Courtesy drb Business Interiors
By Dorothy Rogers-Bullis
As the Millennials begin their march into the “real world” of the 9-to-5 job, many companies are realizing that this new pool of talent is not so easy to snag. While office foosball matches are fun, and a barista in the break room is nice, the 20-something crowd clearly craves more from the workplace than just a paycheck.
A recent article in the New York Times highlights this issue within the advertising industry. Once “the” place to work for young creative types, ad agencies are now struggling to attract and retain new talent. Many younger workers are being lured away by hip tech firms like Google, Facebook , and Apple, or are drawn to fast-paced start-up companies.
Consider the options
So how are more traditional industries to attract and keep younger employees?
It is a quandary that I hear more and more often from clients.
Clients will say, “I’m okay with my office space, but I know I need to renovate and update in order to attract younger professionals.”
When considering office design and furniture, it’s important to remember that younger workers want options. They are drawn to clean lines, comfortable, functional, progressive pieces that allow them to multi-task; pieces that allow them to sit, stand, roll, and that fold away to save space.
Some clients’ instincts are to rebuff the younger set in favor of older prospective employees who have experience in the workforce, but this is short-sighted.
When we integrate this Millennial age bracket into the working world, we gain the new ideas that they have to offer, while we in turn teach them what we have learned through experience. We need to embrace this future worker, beginning with the office spaces we design for them.
New ways of working
Be forward-thinking with the redesign of your space and consider how people work in the modern era. Scheduled meetings in the conference room are being replaced by impromptu tête-à -tête in brainstorming nooks. In the creative and technology industries, floor-to-ceiling office walls are becoming passé, substituted with low cubicle dividers that encourage collaboration.
Executive chairs are a thing of the past too. New ergonomic chairs-on-wheels promote stress-reduction, creativity, and circulation–even for the boss.
Another popular trend is the “hoteling” concept, where workers do not have a designated desk.
With so many people telecommuting for at least a part of the week, it doesn’t make sense to have one desk for each employee or to dedicate prime office real estate [i.e., window seats] to people who are rarely in the office.
With hoteling, work stations are first-come, first-served each day. It’s an egalitarian concept that appeals to many Millennials and can really improve office morale. And as an added benefit, it saves companies money.
Rogers-Bullis is owner of drb Business Interiors, an office design firm in Saratoga Springs.