Returning to a New Kind of Office

Younger workers lost out in lockdown and have welcomed a return to the office, while the older generation were comfortable in their homes, surrounded by creature comforts. But a return to the status quo was never on the cards. The communal workplace has to offer something for everybody. 

To understand the issues from the perspective of different generations, I spoke with Dr Eliza Filby, historian of contemporary values, generations expert and fellow Mission board member, as well as a range of employees from across the business. I asked them how the office could appeal to everyone. 

What I learned was illuminating. 

Put simply: it should be the place where the good stuff happens. Where training and coaching occur, where collaborative connections are forged, where you can advance not just in a role but also as a person. If you want mental health support, it happens in the office; if you want mentoring, it’s in the office; if you want to take part in a mixed-skills Innovation session, it’s in the office. Your job isn’t in the office. But your opportunities for development, advancement and enhancement are.

Many gen z employees were enthusiastic about a communal physical workspace. Young people who joined the workforce during lockdowns or just before are realising that being physically isolated isn’t the best way to learn, be seen, build relationships with co-workers or make progress in their career or life goals.

This resonates for me. Much of what I learned not only about my job but as a person, came from observation, from being in the room where things happened and watching decisions being made by leaders I admired. It’s impossible to capture those rich experiences over Zoom, one reason I’ve supported a return to the physical workplace since lockdowns eased.

It seems that more resistance to a return to the office comes from older workers. Typically, they are more professionally established and more likely to have space at home to comfortably work remotely. They are also more likely to have kids and/or elderly parents requiring time and attention. Consequently, working from home has more upsides than downsides for them. They’re also all too familiar with the deficiencies of the old-school office.

But if the office is a cubicle farm with little personal interaction or development, it has little attraction for any generation. For millennials coming into the workplace for the first time its often a terrible disappointment: a sterile space, literally empty, where meetings still take place on Zoom with remote colleagues. There’s often no point being there.

Ironically, more progressive employers are now playing catch up to the more old-school firms on returning to the office. Goldman Sachs, hardly a bastion of progressive thinking, is ahead of the curve. They mandated an early return and dealt with the issues head on. Before the pandemic, 75% of Goldman employees were in the office on any given day of the week. Today, it's back to about 65%. 

CEO David Solomon noted that 50% of employees are in their 20s and “they came to Goldman Sachs to learn, to meet people, and to interact”.

Which highlights an important point. Younger employees reject the job/self separation of previous generations. They seek genuine meaning in their work, preferring to bring their whole self to the office. 

Flexibility in working arrangements is pretty much assumed by gen z, certainly in white-collar or creative sectors. But they are also looking for a more holistic support system from employers, not just a career ladder but a pathway to evolve, learn and grow as a person. Mental health, financial health, physical health - they see it all as part of a duty of care. Older workers also increasingly appreciate this, as flexibility and employee support begin to cater for people across the different stages of life.

It’s up to us to make the new workplace a better, healthier, more rewarding place for everyone. 

The new office should be where you bring your best self, to work collaboratively with others, to learn and develop not only your skills but also your whole self. And it can deliver the camaraderie, teamwork and sense of belonging to a mission much bigger than just the task at hand.