Generations at work - Steelcase seminar series underway

Steelcase kick-started the New Year at WorkLife London with the first in a series of seminars to be hosted throughout 2008. The inaugural event, entitled ‘Generations at Work’, focused on the ‘Capture It’ research project – a joint initiative between Steelcase and the Royal College of Art which explores the ways in which design can support multiple generations in the workplace. Presentations were given by Professor Jeremy Myerson of the Helen Hamlyn Research Centre at the RCA and Mandy Sutherland of Steelcase Applied Research.

 Request a free copy of ‘Capture It’       RRP £12.50

Over 150 business representatives, architects and designers joined the Steelcase team to discuss ‘Generations at Work’. Steelcase has been involved in several research projects on the subject, including ’Capture It’ which specifically examined how design interventions can be applied in specific sites to tackle problems such as integrating new technologies adapted for the different generations into the workplace and encouraging efficient transfer of knowledge between age groups.

Speaking at the seminar Professor Jeremy Myerson, a key contributor to the Capture It project, said that: "Twenty years ago human resource managers may have paid lip service to issues surrounding increasing age diversity in the work place. Now, executives from the top down realise that poor management of generations at work has a profound impact on their bottom line."

The latest projections from the Office of National Statistics indicate that nearly a third of working people in the UK will be over 50 by 2020, while across Europe, increased life expectancy and decreasing birth rates are creating an aging workforce.

Some key findings from Capture It are that older flexible workers demand more choice and control in terms of how, when and where they work over a working day, and are increasingly curious and committed to learning, often mixing work and personal projects.

Mandy Sutherland, an Applied Research consultant at Steelcase North America, flew in to join the seminar. She spoke engagingly about further research conducted into diverging generations at work. With four generations now working together, Traditionalists (born before 1945), Boomers (born 1946-64), Gen Xers (1965-77) and Millennials (1978 -1999), Mandy told the conference: "Age related issues are unquestionably a major issue for employers and the way to tackle this is to provide the tools and environment.

"Most organisations today have large numbers of boomers and smaller numbers of the youngest and oldest generations. But the mix is shifting and the youngest – the Millennials - are moving to centre stage."

An interesting finding revealed by the latest Steelcase survey is that the youngest generation of office workers – already making up 11% of the European workforce - are now setting their own trends. In response to this Mandy revealed:

"Other generations have adopted technology but the ‘net generation’ were born into it and it is really beginning to show in the workplace now. They’re not fussed about meeting rooms and big conference tables and are quite happy working in a cafe or lounge area.

"The biggest thing for these young workers is quick and easy access to colleagues, they don’t like having to negotiate their way round a maze of private offices. They are also three times more likely to work out of the office or while travelling compared with older colleagues."

Click to download, Steelcase 360: Millenials Make Their Mark, to read more on the new generation.