Office atmosphere is changing. Technology is changing. But, are you optimizing your office space? Now, let’s take it a step further. There is a new generation of workers coming into the workplace. Ones who’ve grown up with advanced technology, and this has impacted the way they work, communicate and operate. Have you even considered preparing your office space for millennials? Millennials are ambitious, tech-savvy and creative, with a notably different working styles and preferences than generations before them. Understanding how to better prepare your workplace for the incoming generation will help you at better optimizing your office space. What follows will discuss what no longer works in the workplace, and how you can not only work towards optimizing your office space in general, but how to better optimize your office space for millennials.
The Current Environment
Updating and optimizing your office space is a task that often takes a backseat to the more pressing matters in an office, especially when there is no change in the physical location of a business. Our current idea of optimizing your office space is so dated. Office spaces are still in the time of old tech, closed communication and hierarchy. Chances are you are taking up as much space for your flat screen monitors as you were for your traditional monitors. These flat screen monitors give you a shallower work station, giving you less footprint per workstation. Why bother buying the newer flat screen monitor if you aren’t utilizing the extra space? Technology has also released the leash on workers previously tethered to a PC for email. These workers are now on the move.
There is also a huge push to disband the cubicle-villes that have become a staple in many companies. These confined spaces have previously kept workers on task with their walls erected to block out distractions – so we thought. This heads-down focus idea is counterintuitive. Employee connections benefit everyone at the company; employees, employers and clients. These cubicles where designed with an ulterior motive of streamlining movement. Aisles leading directly to specific locations like the kitchen and stairs decreased the time spent away from your seat. But, what did it do besides make your employees look like drones. Walking past the same people, in the same place can put your head in a fog and make you feel like a robot.
As open communication grows among office space for millennials, there is a decline in separating office hierarchy. Formerly perimeter executive offices surrounded by bland productivity-draining workstations are giving way to something much more in-line with an optimized office space for millennials. There is much more open communication through the ranks. This directly translates to new ways millennials are designing their office spaces.
Office Space for Millennials
As discussed above, office space for millennials is drastically different from that of the Baby Boomers they are slowly, but surely, replacing. Unlike the predecessors, millennials are collaborators and don’t want to isolate themselves. Tie in the freedom of mobility with wireless devices and internet and you have a new office environment, cafés or collaborative areas. Café or collaborative area style derives from working on-the-go in college. Rarely are you given the chance to find seclusion in the bustling congestion that is a college. Couple that with the increasing need to collaborate on projects and you see why office space for millennials needs a revamp.
The takedown of cubicles and adoption of cooperation tables is another defining characteristic of office space for millennials. These cooperative tables usually involve a long workstation where multiple people can sit in a row with enough room to have someone working across from them. Whether you keep departments together in sections or mix everyone up, you are increasing the communication level exponentially from that of cubicles. The benefit will not only be an increase in collaboration on work but communication and especially interoffice communication, which will boost morale.
Optimizing your Office Space
From what we have discussed, by preparing your office space for millennials you are on your way to optimizing your office space. There are 3 main points when optimizing your office space. The first is mobility. We are no longer tethered to your desk with landlines and internet connection. This freedom brings in new optimization possibilities. Not only are workers free to work in various locations but the fact that they can work wherever decreases the need to have individual desk assignments. Areas become less “mine” and more “ours”. Shared tables, desks and work environments helps when optimizing your office space. With less documents being physical and more documents being on computers or shared-drives you further decrease your necessity to have your own space. Imagine that, with more people working with mobile freedom (even some working partially remotely) you optimize your office space. That space for 50 just turned into room for 60 really fast.
If you are looking for office space for millennials or office space on Long Island in general, we can help. One of the strengths of S&D Realty is our ability to evaluate real estate in terms of highest and best use, feasibility and investment performance. For more information on investing in commercial real estate, don’t hesitate to give us a call at 516-248-6905. We look forward to hearing from you!
