World Workplace Z

“A better vision for a workplace is a community — a place where people bond around shared values, feel valued as human beings, and have a voice in decisions that affect them.” 

— Adam Grant, Author of “Think Again”, 2022

The tech-savvy Generation Z is the next wave of employees now flooding the corporate world, and they are transforming the way business leaders should think about workplace design.  Not only are they entering the workforce in a post-pandemic reality, but also with a digitally native behavior set that taps into social networks, personal branding, and instant content pushing from a variety of handheld devices.  The future of our workplace design will challenge some rooted conventions —especially those around behavior and how our experience at work.

Who is ‘Generation Z’?

If the Millennials were the internet generation, Gen-Zies are the community generation.  Born roughly from 1995 to 2012, they are heavily connected with online (social media) and offline (real world) communities of people of similar interests.  More focus is put on shorter, more direct communication, such as brief videos, rather than paragraphs of text.  This generation is coming into the business world, and will soon surpass Millennials as the most populous generation on Earth, by over 1/3! — and there’s a big difference!

A Desire for Balance

Their unique perspective on their future workplace will be rooted in a company’s authentic values and what they can do for them, rather than simply a way to earn an income from learned task-oriented skillsets.  In a survey of over 200 Gen-Zies, to learn more about what they expect from work, what they care most about is a structured work-life balance, which surprisingly ranked much higher than income.  “Gen Z has seen the toll that a work-centric life has taken on their families and are sensitive to physical and emotional wellbeing,” says Diane Gayeski, Ph.D., professor and former dean at the Roy Park School of Communications at Ithaca College.

In Workplace, the Rules Have Changed!

The old 9-to-5, efficiency-driven, clock-in/clock-out workplace model with managers in corner offices, and parallel farming rows of workstations is a thing of the long past.  In this work-from-anywhere, post-Covid world, Gen-Zies will think and work in a way that supports community building, rather than simply task or activity-based working.  They will look for companies with a workplace that promotes an experience of belonging, an authentic identity, purpose, personal well-being, and intuitive technologies that don’t slow them down.

According to a survey of over 200 young Gen Z Americans, over 60% stated they plan to stay with their current employer for two years or less.  Due to the pandemic, Gen-Zies experienced online classrooms from home and witnessed the layoffs in the workforce.  Job-hopping is considered a personal advantage and safety over company loyalty.  They believe this method can lead to new experiences, better pay, or different opportunities.

A New Design Paradigm

To explore this shift, we conceptualized a connected workplace for a global technology company, based in China, that is community-oriented, and focused on attracting the Gen-Z talent as a primary employee demographic.  During our ideation, several design principles influenced our approach:

Experience-Driven over Activity-Based

If there were one governing design principle, it would be to provide a Diversity of Experience.  At its core, this means more spaces that look and feel unique, while serving a variety of work functions from social community building, team collaboration, and individual expression.  More so than Millennials, Gen Z employees want to work in different spaces, not only based on their activity, but also centered on their mood, and who they are working with.  

It’s important to create DESTINATIONS among workplace neighborhoods that offer multi-modal experiences.  In one concept, we began by breaking the orthogonal grid between the interior layout and the building floor plate.  This forced rooms and furniture not to necessarily align perfectly, and cause in-between spaces to happen.  These areas are opportunities for organic destination points.  Just as Broadway slides through the perfectly organized grid of streets in New York City, causing some of the most iconic points in the city to occur.  

The in-between areas became opportunities for building a stronger sense of community in the office.  For example, this included organic indoor/outdoor gardens, digital message boards, private focus points, create collaborative zones, flexible social pantries, and training or sharing areas. 

Going to Work Isn’t Just Going to Do Work.

Personal well-being goes beyond including a fitness room, air filters, and a green wall in the office.  This has become a vital part of how the Gen Z employees value and prioritize the companies they work for.  By offering spaces and programs that support employees in a way that is better for them, and better for the local community, the ROI for the organization is attracting the best talent, loyalty and retention, and company value authenticity.

1. Mental Health —  Offer to counsel employees, and remove the stigma around mental health symptoms. 95 percent of people who have had to take time off due to workplace stress did not feel that they were able to tell their employer the real reason. (Source: https://www.honestly.com/blog/50-workplace-wellbeing-ideas/ )

2. Work Ebb & Flow. — When business is low, allow employees some time off to recharge.  This will make them more willing to work overtime when it’s needed to churn out deadlines.  Burn out is real.

3. Support Local Fitness Business — Instead of building a small fitness room in the office with insufficient equipment, where nobody uses it, offer reduced memberships at a local fitness club.  This will strengthen the sense of community among staff.  After all, going to the gym is as much about being around other people as it is about working out.

4. Health & Fitness Coaching — Additionally, like for mental health, offer coaching for employees on how to better take care of their bodies.  There is a better chance they will be more healthy for work, and build connections with other colleagues to support each other.

5. Fun Classes — Personal learning makes people feel more engaged and have an overall positive experience at the workplace.  For example, invite a local chef to provide cooking classes. 

6. Good Coffee & Tea (not the cheap stuff!) — Find out what the staff actually care about, listen, and provide that for them.  Often it is the low-cost details that make a difference and shows the company values its employees.

Identity Authenticity

A company brand story is important, but only if it’s real.  Gen-Z employees care about working for organizations with transparent communication from its leaders.  According to a recent Gallup State of the American Workforce study, only 40% of employees feel their job has a purpose, and 30% agree they have managers that support or encourage their development.  

When Gen-Zies were asked if they would leave their employer due to a strong difference in values or core beliefs, it was a resounding 62% said “Yes!”, ranked among the highest priorities in what employees look for in an organization.

Compared to Millennials and Gen X, this generation is more human experience focused, rather than skills and tasks focused.  In the same study, 72% of Gen-Zies look for who their direct manager or leader will be, as a mentor or coach, rather than simply the company brand.  They look for the opportunity to be mentored and work with top performers in the industry.

In the workplace, this may encourage adaptable spaces for small team huddles or large business group meetings close to their working areas.  This fosters a dialogue between leaders and staff that reinforces vision and purpose more frequently.  Company leaders will be expected to launch initiatives that reinforce the company mission and values but through the genuine voices and expression of their people.  It is a behavior of “we”, rather than a “you and me”, between management and staff.

Company as a Community

The next evolution in workplace design will factor in spaces for social community building within the office.  Gen Z is a much more socially aware generation and values human interaction.  Creating spaces that promote activities for team bonding, or different experiential zones, this has a much more likely return in productivity and effective working for the organization.  It’s a win-win!  This generation values flexibility in their schedule and how they work, rejecting stricter management styles as outdated from a more industrial era.

Our design approaches may require starting from a stronger behavioral and emotional awareness, rather than a conventional approach of fitting furniture into spaces.  

We can call it, designing by EQ, rather than IQ.