Workplace Culture, Design Trends, and the Impact of Gen Z

Generation Z is defined as those born between 1997 and 2012, spanning elementary school and university students – the oldest now entering the workplace. In general, this generation tends to have less individual expression and cooperation than their millennial predecessors, but they are more outspoken and active in creating a fair, diverse, and equitable professional environment. Generation Z clearly brings an entirely new skill set to the workplace, growing up in a world where access to the internet and smartphones were a normal part of life. Being technologically savvy means that they are constantly connected to each other in a digital world but are less inclined to feel that face-to-face interactions are just as important as previous generations. Generation Z-ers are realistic and rooted in finding facts, highly economically and socially aware, entrepreneurial, and striving for financial stability, because the world they grew up in, like millennials, contains a great deal of economic insecurity.

So what does this mean when Generation Z-ers start making their way into the world of architecture? Perhaps most importantly, it means that companies will have to adapt to their needs in order to retain talent and understand what will be most important from their customers’ point of view. While millennials have pushed for the return of flexible remote work schedules, Generation Z will push more for salary transparency, social responsibility from their workplaces, and fostering their individual ethos and entrepreneurship.

One of the most important aspects that will change the future of the architectural workforce is the innate ability of Generation Z to adapt to new technologies. In addition to the standard software updates companies are accustomed to, Generation Z is able to learn entirely new tools that will make standardization more common, processes infinitely more efficient, and keep companies on the cutting edge. However, by contrast, Generation Z brings fewer soft skills to the workplace. A survey in 2016 revealed that more than 90% of teens were concerned about their lack of interpersonal skills, which is critical in an architecture firm when collaborating with colleagues and sharing ideas with clients.

Besides using Gen Z-ers, we will one day design the spaces that this generation will primarily occupy and use. Since they grew up with an iPhone in hand, the spaces we design also need to be filled with technology and provide accessible digital access to the world. Enhanced workplace video conferencing capabilities, cafés with free WiFi, and aesthetic lighting and sound will be critical to future spaces that Generation Z will enjoy. In addition, Generation Z has also valued spaces that feel authentic, dynamic, secure and rooted in a meaningful message or brand. meaning of. Since they are an ethnically diverse generation, designers will need to think about the way people experience societies and how this relates to different cultures and traditions. By engaging with users, spaces will have the ability to become more inclusive and to be identified by the people who use them.

Generation Z will soon become the majority of our workforce and our customers over the next 15 years. Their expectations from employers, the skill sets they bring, and design core values ​​will dramatically change the future of the built environment.