_What students of today expect from the workplace of tomorrow

From motor cars to washing-up liquid, the availability of choice has become an absolute given in almost all consumer markets in the western world.

The consumer culture we live in expects and demands choice in the supply of goods that cater for a wide range of preferences, some motivated by frugality or functionality and others by desire.

There is no 'right or wrong' in the nature of the consumer offer as long as it is tied to real demand. In the context of increasing consumer demand for choice, the future workplace is one that creates a market for itself because: “You can have it if you want it”. 

Knight Frank Strategic Consulting is carrying out extensive research exploring what the present generation of students expect of their future workplace.

The objective of a survey of students was to better understand the aspirations of graduates as they enter or return to the workplace in terms of how, where and for whom they would like to work. The research is being extended to other Business Schools across Europe

As we embarked on this research project we wondered whether technology and flexible hours would see this new generation of workers even consider turning up at the office. The short answer is that, given the right environment and provided their career development is nurtured in a structured way, not only will they turn up but, perhaps surprisingly, they will be prepared to fully commit time and energy. 

Beyond that, students report to be expecting a workplace environment that has the right mix of functionality, socializing and convenience. They expect to get work done by changing the space around them; this is not surprising as the varied workspace they look forward to is already present in their academic environment.

What also comes across very strongly through our survey is the expectation for graduates to carry on building networks the way they already do at Uni.

We understood the purpose of networking to be around knowledge: learning, sharing and inspiring. This is best achieved through the use of technology to:

• Improve team effectiveness 

• Support knowledge sharing

• Access documents through file sharing or share-point sites like Dropbox

• Work flexibly and remotely, including from home 

In greater detail, we summarise the findings as follows :

1. A structured development programme is an attraction when considering which company to work for

2. Quality of Life and Career Opportunities are the top two factors in considering which city to live in

3. An international career is important to most respondents

4. 2-5 years is the time most respondents expected to stay at their next company

5. More respondents preferred to work in a traditional office rather than in a co-working office environment

6. Flexible working hours and a flexible working location were two of the top work benefits that would attract respondents to a company

7. Most prefer to work in an urban Central Business District environment

8. ‘Rewarding’, ‘Challenging’ and ‘Professional’ were selected most frequently as the three most important characteristics of a company’s culture

9. Working with inspirational leaders is important to all

The workplace environment graduate students of today expect to be joining will offer central communal areas and other informal shared settings, while removing any physical and organisational barriers that may hinder creativity.

It will also offer stimulating spaces, beyond functional necessities, to make work feel purposeful and, above all, it will facilitate teamwork (also virtually) in a manner that is designed to refresh and develop the mind.

In conclusion, attracting and retaining the newly graduated talent will require flexible, progressive and inspiring workplace structured to engender the kind of company culture that is rewarding, challenging and professional.

Knight Frank's EMEA Strategic Consulting team works with large and small business helping them to align property to business goals and objectives and, in turn, making them more future-proof, competitive and fast moving.

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