The Office As “Status Symbol” Is Over

The conference was held in Downtown Los Angeles.

LOS ANGELES—Just when we adjusted to millennials, there is a new generation descending on the office market. Generation Z, the generation following millennials, is preparing to enter the job market meaning that there will be three generations working alongside one another. At NAIOP‘s O.CON event in Downtown Los Angeles, experts—Jason Hickey, president and CEO of Hickey & Associates; Barbara Bouza, managing director and principal at Gensler; and Richard De Jesu, SVP of human resources at Northern Trust Corp.—discussed how workplaces must conform to a multigenerational workforce.

According to Hickey, each generation has its own work tactics and culture, and corporations need to identify a corporate culture that all generations are comfortable with. For millennials, that change has come with more open workspaces and work day structures that promote a healthy work/life balance, which is one of the most important qualities to millennials. Gen Z will have an even more extreme view on the workplace than the millennial generation. Once this group enters the workforce, it will be the most educated generation in history and will be highly skilled.