Building Dialogue

/ BUILDING DIALOGUE / JUNE 2015

Millennials: Does This Office Make Me Look Fat?

e’re getting to know millennials pretty

well. At least we think we are. As consum-

ers of commercial real estate and the fu-

ture of the American workforce in general, they’ve

been digitally poked and prodded more than any

other generation. Maybe that’s because they’re the

largest generation in American history or because

we have the means and the purpose to instantly ex-

tract every conceivable nuance of how they live and

work. Or both.

From a facilities standpoint, millennials are clearly

different from any other generation or hybrid group

ever studied. Way different. As architecture and design

professionals, we’re reasonably clear on the millennial

workplace culture. We know that “collaboration” is the

buzzword from which millennials generate creativity,

productivity and job satisfaction. We know that offices

must embrace a principally open design to accommo-

date the demand for social interaction and

ad hoc

gath-

ering. And we know that millennials are able to tran-

sition from work to socializing and back again faster

than any other generation. These observations are over-

simplified, of course, but, in general, we know how they

work, and we know what they need to succeed. Where

we may be lagging is how best to leverage health and

wellness in the office.

Not surprisingly, most employers in the chase for

millennial talent already seek a sharper focus on what

wellness means in the office and how to promote it.

Dallas-based Kimberly-Clark, a Fortune 200 compa-

ny, employs over 42,000 people worldwide. Its brand of

wellness is right up themillennial alley: on-siteworkout

facilities, showers, pools, instructor-led classes and boot

camps, standing desks and treadmill workstations, out-

door gathering or walking areas, and even doctors and

other medical personnel to address minor ailments, ac-

cording to the company’s website and human resourc-

es department. All this tucked into the quintessential

open office environment.

That’s an impressive package for millennials and ev-

eryone else interested in the overall concept. But can

smaller employers offer all those perks? Of course not.

But it’s not all about variety either.

Millennials, like any other generation, are not homo-

geneous. Their diversity is defined by numerous factors

that shape individual interests in office-based wellness.

A millennial attorney, for example, might prefer an in-

house yoga studio and a full kitchen stocked with the

finest organic fare, while an engineer millennial could

opt for a bike rack and pingpong table. Stereotypical?

Maybe. But that is the challenge for employers to em-

brace. Moreover, the millennial commonality exists on

Abbey Lyon

Senior

Project

Manager,

Kieding

TRENDS

in Millennial Design