This blog series explain why the office space has a more important role now than ever before. Today, the workplace has become an eco-system, which can be used by forward-looking companies as a strategic tool to attract and motivate the workers of the new generation, to make the flow of information more efficient and so that they can adapt cost efficiently to change (resilience – see Blog 1) At the same time they can strengthen the brand of the company and, last but not least, encourage a healthier lifestyle at the office for their employees.
In the previous sections of the blog we examined the megatrends influencing our everyday life. Trends that change our world (Blog 1), that have an effect on the business life (Blog 2) and on the employees’ preferences (Blog 3). After their review we will investigate how the modern office space turn into an eco-system, how it can function as a strategic tool.
In today’s blog we will look at the changed preferences of workers.
To understand what are these altered preferences and what causes them we will have to fathom some phenomena, like the diversification, mobilization of workforce, the stress effect of multitasking on employees as well as the significance of physical and cognitive wellbeing.
Diversification
First of all, we have to examine the simultaneous generational, cultural and professional diversity of labour.
Perhaps generational diversity is where the biggest change can be noticed. This has two reasons.
One is the ongoing demographic crisis in developed countries, meaning that the fewer youth can supply the longer older generations with difficulty, and because of this the retirement age limit is extended. The other is that in the past we usually described generation gap by father-boy age difference, around 25-30 years. In today’s fact paced world the age gap between generations decreased to 14-18 years.
The consequence of the two above is that today at the same workplace often 4 different generations have to work together. As it is, this would not be a challenge, as it was already 3 generation. The problem is that the gap between the actively working generations was never before this wide. For the next part we will review these four generations’ (Veteran, Baby Boom, X, Y) personality characteristics.
Veteran (born between 1925-1945): grown up in the shadows of 20th century’s storms, they are the children of wars and economic crises, who have learned to adapt, to respect age and experience, and for them loyalty and fidelity are important. They are the most experienced and it’s difficult for them to understand the two or three generations younger workforce.
Baby Boom (born between 1946-1964): the children of the post-war baby boom (hence the name) who get use of new learning possibilities and take advantage of opportunities offered by democracy. They respect knowledge and experience, and status symbols are important for them as they represent their standing in the hierarchy. They are linked to their workplace and their desks.
Generation X (born between 1980-1979): the generation of which both parents are working, less and less time remains for the family, however they learn about the opportunities offered by the web in their adolescence. A much more purposeful generation than the predecessors, they are highly educated and might have more than one degree. They appreciate freedom and responsibility and willing to sacrifice their private life for their career.
Y Generation (born between 1980-1994): the first digital generation that has an invisible umbilical cord connection to the net, as they do not gain knowledge or experience from their parents as their source of learning is the internet. They question every old rule with great confidence and replace them with new, creative concepts. They are characterised by a multitasking mode, and thus are able to receive a lot of information. They build a new world that is global, mobile and 24/7, and you can do whatever you want whenever and wherever you want to thanks to the internet. They appreciate an informal work culture, and environment, mobility and prefer having the freedom of choice. They believe in the power of group work but private life is as important for them as career.
To understand the Y generation a bit more, I recommend watching the following video: Orsolya Nemes: We have to deal together – TEDxYouth (YouTube).
On the diagram, the differences of motivation is clearly visible. The Y generation the 1st is wealth, the 2nd is pleasant work environment, 3rd stable jobs and 4th possibilities of personal growth and development. On the contrary the X generation ranked the following: 1st wealth, 2nd stable jobs, 3rd own office and 4th pride.
Soon the Z generation (born between 1995-2009) will come to the labour market as well. They are the world’s first global generation who follow the same music, film and fashion. They are accustomed to constant and immediate access to the world. They function through networks and escape to the security of virtual world.
I have already mention cultural diversity in one of the previous blogs (1/4), when the demographic shift was discussed. A thought from there: currently the two biggest Asian countries’ Y generation labour force is around the 80% of Europe’s overall population, where a demographic crisis is going on, meaning that the ratio of childbirth is decreasing. The other developing BRICS countries were not even mentioned. This large number of young workers is looking for the possibility to work. It is relatively predictable that there will be a colour up in the labor market. A multi country research by Steelcase examines six different dimensions of the ethnical and cultural diversity in each country (http://www.businessweek.com/articles/2013-06-13/office-cultures-a-global-guide
In recent years, we have worked with foreign colleagues, not only in person in the office, at a project location or at courses, but sometimes virtually too, with the help of modern IT tools. As the globally integrated enterprises spread out, this type of work is becoming more common, and it is essential to understand and accept our differences.
Let’s move on to professional diversity. By this, I mean that according to the old concept, the different departments were located in different parts of the building, where people with the same interests and profession worked together. But today’s project based business strategy’s goal is to make people with various experience, professions and ideas work together to achieve a more efficient problem solving.
Imagine an automotive company where the engineers at the engineering department planned something, then the purchasing department in on another floor contacted the suppliers. Meanwhile in another building the finance department controlling the order before sending it, indicates that this is not going to fit the project budget. Viewed from today’s perspective it is clear, that this makes development cumbersome and slow.
Therefore, the said automotive company sets up project teams where engineers, supply managers and finance employees work together to ensure that we have the opportunity to find out whether there is a possibility of realisation at the design phase. The cooperation of people from various backgrounds and areas of work increases the efficiency of the team thus contributing to rapid innovation. This type of approach requires a different attitude from the participants, to which the workplace also has to adhere.
Every day we experience that to maintain a diverse workforce increasing their cooperation and efficiency is an augmenting challenge for companies.
From the diagram of motivational factors it is clearly visible that e.g. for the Y generation after wealth, one of the most important element is pleasant work environment. This is confirmed by the job ads that emphasize their office space to attract Y generation workers.
From the above, it is clearly deductible that a well-designed office –as a company’s most important resource- has a big impact on managing the workforce.
I will discuss the effects of MOBILIZATION, MULTITASKING and stress, and the importance of the physical and cognitive well-being in the next blog.
Kis Károly | Károly Kis
ügyvezető partner | Managing Partner | BLUE Business Interior Kft.