Ark News + Thoughts
Cultivating Awareness: Who is the workplace for?
May 25, 2023
Developing awareness in the workplace is critical today. How have we as humans changed since the pandemic? How can we do better? Social norms have changed, values around wellness have increased, and so expectations of the workplace have shifted. What we’ve seen in the past couple of years is that we need to engage more, and in different ways. Every company is different and the next generations in each industry prioritizes various factors. The key is to ask, listen, implement and review. This part of practicing awareness requires some self reflection on what we’ve all endured and how we can all be better. Putting ourselves in other’s shoes and opening up a bigger question as to how we can challenge the norm.
We’ve seen a big cultural divide between the values of boomers who are in leadership positions and the zoomers (Gen Z) who are just entering the workforce. By 2025, more than half of the workplace will be Millennial and Gen Z workers, with the latter making up 27% of the workforce. Generational friction is created If leadership is not self aware of these differences. Gen Z will be sure to leave and find another job elsewhere, as the data shows. Another layer to this is that the workforce is becoming more diverse than ever, and it’s only going to increase. In 2019, most new hires of prime age workers (ages 25-54) were people of color for the first time. This means asking what people want to see in their workplace is critical because the original 1960s workplace was designed mostly for white men.
As design strategists we look for ways to engage with large cross sections of a company and help provide insights on areas of friction and how to solve for it. So far at Ark we’ve facilitated these engagement types:
Employee Surveys: Giving the opportunity for everyone to provide feedback on current workplace satisfaction, create the data needed to create transparency, gain understanding on where certain issues don’t have a clear consensus.
Visioning Sessions: This is a time for people to dream big about what they want in their workplace, the sky's the limit. We facilitate these sessions where people from different departments and levels can openly share their visions. We ask questions like: What does success look like for you in the workplace? What words would you aspire to describe your future workplace? These sessions are for everyone to collectively brainstorm in real time.
We hold these in person with sticky notes, sharpies and posters. During the session we are able to tease out what different people mean when they say things like “forward thinking”. We walk away with a better understanding of what the core values are to the group. We use these to define grounding principles for the client and so the design team can create proposals that are rooted in values that the client has voiced.
Interviews & Focus Groups: For folks who are not as vocal in group settings, offering individual or smaller group sessions allows for those to feel more comfortable. This also allows for multiple ways for people to provide their feedback. In these more intimate sessions, we ask questions like: What would elevate your workplace experience? What types of spaces are preferred in a focus setting, and a collaborative one? These sessions aim to get into more detailed preferences and we walk away with a more nuanced understanding of individual needs and wants.
The process of listening and discussing is part of the solution itself. And to not to treat it as a one and done step. Evaluating and re-evaluating is crucial in understanding and creating a constant and open communication feedback loop. There is still so much more work to be done. Moving in to the future, while we know things will be uncertain, companies can practice awareness and welcome that to the environment by:
Cultivating psychological safety: Creating an environment where people feel safe enough to be honest, express candor and where the company can be transparent is crucial. Without cultivating this on an individual level, people will not feel safe to share their honest opinions.
Empowerment: Providing the agency for employees to create groups, advocate for themselves, and have the autonomy to work as they please. Encouraging people to speak up and showing up as themselves.
Acknowledgement: Stating the obvious might seem redundant, but without acknowledging mistakes, where we are at, it’s hard to move forward. Leadership needs to do the individual self awareness work within themselves in order to lead by example.
Embrace the discomfort: Change is always uncomfortable, but knowing the workplace is not inclusive means we still have alot of work to do to make it equal. It won’t be easy but people will appreciate the discomfort if they know if it is all for a greater purpose.
Make it fun: Imagining and dreaming about what the workplace should be is fun exercise. People want work to be more light hearted and human, can we find ways to make conversations engaging? We have used platforms like Mentimeter where we can ask questions and see answers in real time, so the experience is gamified and visualized. Other exercises we’ve used that have had great success is prioritizing workplace items through a point system game. We associate more expensive items with higher points and see what is critical for their new space.
In a recent round of visioning and focus groups I saw leadership prioritizing private offices and hosting events when Gen Z prioritized items like sustainable practices, design inclusiveness, and team rooms. Working together across generations gets people to think across all types of situations and how to reach a unified consensus. Bringing out a sense of play lets people get out of the typical work environment and think beyond their usual circumstances.
The 1970’s American corporation prioritized profits over people. People were scared to bring their "full selves" to work and molded themselves to fit the systems in place. This one sided goal for profits treated the workplace like a machine and assumed it’s people were all the same - and it the time they were. The fact that the indoor air temperature of 72 degrees was tailored for a man in a 3 piece suit speaks volumes to the systems that still need to be reconsidered. Gen Z is out here today wanting to wear crop tops to work and not invest in a whole new wardrobe just for the office. We know diversity is good for business…so how do we invest in making sure the next generation is happy so that we can keep them? By listening, implementing and making real changes.
As for me, a millennial and a woman of color in between these generations, I see that people want more from their workplace, which is progress! Making work more human and multifaceted is the only way towards the future, and it all starts with a conversation. The workplace is no longer only for people who show up to work in 3 piece suits. The time is now to reflect spatial, behavioral and technical solutions to the people who are showing up at work.
Author
Sharon leads workplace strategy projects for hybrid and remote-first companies. In essence, Leung translates her clients’ company values into physical space and brand culture. Her background in architecture means she is always looking for innovative ways to solve a problem and tell a story.
Senior Design Strategist