Millennials are some of the workforce’s most underrated assets. By 2025, millennials are predicted to accumulate up to 75% of the world’s workforce. They provide fresher perspectives, especially in leadership roles, and introduce a lot of creative energy. This demographic is worth tapping into. Who wouldn’t want for their workspaces to be more dynamic and innovative?
People are all about trends nowadays. From pop culture influences to monopolies like Google and Netflix having ‘cool’ workspaces, being trendy is important. Office amenities are what's going to transform a stale lot into a hive of activity. From the people we surveyed in Hong Kong and Singapore, we found that workers prefer having natural light in the office the most, and found lockers the least important amenity to have.
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Of course, lighting, ambience and employee perks are important in the workplace. However, attracting millennials is not that easy. So as an addition to the statistically most popular amenities, here are some 'trendy' office amenities that can guarantee attraction from the youngest in our workforce.
Design is an important element to a workspace. A visual-based generation would prefer an office that can mimic the comfort of a home, as many tend to work remotely. Clutch’s Future of Work survey suggests that people do value comfortable workspaces, with 58% of millennials valuing an aesthetically pleasing workspace. High-quality chairs, fun common areas, good lighting, brightly coloured walls may seem too specific to be cared for but do factor into the general ambience of the office.
Millennials tend to admire ‘quirky’ and unconventional office designs too. Just take a look at Lego, YouTube, Google and Red Bull’s headquarters.
Being trendy is all about trying new things, often merging work and play. Design the office to match millennial’s bright energies and “vibes”.
Quiet, tech-free, wellness rooms are sometimes needed when bombarded with the stresses of work. Employees need to recharge occasionally to keep their work smooth and continuously productive. Especially when millennials are constantly around technology, it is even more important for them to unwind and clear their minds out. 73% of millennials put in more than 40 hours of work per week and 30% are starting to show less engagement. That is a sign of being overworked.
Install rooms and/or facilities for people to relax a little. Google’s Zurich office has an ocean-themed nap room, where employees can take a break and recharge for their next work task. It is shown that 64% of millennials will consider switching jobs for more paid vacation time, surely this is a telltale sign that millennials value their downtime.
75% of millennials are willing to pay more for sustainable items, from mugs to biodegradable items. With increased advocation of sustainability and ‘greenness’, being environmentally conscious in the workplace is important to them. According to an HRDIVE and Swytch report, 70% of the millennial workforce place importance on a company’s green footprint. A company that, for example, is going paperless, has recycling bins or biodegradable cutleries can be more attractive to the younger generations.
About 30% of millennials employees want green space in their building, but just 14% of workspaces provide it. Greenery can reduce stress, help you focus, and improve your eyesight. Not only will younger workers value that aspect, everyone can benefit from having a bit of green in their work-life. By placing plants around the office, it can better the flow of oxygen and indoor air quality as well. Creative infrastructure like ‘living walls’ where walls are covered with greenery is a fun and aesthetically-pleasing way of fusing plants with offices.
Millennials tend to eat out more, according to Business Insider, and care more about food being fresh and less processed. The ‘fast-casual’ type of restaurants are more popular compared to the standard fast-food chains like McDonald's. Most prefer options like local food bars or even Chipotle over cheap and artificial food.
A good investment would be on healthier food choices in the company’s cafeteria. Even though millennials like to eat outside more, providing in-office food that suits their tastes can save their time in outsourcing food. Millennials have been referred to as the ‘most health-conscious generation’ because they have more access to online health information, thus, having healthy foods and snacks is a major perk.
Millennials drink more speciality coffee than any other generation, shown in ananalyst reportfrom the Specialty Coffee Association of America. It’s a long-term trend where the daily consumption of coffee in millennials have increased by 62% in 2014, and have been increasing ever since. Good coffee gets the brain motor running early in the morning, a benefit to not only millennials but for everyone else too. A machine that does real espresso or a cold brew tap looks great visually and can save time from queuing in Starbucks lines.
According to Commercial Property Executive, the idea of having an open floor plan is a modern start-up feature to save costs. These open offices allow for more collaboration and socialization. These flexible workspaces are perfect for millennials, as they tend to like being in a community and have work-related social lives. Their social lives at work are so impactful that 38% of younger employees said they would quit a job because of a difficult co-worker. Since 62% of them are in a coworking environment, communication for them is more important than ever.
Millennials often value experiences over material things, meaning that the office atmosphere is more important than personal desks and spaces. Invest in flexible and open spaces where employees can bond and build as a team. That way, people can foster better relationships with each other. The company will also look more attractive as the one who encourages a collective mindset. Tech giants like Google (again) have already hopped on this trend by providing very attractive open offices, over ordinary cubicles.
Nielsen/Les Mills Global Consumer Fitness Survey showed that millennials make up almost half of all regular gym-goers. CBRE also found that 36% of millennial workers want an on-site gym due to the hefty cost of gym memberships and the inconvenience of travelling to it. The problem is, only 15% of offices have a gym.
You can kill two birds with one stone here because a healthier body promotes a healthier mind for greater work productivity. Satisfying both the employee’s and employer’s goals is the ultimate benefit, and this office amenity has it.
Growing alongside the digital age, millennials tend to be adept to newer technologies and equipment. Therefore, having the most up-to-date facilities are often attractive in the workplace. Invest in technologies with a purpose, such as newer models of company laptops and computers, wireless keyboards, smart boards and projectors, automatic lights, etc.
Bullhorn CEO Art Papas said:
“Millennials don’t look at technology as an extra.”
It should be ingrained in companies nowadays. Those who are digitally behind has a severe disadvantage in recruiting more millennials.
Slow Wi-Fi is said to be “more stressful than paying the bills.” Tech-savvy folks live on fast internet, they live and breathe technology. Now knowing the importance of technology and the internet, there is no debate on the vitalness of having cutting-edge technological amenities.
Millennials are known to be job hoppers, with 60% of them saying they are open to a different job opportunity. A reason for that could be because they are always on the lookout for something new, innovative, and fun. The average attention span of a millennial is only 12 seconds, with the following generation (Gen Z) to be 8 seconds.
Millennials are hard to reach, but hopefully, these office amenities can be up-to-speed with their ever-changing trends. (If you're a millennial and you're still reading this, congratulations! You have defeated the norm.)
The amenities mentioned can often be found in a coworking space. With many companies now adopting remote working and work from home measures, booking a coworking space can quickly satisfy office needs without needing to build everything from scratch, or leasing long-term.
We have spaces in Hong Kong, Singapore, Shenzhen and Shanghai. Download our app to get started with a promo code. Available in Android and iOS.
