Office Design: Best It's Going To Get?
Office design won’t shift that dramatically in the next decade, Ziegler Cooper principal Jim Hanlin (right, with DE Harvey Builders VP Dennis Kikolla) says. He believes we’ve reached an apex of flexibility and choice, and now it’s just a matter of introducing the design to more companies and industries. Where he sees the need for change: In attitudes about how people conduct business and interact. He says Millennials are keen on authenticity and honesty and want a higher purpose at work. They want to know what their managers are thinking and get feedback. He’s not seeing owners/managers in touch with that, and says they’ll need to increase their empathy to truly reach the next gen of employees. Another thing he’d like to see go is the industrial aesthetic. It’s too cold, he says; people perform better in a more natural setting.
