There is no perfect solution for layout of the office as every company is unique. Your employees are the best possible guide you have in the pursuit of success and avoiding errors. Millennials are known to be very vocal about their expectations and preferences, so use that.
Every business owner wants to create and maintain a productive work environment and retain valuable employees. You want to keep the good ones and attract new talent, and the right office space is a big factor here. Millennials, born from the early eighties to late nineties, know exactly what they want and have no problem insisting on it. They are great employees when given the optimal environment and the opportunity for healthy work-life balance.
Amenities will win their hearts
Happy employees mean long-term staff and additional amenities in the workplace can ensure satisfaction. Amenities such as gyms, kitchen, lounges and washrooms will pay themselves in productivity, trust us. Millennials know exactly what they want when speaking of personal perks. Snacks, free parking or transportation all sound very appealing. It’s not uncommon for millennials to want to be able to bring their pets to the office, so strongly consider a pet-friendly environment.
Coffee machines are a must and are worth their weight in gold! Besides coffee, seminars and courses are highly valued and will help millennials grow. Career enhancement is a big goal of millennials and should not be overlooked.
Amenities all come down to the budget, but having them will also bring rewards and amenities will in most cases pay for themselves in terms of productivity levels.
Make the kitchen the heart of the office
What better way to bring their whole self to the office than through the kitchen activities. Cooking, recipe sharing, laughing and talking is just an organic way of bringing people together.
Forget about the location!
Don’t be fooled by the belief that millennials are looking for ways to reduce their commutes. Workplace design is in most cases more important than the location of the office.
This is good news for companies in not so cool locations – millennials will appreciate upgrades to their work environment even if they don’t love the location.
Surprisingly, it’s not about technology
A surprising fact is that most millennials don’t want high-tech offices. Natural light is the top design element desired among millennials, and many other employees.
One might think that they would rather choose spaces for rest and relaxation over natural light, but a recent survey by Capital One’s revealed that 62 percent of employees who participated simply want big windows and sunlight the most in their workplace.
Add creativeness
So now that you know millennials are not all about technology, consider the additional fact that they love expressing themselves in a creative way and personalizing their work spaces. Add paintings, vintage furniture, decorations or even graffiti, that’ll stand out and be appreciated by the young employees.
Freedom through flexibility
Generally speaking, young adults do highly value the quality of their workspaces. Open plan offices do sound appealing to them, but most would prefer a personal office. The aspiration for a personal office likely comes from millennials wanting the office to be favorable and can’t think of another way to have privacy.
It’s important to give employees the choice of engaging in collaborative work and also private focused work. Whether they prefer to work in a quiet corner office, or an open space, the fact is that employees who have more control over their work environment thrive and create high engagement levels.
Remember, most millennials don’t think companies can encourage innovation unless their workplace design is innovative.
So, bring in the healthy snacks and tons of natural light and worry less about where your office is located. To retain millennials and keep them happy – the work environment makes a huge difference.
