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Millennials in the Office: How to Adapt to Different Working Methods

Millennials are often said to work differently than the generations before them. If you need evidence of this, you don’t have to go too to find it. 

Consider the San Francisco 49ers. This football team consists almost exclusively of millennials—all talented athletes in their prime. According to an article published in The Wall Street Journal, the traditional ways of coaching were no longer working for the team. After consulting with Stanford University researchers, the 49ers coaching staff implemented a few changes to better suit these millennials' preferred working and learning habits. These changes are all aimed at helping millennials to train and perform better. 

Why is it important to note what this NFL team is doing? Soon, millennials will account for the majority of the workforce, and helping them to work at their best will be in the best interests of all employers. Here are a few strategies you can implement to help those with different preferred working and learning habits:

Make Meetings Shorter

One of the first changes the coaching staff made was to trim their standard 2-hour meetings into 4 30-minute meetings with breaks between each. Chances are, many workplaces could benefit from shorter meetings. In fact, too-long meetings are one of the most common grievances among employees, no matter what industry they work in. 

A good way to judge if meetings are too long or perhaps too frequent is to take stock of your meeting culture. Also, make sure your meetings end with each team member having targeted action items to complete. This ensures meetings will be productive and can also help keep team members on task and organized.

Give the Option for Breaks

Breaks have been proven to help with the productivity of all employees, not just millennials, so this change is bound to help everyone. Whether it’s having a coffee bar area set up for workers to take a break and refuel or encouraging employees to take a quick walk when they feel overwhelmed, having a space where taking a break is tolerated and not looked down on can really help employees feel more refreshed and be more productive. The 49ers saw better focus and performance by instituting more breaks—even if the athletes did not always take said breaks.

Allow Access to Information

The millennial generation has also been dubbed “the iPhone generation” for a reason—they like being connected and feel the need to access instant information. Allowing millennials to access cell phones and the internet can help them feel inspired and motivated. Constant access to information doesn’t have to be distracting when combined with the freedom to take a few short breaks here and there.

 

More From NBF

Make Way for Millennials: Office Design and its Effect on the Newest Generation of Employees

Ready or not, millennial office employees are here to stay. Gone are the days of satisfying workers with compensation alone. The youngest generation of coworkers set their sights much higher, expecting not only decent pay but benefits that will improve their overall quality of life inside and outside of work. Among these, they expect a beautiful office to call home. Here are a few design trends to consider adding to your office to keep millennials interested in your business and working at their full potential.

Workstations of Every Type

According to a 2017 study from IPSOS, 76% of millennials between the ages of 18 and 34 feel office design and aesthetics somewhat or strongly influence their impression of a company. Although the first impression an individual will likely get in your office will be your front lobby or waiting room, workstations provide the backdrop employees will see for most of the day. How you design your office's workstations is hugely important, but be careful not to jump on the open concept bandwagon simply because you think it's what millennials want. Spoiler alert: It's not.

Although some employees thrive in a wallless, collaborative desk space, no 2 workers are created equal. Introverts exist, and they need a little peace and quiet to get the job done. 

 

To accommodate employees of all personality types and job functions, incorporate a variety of workspaces into your office. Maybe the marketing team needs to collaborate regularly, but the sales team needs privacy for taking customer calls. In this situation, try adding benching to the marketing area and call center desking or cubicles in sales. Even employees who work in an open-concept situation need privacy from time to time, so you may also want to designate spaces around the office for quiet work.

Ergonomic Furniture That Promotes an Active Workstyle

In addition to needing a space where they can work effectively, millennials want furniture that fosters a healthy lifestyle during business hours. The best step toward this goal is to equip every workstation with an adjustable-height desk. Can't afford to swap out your old desks with new ones? No problem. Adjustable-height desk risers like the Ascent can be placed on top of any work surface and used in the same way.

Once your employees have the option to sit or stand while they work, take it a step further by allowing them to stay active while they sit as well. If you're wondering how in the world you can both be sitting and staying active, we have the answer—active stools and chairs. Ball chairs and perch stools are designed to allow employees to fidget and move while they sit, ensuring they aren't facing the negative health effects that come with sitting all day. It's a perk millennials expect and one that employees of all generations will surely appreciate.

 

Collaborative Meeting Areas

Whether or not a collaborative workstation is appropriate for your employees will depend on the individual and their job function. Still, every office should include at least one collaborative "touchdown" area to foster teamwork between coworkers. These meeting spaces are located in otherwise open, unused areas of the office and act as casual conference spaces that don’t need to be booked ahead. This way, employees can still meet to share ideas even when all formal conference rooms are booked.

The same IPSOS study revealed that 70% of respondents who work in an office wish their workplace would consider a design upgrade, indicating a strong desire for an attractive, inspiring space to work. Adding a touchdown meeting area to your office is a simple way to achieve a modern, updated look and feel. These meeting areas require no moving, no building of new walls, and no extravagant budget. An open area and some comfortable furniture will do the trick. 

Breakrooms That Inspire

The breakroom is your employees' designated place for relaxation and peace, so make it count. From comfortable tables and chairs to inspiring décor, an inviting lunchroom is the key to making your employees feel at home, allowing them to recharge before the rest of their work day. Silicon Valley offices have given millennials high expectations when it comes to what the breakroom should look like, so you'll want to create a space that's as beautiful as it is comfortable.

10 Things You Can Do to Attract and Retain Millennial Talent

10 Things You Can Do to Attract and Retain Millennial Talent

Millennials are the present and future of business in the United States, currently comprising the largest portion of the workforce at about one-third. While the need to hire employees between 18 and 34 is undeniable, employers are finding a noticeable shift in what it takes to get millennials through the door and keep them working for the business in the long term. Gone are the baby boomer days of sticking with one company for an individual's entire career, but if you want to attract and retain millennial talent for as long as possible, consider these options.

1. Keep It Casual

This generation values their work environment in addition to compensation. They want work to feel like an extension of their personal life, often viewing coworkers as an extended family within their home away from home. 

To create this sense within your office, offer a casual dress code for at least part of each week. Also, work to keep office interactions casual while maintaining the level of professionalism necessary for the business to run smoothly. For example, holding on-the-fly meetings in a touchdown lounge area or breakroom rather than scheduling every meeting in constantly overbooked conference rooms is a great way to create a sense of ease and fluidity among employees. Not every business interaction needs to be a scheduled and formal event.

2. Make It Beautiful

According to a 2017 study from IPSOS, millennials, more than any other generation, prefer a professional work environment that features beautiful interior design and visually appealing office furniture. In fact, 76% of adults between the ages of 18 and 34 and 55% between the ages of 35 and 54 state that office design and aesthetics influence their overall impression of a company, compared to only 39% of adults ages 55 and up who feel the same way. Of these, millennial women—particularly those living on the west and east coasts of the United States—are the most likely to be positively influenced by good interior design at the office. To appeal to these employees, keep up with modern office design trends and ergonomic furniture options such as adjustable office chairs and standing desks.

3. Watch Your Branding

In addition to an attractive office, younger respondents to the IPSOS study indicated a higher level of influence regarding the overall look and branding of a company, including logo design and its website. This points to a desire millennial and Gen Y Americans have to work for a company that knows how to present itself to the outside world.

4. Eliminate the 9–5 Schedule

Restricting employees to specific working hours is not conducive to productive work. Think about it: Not everyone is an early bird, and not everyone is a night owl. So why should everyone be constrained to working the same hours? Allow employees to come in as (reasonably) early or stay as (reasonably) late as they want so individuals can work during hours that are conducive to their working style. Don't worry—they'll still get their work done.

 

5. Provide Training

The average millennial climbs the corporate ladder much quicker than previous generations, and feeling stuck in one position for too long will not bode well for retainment. Managers should regularly check in on their employees to ensure job happiness is met and provide career growth opportunities via consistent training. Whether this means on-the-job training, attending more industry conferences, or experimenting within the position will depend on the individual and their career aspirations.

6. Give Purpose Beyond the Paycheck

Although micromanaging should be avoided, check in with your employees more than once or twice a year during performance reviews. Millennial employees want to know that the work they're producing impacts the business positively. Managers should share the finer details with their employees as validation they're on the right track or that their work may need improvement. In any case, they'll want to know where they stand.

7. Offer Team-Building Activities

Not only do employees want their office to feel like home, but they want their coworkers to feel like friends and family, too. Lines of professionalism should never be crossed, but business owners and managers can take the time to host company events and various team-building exercises. This will help build positive relationships between coworkers and relieve the day-to-day stress of work. 

8. Sponsor Volunteer Opportunities

Better yet, combine your team-building exercises with corporate-sponsored volunteer activities to create a sense of employee togetherness while also supporting a good cause. At National Business Furniture, we have an employee-run volunteer committee made up of a representative from each department. The committee organizes multiple volunteer events throughout the year. We even offer our employees paid time off should they want to participate in any volunteer events not organized by NBF. This incentive encourages employees to give back to the community and creates a caring corporate community all our own.

9. Be Flexible

Millennials place greater value on benefits than on salary in most cases. To account for this, keep your work environment and policies flexible to account for ever-changing needs. Allowing employees to work from laptops in any area of the office will prevent them from feeling chained to their desks day in and day out. Take that a step further and allow employees to work remotely when possible. They'll appreciate the flexibility and be more likely to stay with your business long-term.

10. Pay Them Well

Yes, benefits and work environment are important, but there's no substitution for good pay. While this may be the rule for all generations, millennials are not the exception in this particular case. Pay poorly, and your employees will move on. Be fair when determining compensation, offer yearly performance-based raises, and don't think that benefits can ever replace a good wage.

 

How to Create a Collaborative Meeting Space in Your Office

If you work in an office, you probably have at least 1 conference room in which most of your meetings are held. But what do you do when a great idea pops into your head and all of the boardrooms are booked? Do you risk sending an email that can be easily ignored? Do you chat in a coworker’s tight, compact cubicle? 

The issue of a lack of conference room space has inspired a fairly new trend in corporate office design—the addition of small, casual meeting areas known as touchdown spaces. Here are 5 tips to consider if you’d like to add one of these little gathering points to your office. 

1. Location, Location, Location

The location of your casual meeting space will be hugely important, so choose wisely. You’ll want to place it in an area near the teams that will be using it the most, but make sure it’s not too close to any major distractions such as loud copiers or bustling training rooms.

2. Keep It Quiet

Speaking of avoiding distractions, be aware of noise levels when selecting your space. You’ll most likely want to add it to an area where you will not be distracted by others around you, and you will not be a distraction to them. 

For example, a meeting area in the middle of a call center might not be the best idea, as the surrounding noises may take away from the conversation. Plus, your meetings will be distracting for employees at their desks, making it difficult for them to focus.

Try grouping casual meeting spaces by department. This way, all the employees in the area are more likely to use that space together simultaneously, eliminating or drastically reducing the opportunity for distracting situations.

3. Big Ideas in a Small Package

Remember, this area is for quick, casual meetings between a few people, so be careful not to take up too much room in the office. A small grouping of 2 to 4 chairs surrounding a compact conference table or even a low coffee table is ideal, providing just enough space for quick, comfortable collaboration.

4. Leave it Open

Possibly the most important thing to keep in mind when designing a casual meeting space is to keep it open. Do not allow this space to be reserved in advance, lest it becomes just another unreachable conference room. Incorporating multiple huddle areas in your office should minimize the chances of every conference room being booked simultaneously, ensuring that all employees can get together at the drop of a hat.  

5. Do Double Duty

A casual meeting space can take many forms. For example, you can easily transform an employee lounge or outdoor break area into a little conference space outside the normal lunch period. Utilizing these small touchpoints for multiple purposes will help maximize the space available in your office.

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