Steelcase Survey Outlines Need for Creating More Functional, Dynamic and Fun Environments to Attract, Engage and Retain Tomorrow’s Talent
Asia Pacific – July 6, 2010 – Steelcase, a global office environment’s manufacturer, presents a human-centered research project to explore work behaviors and attitudes of young professionals in India and China. The research focuses on paradigm shifts in the nature of the workplace, which gives valuable insights into the revolution of the office. This in turn identifies opportunities in work environments and maps the future of the Indian and Chinese corporate sector.
Generation Y, is the fastest-growing segment of the workforce pool. The research revealed that drawing the attention of ‘Gen Y’ to the workplace and retaining their interest and talent will collaborate in optimizing the success of the organization.
The “Generation Y in the Workplace” study was a cross-market study conducted in India, China, and the US by Steelcase WorkSpace Futures - the global research arm of Steelcase. India and China represent nearly one third of the world’s population and are key growth drivers for the global economy. With 644 million people, aged 30 or younger in these two markets, leading and shaping how the world and the workplace evolves over the next 20 years. This will bring along with itself newer opportunities.
Steelcase identified this change and hence initiated the study of Generation Y. The purpose of the ‘Gen Y’ study is to aid in engaging and motivating workers and retaining the right talents; keeping in mind the transformation of the workspace. This research aims to provide a good foundation for office space design and developing new best practices to successfully attract, engage and retain talent.
“With the increasing influence of the Gen Y knowledge workers at work, we are assured the importance of understanding the major trends happening in the workplace. The key implications of our research provide good insights to the Indian and Chinese company management enabling them to better plan and design the future workplace for this next generation workforce,” said Uli Gwinner, president, Steelcase Asia Pacific. “We believe when the workplace better supports workers, business results improve, and so do worker attraction, engagement, satisfaction and retention.”
Steelcase WorkSpace Futures synthesized the data and developed the insights based on employee responses, across a number of multi-nationals and local corporations. From the research, most of the workers emphasized a strong desire for creating a workplace that is fun and that supports cross-team and generation sharing and collaboration. They also perceive the workplace as a platform not only to perform work, but also for continuous learning, personal growth and social networking. “This multi-functional work environment will transform the workplace design to provide a more user-centered office environment that enhances work flexibility and also facilitates easy and constant communications among teammates,” added Gwinner.
About Steelcase WorkSpace Futures
Steelcase WorkSpace Futures, is based in the company’s headquarters in Grand Rapids, Michigan, with researchers covering various regions. They conduct human-centered research into targeted markets, such as healthcare, education, bioscience, and professional services. Using proven methodologies, they seek to gain an ongoing understanding of where these industries are heading, what challenges they may be facing, and what current trends might be. The research process borrows heavily from practices in ethnographic research as well as other methods such as those practiced at the Institute of Design in Chicago.
About "Generation Y in Workplace" Study
Steelcase’s study of Gen Y in the Workplace began in the U.S., with the realization that this generation is almost twice as large as the previous generation, and will have a substantial impact on work and the workplace. In India and China, the same methodologies were used, as in the US study, except where cultural norms prohibited their use. Most of the interviews occurred at multinational corporations. We aim to collaborate more closely with Indians companies when conducting research projects in the future.
About Steelcase Inc.
Steelcase Inc. helps create great experiences - wherever work happens. Our brands offer a comprehensive portfolio of workplace furnishings, products and services, inspired by nearly 100 years of insight gained serving the world's leading organizations. We are globally accessible through a network of channels, including over 650 dealers. We design for social, economic, and environmental sustainability. Steelcase is a global, publicly traded company leading our industry with fiscal 2010 revenue of approximately $2.3 billion.