in physical and digital spaces.

In response to a 2021 advisory by U.S. Surgeon General Vivek H. Murthy declaring a mental health crisis for American children, several states are formally allowing mental health days for students. As of August 2022, those states are Washington, Illinois, California, Maine, Virginia, Colorado, Oregon, Connecticut, Arizona, Nevada, Utah, and Kentucky, and a bill has been proposed in New York, Maryland, Massachusetts, and Pennsylvania.
Tennis champion Naomi Osaka narrated a guided meditation through athletic wellness brand Hyperice’s Core app and device in collaboration with the mental health resources company Modern Health.
In collaboration with Headspace, Pinterest launched free mental health services for its content creators in October, offering a free six month subscription to the mental health app to those interested.

Luxury

Crypto-elites (#73)

Luxury and high-profile brands are accepting crypto-payments to cater to the rising class of crypto-elites.

In May, Gucci announced that it would accept crypto currencies including Dogecoin, Bitcoin, and Shiba Inu for goods at North American stores.
Off-White began accepting cryptocurrency payments in its Paris, London, and Milan flagship storefronts in March, an “important step in the growth of the brand, that looks towards the future including Web 3.0 technologies, understanding the needs and desires of its ever evolving customer base,” Off-White said in a statement.
In May, luxury gym Equinox announced that it would accept membership payments in cryptocurrencies for any of its 35 NYC locations – the first gym in the US to accept digital payments for membership fees according to the New York Post.
Google and Coinbase announced in October that customers will be able to make crypto-based payments starting early next year.
Apple plans to allow users to download external iOS apps in response to new EU regulations on crypto and NFTs.
Flyfish Club, a restaurant set to open its doors later in 2023, is creating a community of consumers who purchase NFTs for membership at the exclusive foodie joint.

Main image of Naomi Osaka.