Recession Fears and Veneers — Coming of Age in 2020s Britain
This week I'm passing the mic...
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In this week’s edition:
Growing up in 2020s Britain: Tito, 22, takes the mic
Diagnose the Generational Gap in your workplace for FREE - we launch the Multi-generational Advantage Scorecard
Three jobs, all remote - every business owner’s nightmare?
The Bennetts, the Simpsons, the Browns from Paddington - which TV family do we consider rich?
Recession fears and Veneers - Coming of Age in 2020s Britain
This week, I’m handing the mic to Tito, a sharp, insightful Gen Z voice born in the UK and raised in East London in a Nigerian household. Tito is 22, a recent graduate, and works in consulting while building his own creative platform on the side. He is also studying for a Master’s in his spare time. Like many in his generation, he’s navigating a world that feels both full of opportunity and structurally stacked against him.
We’ve been exchanging thoughts on what it means to come of age in 2020s Britain - in a country grappling with economic uncertainty, political fatigue, and a deep generational identity crisis.
What follows is a series of questions on work, aspiration, digital life, class, gender, and whether Britain still feels like a place worth investing in.
What does “success” look like to you right now, and has that changed in the past couple of years?
Success for me is very nuanced and has evolved considerably as I've gotten older. I feel like with the economy in the dire state it is, I’m just prioritising getting my finances together. Even staying at my family home is once something I’d be quite ashamed of, and whilst it’s unpleasant, I now see it as an opportunity to save and invest my earnings, which sort of feels like I’m edging towards some kind of success.
I love holidays, I love my creative interests in theatre, fashion, cinema and festivals, and I also want to secure my future in terms of livelihood and housing. Right now, success for me is just economic stability, an upwards trajectory in terms of my finances and also the freedom to explore my interests without substantial compromise.
It has changed because, as the economic outlook has worsened and it’s become harder to go after the fancy car or the super expensive apartment, basic financial stability and the avoidance of debt have become my priority.
When you think about work, are you chasing money, stability, flexibility, passion — or just survival?
These factors are all relevant in different ways. If you’re not chasing the money these days, you’re also not chasing stability, as the prices of things like housing, assets & the cost of living have increased profoundly. The only rational economic response is to expand your hustles, incorporating your day job, any additional interests or skills towards building your financial resilience. It’s about survival, but also reimagining what work means. Not many of my generation want to struggle for low wages indefinitely into the future, especially in a world where AI, social media and entrepreneurship offer new opportunities.
What do you fear more: the rise of AI, recession or global war?
My biggest fear is the recession, as the other options feel quite removed from my reality.
I can do nothing to stop a global war, and I can’t really do anything about the rise and dominance of AI. If anything, I see AI as a critical tool in my arsenal for improving my career productivity, boosting my business and saving me time during my studies. I’m already using AI for repetitive or basic summaries/research, which frees up time for my own creativity.
I do worry about AI’s impact on creativity. The impact of AI on artistic expression has been polluting, seeing otherwise talented artists produce AI-generated slop or pale imitations of actual ingenuity is quite embarrassing. I’m worried by how much AI prevents original thought and hallucinates facts.
But a recession would have a direct, detrimental impact on my business, my career, my family, my romantic life, as well as my ability to live comfortably. I’m worried about the impact it would have on my mental health and my ability to provide for my family and control things in my life.
I just like to prioritise what I can control, and that means trying to find creative ways to outperform any incoming recession.
If there were a war, would you fight?
Most definitely not. Respectfully, Britain has given me little to fight for. Even less to die for.
For endless student debt? An impossible housing ladder? Lower wages than international peers? Race riots in the streets last summer? A Nigel Farage government in the next few years?
Also, I could never fight on behalf of a foreign policy I am extremely against. I deplore British complicity in Israel’s countless atrocities in Gaza. One day, in the near future, we shall look back at this period with utter disgust, and many belated apologies shall be issued. Our leaders will pretend there was no alternative. But we know there is, and many of my peers are protesting for such.
I believe Tony Blair should stand trial at the International Criminal Court for the invasion of Iraq. And I am unsettled by nationalistic tensions in Europe with Russia.
With all the problems facing this country, war is the least of our priorities. "There is always money for war, never for the poor".
Do you think Britain is still a good place to build a life, and do you ever think about leaving?
No. I do not believe Britain, in its current state, is a good place to build a life; nothing works anymore, everything is expensive, and most people don't have the ambition to achieve anything of significance.
We’re all in survival mode, apart from the super-rich or those with healthy inheritances, which leaves a large number of us looking at high taxes, high housing costs, and low wages with no change in sight.
This is not the place to accrue wealth, this is not the place to build the business of your dreams, and this is not the place where you'll be able to have the family life that we saw on Disney Channel as kids.
I understand why people, especially in professions such as the arts, media, healthcare or education, emigrate - people go where they’re appreciated, and that’s definitely not here.
If there were a general election tomorrow, who would you vote for, and do you feel aligned with the left, the right, or neither?
If there were another election, I would likely vote for the Green Party, but honestly, I don't feel like any of the current parties have my interests at heart. Austerity destroyed our public services, and everything being broken is testament to that - now they’re removing young people from being able to access any welfare and removing us from the priority list for NHS appointments - funny because without us, the system is kaput.
I do believe in a healthy economic environment for entrepreneurship. I also believe that the bulk of the taxation system seems to penalise young workers as opposed to those with wealth and assets. This should be reversed to lower taxes for younger people, workers, families and SMEs.
I don't believe any political party is pursuing that combination of policy where they will address the logjam of broken public services, improve wages, access to housing and economic dynamism for young people. It’s basic but true.
Do you think there’s a gap between the genders? There's a lot made of that at the moment. What’s your take?
I would say there's definitely a gap between genders in terms of dating, increasingly women, particularly, from diverse backgrounds, are economically performing well, getting good qualifications, jobs, and are savvy with money. But then struggle to find a partner. This is something I hear often from my female friends who complain about how men have so many options, whereas they don’t.
This divide is also educational and cultural as men, because I see my male peers who do make a decent living but didn’t go to uni and are sidelined by university-educated, professional women. There’s a snobbery, but also genuine differences around values and experiences.
I'd say as a man, it's quite tough because traditional gender roles indicate I should be a provider or be economically above my female counterpart, but that's just not possible. It does have a debilitating impact on my mental health, particularly coming from a West African cultural background, as it's an expectation I just can’t meet right now.
How, if at all, did the pandemic change you?
I would say the pandemic definitely opened my eyes to the importance of health, and also all that furlough, social distancing, and vaccines have made me more sceptical about capitalism and government. Also, the uncertainty made me much more saver-conscious and has forced me to think about how I can economically insulate myself from the economic upheavals.
There's no guarantees that other economic shocks (i.e tariffs, war, climate crisis) can’t also rob me and my community of jobs or basic necessities again. I never want to rely on the British government to have my back.
What do you consider status symbols? Car, pension, muscles, degree?!
I wouldn't say a degree or a master’s degree is a status symbol because everyone has that nowadays.
I would say actually, that hard degrees in subjects like economics, engineering, and computer science from impressive universities do hold a bit more weight, but the biggest status symbol is just your job.
If I hear that someone's a corporate lawyer, investment banker or an influencer, then I can immediately ascertain where they are economically and lifestyle-wise.
I don't think the other things are status symbols, as everyone gets a car on finance, so it's not that hard to do. Everyone is healthy in my circles, so things like muscles and pilates-derived abs are pretty commonplace.
Mini status symbols like white teeth through veneers/whitening, designer brands and VIP sections at clubs/restaurants are a big flex though.
Do you worry about your student debt?
I try not to worry about my student debt, but it is estimated that the combination of the undergraduate and the Master’s loan means that I am likely to pay one of the highest marginal tax rates in the UK.
For someone early in their career, paying off these loan instalments with the interest rate so high feels like a perpetual tax that will diminish my earning potential, saving potential and ability to invest in myself for the foreseeable future, and it’s just very disappointing really.
Do you invest - whether that’s in stocks, crypto, property, or yourself?
Yes, I definitely invest, and I have invested money in cryptocurrencies such as XRP and Ethereum. I also save into a Help-to-Buy lifetime ISA, and use my Nutmeg AI investment account for long-term gains.
I’m also investing in my master’s degree at UCL, studying public policy with the hope that it can help my career reach the height and sector that I’m hoping for.
What’s the last news story or cultural moment you had a strong opinion about, and what was your take?
The combination of the ruling on the trans community from the Supreme Court, in addition to the government's planned cuts to disability welfare provisions, has furiously disappointed me because the government is taking every opportunity to disappoint, disillusion & discourage decent people in this country.
Targeting the disabled community over sums that are much smaller compared to the amount missed out in tax evasion or the exorbitant growth and wealth of the asset-wealthy in this country is just a ludicrous and stupid set of priorities.
In addition to the lack of pushback on the trans ruling from the Supreme Court, it really does feel like a government obsessed with non-issues that consistently lacks principles or compassion.
Neither the trans community nor the disabled are the reason that our trains are ridiculously expensive, nor why energy costs are mind-boggling, nor why our wages are so low. They don’t get government contracts that they share with their mates, they don’t pump sewage into our waterways, and they don’t lead race riots on the streets as occurred last summer. There’s so much to fix about modern Britain, and already, poor people are the least of our worries.
The government doesn’t want to do the serious work of change that this country needs to really deliver for its citizens - all of its citizens.
What’s one genuinely positive thing about Britain right now?
Creatively, we are as bold and expressive as ever.
When you look at the underground scene and youth culture, you’ll find that the music, the artwork, and the cultural expression are globally impactful, simply second to none. Looking at communities like Nourishment or Art Beyond The Shell, artists like Jim Legxacy or Flo, festivals like Recessland or DLT “The Recipe” - the talent and passion is overflowing. Fashion brands like Clint’s and Parallel Studios are all so impressive - self-made and possessing the international zeitgeist.
What’s something you’ve observed about older people in the workplace that your generation finds a bit weird?
An obsession with the way things have always been done and a deference to hierarchy or maturity instead of considering new ideas or how things can be broken and remade.
What is the best thing about being young in the 2020s?
As a young black man, this is one of the best times to be an ethnic minority in Britain, with cultural representation and success stories off the charts and feeling like the wind is behind my back when it comes to achieving my dreams in terms of creative impact or entrepreneurship. I couldn’t live in any other place or time but here and now.
Are You Ready to Close the Generational Gap?
This Tuesday, to mark Intergenerational Awareness Week, I’m excited to launch something I’ve been working on for months: The Multigenerational Advantage Scorecard.
It’s a completely free diagnostic tool designed to help HR and L&D leaders uncover where generational gaps exist in their organisations—across communication, leadership, learning culture, and life-stage support.
One of my goals this year is to make my work and workshops even more accessible to organisations of all sizes. This scorecard is a simple, powerful starting point for anyone looking to build a more cohesive, future-ready workplace.
At the end, you’ll receive a personalised summary with my insights and recommendations. I hope it sparks new conversations—and new action—wherever you work.
Curious where your organisation stands?
Coming Tuesday 29th of April, 2025 → Take the Scorecard
Filming with the Financial Times’ Claer Barrett for my YouTube series, It’s All Relative, which will be launching at the end of May - whoop. It will be a long-form series in which we do a deep dive into key social-economic trends from birth rates to bitcoin! There will be a new episode dropping every month. Yes, I’m embracing the long-form, slowly-made form of content.
Also very excited to announce that the paperback of Inheritocracy will be published this summer - Ebury Press (Penguin) have purchased the rights to the book from our original publishers Biteback and are very excited to bring it to new and varying audiences.
This is me in Milan, speaking not to a stuffed Ostrich, but to a financial services organisation about harnessing the power of a multi-generational workforce.
It’s a busy May ahead: I’m speaking alongside Martin Sorrell on the changing face of media, helping the good folk at Mongoose on their rebrand launch at Battersea Power Station, the HR WaterCooler event and a number of events for Aviva Wealth on the intergenerational wealth transfer. We are also running several workshops with everyone from lawyers to restaurateurs as part of our Generational Blueprint programme. Do get in touch if this is something that might interest you.
The Reading Room
Three jobs, all remote. Here, Vice recounts the tale of one millennial’s WFH multiple job hack. It’s every boss’s nightmare, but is it the only way for employees to counter the low-wage economy and when AI is coming for your job?
Is this the best analysis on what the world of work will look like in 10 years? The Third Workforce: From Analog Labor to Agentic Labor by Rex Woodbury, whose substack I recommend. So much rubbish is spouted about the future of work these days, but this one makes sense. This shift, however, will only be forced through if the economy pushes businesses into implementing it. Given the geopolitical situation, I would say this is highly probable.
Which TV family is rich? Fascinating and brilliant polling from the
’s substack.
Thanks for reading,
Eliza