What Does Gen Z Want From an Office Space?

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31 January 2023 | Updated 13 April 2023

Generation Z currently makes up 30 per cent of the world’s population and will account for 27 per cent of the workforce by 2025 – so what are their expectations in the workplace?

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Who is Generation Z?

Born between 1997 and 2012 Gen Z is the first generation to grow up with no recollection of a pre-internet world. Consequently, they are tech-savvy, having owned smartphones through their teens and are known as the first digital generation.

According to The Annie E. Casey Foundation, this generation’s outlook is based on pragmatism due to seeing their parents struggle financially during the financial crash, and they look at their purchasing decisions as a way to express their values. Sustainability, political progression and mental wellbeing are some of the social issues that Gen Z tends to value.

Birthday Annual Leave and Subsidised Lunch

Office food delivery and catering company Feedr commissioned research of 2,000 18-29-year-old UK-based Britons in November 2022. The research shows that the office must-haves for today’s modern workforce are flexible working hours (45 per cent), getting your birthday off (39 per cent), a good coffee machine (28 per cent), working from home twice a week (25 per cent) and subsidised lunch (25 per cent).

Food is a big must-have for 18- to 29-year-olds with four in ten (40 per cent) expecting employers to offer some sort of office food perk such as a dedicated area for eating (50 per cent), regular lunches and dinners out (30 per cent), a good coffee machine (28 per cent), cakes and treats on offer (27 per cent) free snacks (25 per cent), free fruit (24 per cent), cakes and pastries on a Friday (18 per cent).

Gym Membership and Break Out Areas

The research also found that gym membership (26 per cent), travel card (25 per cent), private health insurance (24 per cent) and a relaxed dress code (20 per cent) also make the list, along with access to a life coach (15 per cent), Friday afternoons off (15 per cent) and even bean bags in comfy breakout areas (12 per cent). 

Mental health and wellbeing is also an important factor when it comes to modern Brits choosing the right workplace, with access to a life coach or psychotherapist (15 per cent), a career mentor (nine per cent), being able to bring your dog to the office (nine per cent), complimentary yoga sessions (seven per cent) and a meditation room (five per cent) are all a priority. 

Wellbeing More Important Than Salary

Two-thirds (64 per cent) of Gen Zs believe that a happy and zen working environment is more important than a massive salary, with more than half (57 per cent) saying that better nutrition and mental health perks are more important than old-school benefits such as laptops, company cars and pension plans.

Six in ten (61 per cent) agree that workers today have different expectations of benefits than previous generations did, with one in two (53 per cent) of modern Britons agreeing that young people can be unfairly judged for having high standards when it comes to their job and working environment.

A whopping nine in ten (91 per cent) believe that employers need to be more creative in terms of the working environment and perks that they offer if they want to keep people happy in the modern age.

Picture: a photograph of two people sitting together looking at a smartphone, with shelves of books seen in the background. Image Credit: Pexels

Article written by Ella Tansley | Published 31 January 2023

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