Younger Generations Work Differently. What Does This Mean for the Future Workplace?
Date Posted: May 30, 2023
Posted In: Workforce,
From Gensler: Younger workers, particularly Millennials and Gen Z, currently make up more than 59% of the U.S. knowledge workforce. As new generations enter the workplace, it’s important to recognize the unique workstyles and preferences that each generation brings with them. In Gensler’s own workplace research in 2021, we first uncovered a shift as organizations were planning a return to the office. In our latest workplace research, there is another noticeable shift in the way younger generations approach work, with a greater emphasis on learning, socializing, and flexibility and new expectations for the work experience.
Younger generations work differently
We’ve been studying how people spend their time in a typical work week since 2008. We have identified five work modes to categorize the wide array of work activities: working alone, working with others in-person, working with others virtually, learning/professional development, and socializing. Up until the pandemic, time spent in each work mode was fairly consistent across generations, with almost half of the time spent working alone. In the last year, we’ve seen time spent working alone drop significantly, with time spent both socializing and learning increasing from 5% to 12% of a typical work week.
When we look at time spent by generation, we see an even greater shift — Gen Z and Millennials spend three times more time learning and socializing than Baby Boomers, who spend more time working alone. These early career professionals are far more balanced across the five work modes. This suggests that Gen Z and Millennials place a higher value on building relationships and expanding their knowledge base, both of which can be important for personal and professional growth, especially for workers early in their career.
Knowledge workers are mobile — working both in and out of the office across a wide variety of locations. On average, all four generations of office workers spend just 20% of their work week at home, but that’s where the similarities end. Baby Boomers spend 70% of their work week at the office with the remaining 9% working in other locations. In comparison, younger generations spend about half the week working at the office and 30% in other locations. Younger workers are far more mobile — traveling, working in alternate office locations, client/customer sites, coworking spaces, and third places either near home or the office.
Younger generations value flexibility differently
Younger workers place a higher value on flexibility than older generations. Nearly two thirds (63%) of Gen Z and Millennial workers (66%) would prefer the option to work remotely instead of an assigned desk. Compared to Baby Boomers, Gen Z workers are twice as likely to prefer a remote work schedule with access to a team room that they can reserve when they do come into the office. Additionally, 43% of Gen Z workers prefer partial days in the office over full days, suggesting they value the ability to work both in and out of the office and/or the flexibility to adjust their schedule to fit their needs and how they perform at their best.