The coming together of generations in offices is leading to flexibility, a greater degree of automation and digitalisation, and the growth of shared workspaces. Even new emerging business cities are witnessing the change.

Multi-lateral organisations and consulting firms around the globe now focus on the evolving demographics of their workforce. As companies across all industries continue to grow, they witness four generations of staff working together under the same roof—from baby boomers (born 1947-1964) to Generation X (born 1965-1980) to Millennials (born 1981-2000) to Generation Z (2001-2020). And it is impacting the dynamics of work in metros and emerging cities. Hence, programmes focusing on youth under 30 or those above 45 years of age are being undertaken to support a diverse staff.

What is happening across offices?

Many businesses have already begun implementing changes in response to this shift in demographics, but there is still a lot we don’t know about how Gen Z will impact the future of work. 46% of Gen Zs feel burned out due to the intensity/demands of their working environments. While 44% of Gen Zs say many people have recently left their organization due to workload pressure. Although, pay is the number one reason why Gen Zs left a role in the last two years. However, good work/life balance and learning/development opportunities were the top priorities when choosing an employer. Almost half of Gen Zs (46%) live paycheck to paycheck and worry they won’t be able to cover their expenses.

Since then, the workforce has experienced significant growth of Gen Zs across various industries. The rise of these ‘young adults’ has led to speculation about how they’ll change the workplace in the coming years. There will be a time when Gen Zs will account for about half the workforce across metros and emerging cities like Mumbai, Delhi-NCR, Bengaluru, Pune, and more, representing a huge chunk of the workforce. Together, Millennials, Gen Zs, and even the dreaded Centennials are revolutionising workplace culture.

Rising in flexibility in the workplace: One of the most important changes we’re already seeing is an increased emphasis on flexibility and a hybrid workplace. Gen Zs are leaning more towards maintaining a work-life balance that allows them ample time to invest in themselves as well as reflect positively on their job productivity. Also, most of the generation firmly believes that hustle culture takes a toll on mental health and that mutually accepted KPIs are better than experiencing burnout. Millennials have already proven that they value flexibility. However, Gen Zs will push this demand for flexibility even further. With their lesser experience working in a traditional office environment, they have a higher tendency toward entrepreneurship. It makes them more aware of the challenges of balancing a career with other aspects of life.

Rising diversity in the workplace: As a generation that has grown up with more exposure to different cultures, Gen Z focuses on diversity and inclusivity, as compared to their older colleagues. Studies have shown that Gen Z prefers to work with companies that have a more inclusive culture. It explains why Gen Zs are more likely than Millennials to switch jobs, even if they have to take a pay cut. This generation also tends to prefer working for a company that has a strong social mission. It has led to increased demand for businesses to become more socially responsible.

Employers, even in tier 2 cities, are responding to this demand by improving their recruitment practices by actively seeking out diverse candidates, hosting unconscious bias training sessions, and expanding their mentorship programs to help younger colleagues navigate the company culture. Employers are also working with employee resource groups or diversity councils to make sure their company culture is welcoming and inclusive. As a result, the different groups are collaborating more and breaking generational stereotypes, sharing ideas for growth.

Moreover, the COVID pandemic has only hastened digital adoption, offering unique advantages.

The impact on the workplace

A significant workplace trend that has already started to take hold is a preference for remote work and hybrid work. Recently, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, strongly backed the work-from-home ecosystem and flexible work hours, calling them the future of work. Millennials have been driving this trend for a few years now, but Gen Zs are expected to push it even further, due in large part to the fact that they’ve grown up with technology that allows them to stay connected regardless of where they are.

The collective experience of the past two years has left a lasting imprint, fundamentally changing how these generations define the role of work in their lives. The data shows the Great Reshuffle is far from over: 70% of Gen Z and Millennials in India are likely to consider changing employers in the year ahead, compared to the global average of 52%.

Moreover, businesses are looking to automate their internal processes. As more and more industries transition to automation, it will have a significant impact on the workforce. The youth has already embraced automation via the use of artificial intelligence and robotics. Enhanced technology integration is impacting the design and building of offices. While offices have been recalibrated to adjust to the new trends, tier 2 cities and metros have seen the emergence of shared workplaces, which cater to small businesses, entrepreneurs, etc. As per the Awfis-Colliers joint report, about 70% of the occupiers are looking at having some sort of flexibility in their working models by incorporating either a hybrid working model or a hub-and-spoke model as their workspace strategy.

The outlook

With Baby Boomers and Millennials continuing to gravitate toward the gig economy, Gen Z may push this trend even further as they enter the workplace. As a result, more and more Gen Zs may choose to work in the gig economy rather than pursue a traditional 9-5 career. This shift may have significant repercussions for the entire workforce and workplace strategy. Companies may also have to adjust their strategies to account for a more decentralized workforce, especially as Gen Zs grow older and start families of their own.

On the other hand, startups have been on the frontline of pushing the ‘work from anywhere model to boost flexibility. Many companies have either gone fully remote or given some or most of their employees the opportunity to work from anywhere. Their working models may differ, but in a post-Covid environment and competitive jobs market, they all address workers’ increased need for more flexibility and better work-life balance.

This story appeared in the 15 December, 2022 issue of people matters and was originally published at: How Gen Zs can change the workplace for the better

Since the last few years, the contemporary workplace has been undergoing a series of rapid changes. Modern technology has made it possible for the workforce to work from anywhere, thereby reducing the necessity of physical work-desk. This, coupled with the swelling real estate prices across the globe, is compelling large corporations to rethink their workspace strategy.

The conventional idea of what constitutes work will continue changing and with Gen Z set to join the workforce, it becomes crucial for the existing workspaces to transform and cater to the requirements of the new-age workforce. We will witness a host of changes to create favorable work practices to suit their work style, their social conscientiousness and work-life balance. Young employees want to work with organizations that provide them with smart solutions, know their unique preference and requirements.

Amongst all the factors, technology will play a pivotal role in shaping the workplace culture in the coming decade. Technology will be more focused on providing experience and augmenting interactive employee engagement; in turn, creating an ecosystem of enhanced productivity, creativity, and culture. While it is impossible to predict the future with certainty, here are my two cents on how the workplace of 2030 will look like:

Customization using wearable technology & artificial intelligence

The traditional office setup will cease to exist within the next five to ten years. Laptops, smartphones, and tablets will become redundant and will give way to voice-activated assistants; the Internet of Things (IoT) will play an important role here. With the help of wearable technology such as embedded chips and wearable glasses, there will be a customized reflection in all parameters of an individual’s style of working. No more one-size-fits-all approach.

Moreover, the data provided by these devices will also personalize the furnishing as per the individual requirement. For instance, chairs will now be better suited to the user’s preference, comfort, and working style while keeping in mind the ergonomic requirements. Workspaces, too, will see a change based on specific conditions like brainstorming, meetings, and corporate sessions, networking or leisure time.

Video technology will reduce the need to travel while ensuring connectivity

Video communication technology in the past decade has evolved from the conventional video conferencing to holographic 3-D technology, enabling a face-to-face interaction that negates the actual need for physical presence.

These advancements will facilitate the ability of an individual to communicate, collaborate, contribute and deliver results remotely. There is also a scope of virtual reality to further enhance work-productivity by imitating the required environment. Thanks to high-speed internet connections, wide-scale interaction via video-connectivity is no more a buffering game, which will further heighten work efficiency as well as productivity.

Creation of smart buildings with interconnected smart workstations

With constant technological advancements, the future will bring an interconnected ecosystem. With the IoT analyzing the data received from all the public and private infrastructure in real-time, it will aid in understanding the individual preferences and factors important to the well-being of the people. The real-time analyzed data will allow workspaces to transform, adapt, and react to users instantaneously with health and safety being the centerpieces of infrastructure design and execution.

These spaces shall also be explicitly designed to maximize the lighting and ventilation, complementing the worker’s seating arrangements. Even the idle time for spaces such as desks, conference rooms, and training areas can drop to zero, ensuring optimized usage of space and asset deployment that can help shrink the real estate cost per square foot.

Naturally, we will also witness artificial intelligence become more accurate and automate repetitive, mundane tasks. Automation of these tasks will ensure better utilization of time and resources by directing it to more meaningful tasks and outcomes.

In summary, technology will enable wider, more profound, real-time connectivity and productivity gains by designing ‘individual focused office solutions’ that deliver near-zero idle time. These will drive business organizations to move away from traditional workspace solutions that offer much lower productivity in the congested, far from home, and one-size-fits-all workspace model. Over time, we will witness the workspace solution providers transition from being organization-driven to individual-driven, thus changing the fundamental concept of working.

This story appeared in the 24 February , 2020 issue of People Matters and is authored by Amit Ramani, Founder and CE0, Awfis. This article was originally published at: Blog: Workplace 2030: How the future of work will look like — People Matters