Aesthetics Matter to Millennials

Add another item to the list of what attracts Millennials to an organization: aesthetics. And it’s not only office aesthetics. Websites and other branded material matter, too.

So finds a new study conducted by IPSOS, a global research firm, on behalf of National Business Furniture.
The study, which surveyed adults over the age of 18, including a subsample of adults who work in an office environment, looks at which factors have the biggest influence on employees when it comes to first and lasting impressions.

Look and Feel

The study suggests a generational shift when it comes to the look of an office environment. It finds younger adults care more about the look and feel of a workplace than older generations.

• Design: 76 percent of Millennials, aged 18-34, feel somewhat or very strongly that office design and aesthetics influence their impression of a company, while only 39 percent of employees aged 55+ care about what their office looks like.
• Upgrades: 70 percent of respondents who work in an office environment say that they wish their workplace would consider a design upgrade.
• Office location: 70 percent of Millennials care about where an office is located, compared to 41 percent of those aged 55+.

Branding

Millennials consider other design factors, as well.
The study finds a Millennial employee will likely judge a company on its website and branded materials, but the impact of these factors wanes as the age of the employee increases.

• Logos: 63 percent of Millennials say a company logo impacts their view of a brand, compared to 28 percent of workers aged 55+.
• Websites: 82 percent of Millennials say that a company website somewhat or strongly influences them, compared to 53 percent of employees 55+.

“Clearly first impressions matter, especially with Millennials, and an interview experience can be impacted by how good a prospective employee feels about a company’s physical space,” said Dean Stier, vice president of multi-channel marketing for National Business Furniture.

More Inviting Environment

Stier offers these tips for businesses to create a more inviting office space for prospective and current employees.

• Customize spaces to fit departments and jobs. While employees in finance will want personal offices to manage sensitive information, more collaborative groups like marketing may work better in the open with desks clustered closer together for creative brainstorming.
• Add portable wall panels to open cubicle spaces. Noise is one negative side effect of today’s contemporary open office floor plan. Today, there are a wide range of creative portable screens and walls that can be quickly added for privacy and to act as a sound barrier.
• Go green. Researchers in the Netherlands conducted a study that measured a 15 percent increase in productivity when “lean” workplaces with a bare-bones aesthetic were spruced up with green plant life. Introducing plants to an office environment has been reported to reduce absenteeism by up to 50 percent, and reduce minor illness by 30 percent.
• Create an active workplace. Recent studies have found that prolonged sitting can increase health risks such as cancer, heart disease, and type 2 diabetes. Employers can create more active workplaces today by incorporating standing-height or adjustable-height tables that allow workers to rotate between sitting and standing during the day.