How to get Millennials Rocking at Work

Building owners are making some significant changes in the ways their facilities look and operate. They are doing this so that they meet the needs and wants of the next generation of workers coming up the pipeline, those that came of age around the year 2000.

These folks are not like their parents. Having the “esteemed” corner office is just not that big a deal with these folks. In fact, having any office is not all that important.

So, to help facility managers (FMs) and business owners get a better understanding of what this new generation of workers want in the places they work, Service by Medallion lists top five:

• Open workstations The old work setting of one person, one office has been slowly disappearing since the 1990s. And even cubicles are headed for the trash. What’s replacing them is the Community Work Space. Long, community tables or workstation where young staffers can meet, see and collaborate in a comfortable setting.
• Office hotels While they like to spend their time working together, there are times Millennials want to work alone. Possibly they are working on a particular project, or instead of working with several people in the same setting, two or three is all they want to see. In such cases, they like to check-in to the “office hotel.” These are private areas, typically in the center of the work setting, where they can close the door and work alone.
• Natural light It’s a good thing all those private offices are gone because they typically are placed around the perimeter of the office, where all the windows are. Millennials like natural light. Place their community workspaces around the windows. Remaining private offices, conference rooms, cafeterias, etc., should now be placed in the center of the workspace.
• Amenities In the late 1990s, it was commonplace that if a company hired you, they expected to see you in the office by 9 AM. That’s not a requirement now. In many industry sectors, young staffers can set their hours and schedules. But, because these hours can be so erratic – and because Millennials work 45 to 50 hours per week – they want unique amenities. For instance, ATMs, gourmet coffee stations and plenty of them, dry cleaning, and even entertainment rooms so workers can take a break.
• Healthy Cleaning According to HFM, a publication that focuses on the housewares industry, 56 percent of Millennials make purchasing a vacuum cleaner one of their top priorities once they are on their own and 24 percent of them vacuum every day. Younger people want their home settings, as well as their work settings, kept clean and invariably they want them cleaned using environmentally preferable cleaning solutions.

Millennials and Generation Z grew up when green cleaning was first making its mark on the professional cleaning industry. They learned of the close connection between effective cleaning and protecting human health. They want their offices kept clean, and they want them kept cleaning using the healthiest cleaning solutions possible.

Put Service by Medallion to work for you. For more information on this topic or help with any building cleaning and operating need, contact a Service By Medallion Business Solutions Specialist at (650) 625-1010.