New generation offices for Y and Z generations

2020 marked the era for baby boomers, X, Y and Z generations to start sharing the same office space. A study revealed that more than 3/4 of employees are between the ages of 18 and 34. Office design and aesthetic have an impact on generation Y and Z employees’ impressions of the company.

What are the characteristics of the employees from these generations?

-They follow the technology closely.The new generations grew up as digital natives; they are not familiar with a world without internet.

-They are socially conscious.They prefer companies that embrace social responsibility.

-They have a short attention span:The new norm is multitasking, which sometimes means employees are using five devices on average at the same time.

-They are enthusiastic and ambitious.Most employees expect to be promoted every year or every other year.

-They are job hoppers.Most of them plan to stay at a company less than three years.

-Boomerang employees.They don’t have any problems with leaving a company and returning back for work.

As you can see the new generation employees have very different expectations and needs. The number of employees who work 9 to 5 and wait for retirement is close to none now. 

For instance, mobility and ergonomics are now very important for office chairs. The employees don’t want to be tied up to their desks all day anymore. They can work from anywhere thanks to the mobile devices and Wi-Fi. This led to a certain amount of increase in shared offices and co-working spaces as the need for office space per employee decreased. 

Cooperation, an integral part of today’s digital world, also led to an increase in co-working spaces. Generations Y and Z do not want to be confined to a desk or cubicle. They prefer co-working spaces with open-floor plans, meeting rooms, areas that will allow them to take a short break from work, and cafeterias where they can converse when they are having something to eat or drink. Co-working areas furnished with comfortable and dynamic sofa sets would help ensuring long-term cooperation and increasing productivity, daily interactions and cross-functional dialogue. 

However, it is inevitable to avoid the change towards the expectations of younger generations. Diversity in project team members and the constant, technology-driven change in working habits increase the need for modular office furniture. Office designs should adopt a human-centered design approach where the offices should accommodate employees, and not the other way around; and create comfortable offices with ergonomic office furniture.

The overall design of an office impacts both psychological and physical wellbeing of employees. Work spaces where employees feel comfortable have a positive impact on employee performance and increase the productivity.