4 Min Read
The latest trends in society and culture from The Harris Poll
Good morning from Climate Week NYC, where yesterday, Harris and The Milken Institute hosted the Advancing Climate Resilience: The New Narrative forum at our offices at One World Trade Center.
One Interesting Number: 56 Speaking of climate, a majority of Americans (56%) reported that they now reconsider travel destinations prone to hurricanes, blizzards, and other extreme weather conditions.
The Graduates Without Jobs
Last week, Harris’ Libby Rodney and I gave a look-ahead forecast to 2026 at the Forbes CMO Summit in Aspen. Yet, right now, there’s a building crisis: the most educated generation ever faces the most hostile job market since the 1980s.
- What we found: Today, one graduate receives over 1,000 applications. Twenty interviews – most video sessions with AI screening tools, not actual humans. One hundred explicit rejections. The rest? Radio silence.
- The stat you can’t ignore: Over half (58%) of recent American graduates are still searching for full-time employment, yet (83%) of firms have hiring freezes and layoffs in advance of a potential recession (Express Employment-Harris Poll).
- What to consider: The companies thriving right now aren’t the ones replacing humans with AI – they’re the ones pairing human creativity, adaptability, and cultural fluency with AI tools, with (73%) of global executives believing human input for human-AI partnership should be at least 50/50 (GitLab-Harris Poll).
What this means: What happens in five to ten years when you need to hire mid-level managers and discover an entire age cohort missing from your talent pool? This is precisely why some forward-thinking companies are focusing specifically on young talent to bring fresh perspectives and familiarity with emerging technologies. My colleagues have an excellent piece on their Substack, Next Big Think! here.
Got Anxiety? Maybe That’s Driving The Plush Toy Craze
Plush toys aren’t just for tots anymore, our Harris Poll trend tracker Marie Aloi tells us. Now, many adults are increasingly buying (and showcasing) “stuffies” for themselves.
- What we found: Eight in ten (81%) of Americans say that in today’s day and age, adults need more time to be playful. This, while mental health and wellness concerns have soared in our latest Harris data.
- The stat you can’t ignore: For Pop Mart, the Labubu craze ledto more revenue in Q1 2025 than for all of 2024, growing by 100% year-on-year, showing that many adults aren’t too old to spend and chase childhood comforts.
- What to consider: Think past demos: Your market isn’t always who you assume it to be. Americans ages 18 and above accounted for more than $1.5 billion in toy sales over the last months of 2024, surpassing toddlers aged 3 to 5 as the industry’s most important age group.
What this means: Plushies ease pressure: Stress and nostalgia have collided with great products and branding, revealing an exploding ‘Kidult’ market. We have tracked five years of the American perma-crisis. “The plush toy craze is the latest way adults are reclaiming childhood joys, serving as self-expressive bursts of light in a time that may feel dark to many,” says Marie. And this is a moment for brands to emotionally connect with those seeking childhood comforts as a remedy for today’s anxiety.
Shocking Study Shows Your Analysts Are Only Working at Twenty-Percent Effectiveness
Managers, take note: A new Harris study with dbt labs finds that staff busywork is not only cutting into your insights but also cultivating a growing compliance risk.
- What we found: Analysts’ time is consumed by busywork (78%), leaving only (22%) for actual insight generation:
- The stat you can’t ignore: This overload has led over half (54%) to admit to using AI tools like ChatGPT to analyze company data outside of approved systems, with (32%) confessing they’ve created workarounds to bypass governance processes entirely.
- What to consider: (72%) of data analysts report their organization isn’t investing enough in AI-powered platforms
What this means: This isn’t just a time issue; it’s a money one. Every year, organizations lose, on average, $21k per analyst due to inefficient workflows, let alone the compliance risks associated with outsourcing AI without proper oversight. It’s a clear sign that better technology is needed to enable analysts to streamline and accelerate their work.
