The last newsletter of Steelcase is about the behavior of millenials (born 1978-1999) in the workplace. Some excerpts of the findigns I found pertinent:
The youngest generation, the millennials, is entering the workplace. The oldest millennials are still in their 20s, but already they're creating some workplace trends of their own. (...) Among the findings: Millennials are three times more likely to work off-site or while traveling, compared to other office workers, Formal meeting spaces are less important to millennials than their older co-workers, Millennials are less distracted by noise. (...) “Millennial workers come to the business world prewired. Four out of five colleges offer wireless networks, and the average time a typical college student spends online has nearly quadrupled in the past eight years,” (...) Campuses provide a broad observation deck for seeing what’s likely to come next in the workplace, Roy continues. “We spend a lot of time on campus observing students and faculty. How are they using the space? How are they interacting? Are there any gaps? What could we provide that would make the environment work better? Students today want more flexibility, more technology, more cool spaces. They’re not looking to come out of school and go backward in time.” (...) Tech is both part of the millennial multitasking workstyle and an enabler of it (...) There’s also growing evidence that millennials, more than any other generation, value natural daylight in the workplace, and they’re more apt to ask questions about air quality, efficient energy use, “green” materials and maintenance procedures,and other environmental issues. (...) “When millennials start with a company, the Number One thing they request – and require -- is a mentor,” says Simoneaux. “One of the strategies we've proposed is a 'mentor pod,' an open workspace where experienced people can go to work. By simply being there, it signals they're available to counsel others.”
I like this result also:
For example, 91% of boomers, gen-Xers and traditionalists say that having meeting spaces available for scheduling is an important factor that affects their satisfaction with their workplace. Fully one-third say it's a problem finding those spaces. Fewer millennials think it’s of medium or high importance – 81%. After all, when you're used to collaborating informally, you tend to worry less about meeting rooms with big conference tables. As long as there’s a casual space like a cafe or lounge area, millennials can and prefer to work in a variety of places.
Why do I blog this? the relation between space and collaboration is both a research project here at the lab and one my favorite concerns. These results nicely highlights the relationships between space and collaborative work.