Conference Matters 143

SPEAKER

Thimon de Jong Future human behaviour After half a study in International Business and a full study in Cultural Studies, with a thesis on subcultures, Thimon de Jong started his career as editor-in-chief of RELOAD, a board sports and design scene magazine. This combination of study and practical experience made him an expert in youth and media and made him sought after by various research agencies.

state of crisis. Research shows that Gen Z suffers the most from this. The worldwide market is responding to this issue with mental health gyms to train mental resistance instead of muscles and mental health walk-in shops, like a kind of hairdresser, but to talk about problems. You could say that it’s everyone’s responsibility to see a therapist, but companies and govern ments also have a role to play. They will have to deal proactively with employees’ mental health in the long term, just as they do now with physical health. Until recently, this topic had a negative con notation, especially among men my age (47). Organisers dislike themes containing the word ‘crisis’ for the introduction of a conference or a lecture before drinks. Mental health is too heavy a subject for them. However, thanks to the influx of a new generation, companies are now interes ted in addressing mental health. Over the last two years, AI and behavioural change have been the most in-demand. How should a company deal with them? How do you encourage employees to experiment with them? What if AI takes over certain tasks? They’re captivating subjects, but they’re only getting attention because they’re in the hype phase. What kind of audience do you give lectures to? The vast majority of my lectures are for people higher up the ladder, the decision-makers.

In 2014, De Jong founded WHETSON / strategic foresight, a think tank of future-orientated thought leaders who exchange research, next practices and future strategies around one basic question: what are people going to do next?

By Edwin Nunnink

Many of your themes are about the future. Does this make you a trendwatcher? I don’t mean to be negative, but Dutch trend watchers tend to discuss more broad and ambi guous topics, such as next year’s colour trends and the increased demand for craft beer. I only talk about the future of behaviour based on scientific research. In any case, I rarely come across the term ‘trendwatcher’ abroad. What behavioural changes are companies and sectors currently dealing with? First, the mental health crisis. Mental problems have increased sharply, especially when we were two-thirds of the way through the health crisis. Scientists also speak of a polycrisis to describe the times we live in now: we’re in a permanent

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