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Study identifies changing work priorities of post-80s in China

By Ma Zhenhuan (chinadaily.com.cn)
Updated: 2010-06-23 10:26

SHANGHAI: With Generation Y, or the post-80s generation, being the fastest-growing segment of the workforce, attracting and retaining the best talent is crucial for assuring an organization will thrive and enjoy long-term success, a report finds.

The report, by global office environments manufacturer Steelcase, identified six major workplace shifts that serve as valuable insights and set a foundation for industry to create future work environments for the Chinese business community.

The "Generation Y in the Workplace"study is a cross-market study conducted by Steelcase WorkSpace Futures - the global research arm of Steelcase - in China, India and the US. China and India represent nearly one-third of the world’s population and are key growth drivers for the global economy. With a total of 644 million people aged 30 or younger in these two markets, they will lead and shape how the world and the workplace evolve over the next 20 years, further bringing both new opportunities and challenges for businesses seeking to attract and retain this emerging generation and inspired Steelcase to initiate its Generation Y study.

"With the increasing influence of the post-80s knowledge 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 China's architects, designers and also companies' management, enabling them to better plan and design the future workplace for this next generation workforce,"said Uli Gwinner, president of Steelcase Asia Pacific.

"We believe when the workplace better supports workers, business results improve, and so do worker attraction, engagement, satisfaction and retention,"he added.

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The company spent two months interviewing and observing post-80s workers across a number of multi-national and Chinese enterprises in China. 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 communication among teammates,"added Gwinner.

Steelcase will organize a design workshop in early July in Shanghai to meet with key industry leaders, architects and designers, and jointly contribute to the development of future workplaces for China's business community.

Six Major Workplace Shifts

Six major workplace shifts were identified in the Chinese workplace from the pervasive influence of the post-80s generation:

1. "Harmony"to "Identity"- following personal desire is more important than fulfilling society's expectations;

2. "Teamwork"to "Collaboration"- focusing on generating ideas across teams and generations;

3. "Job security"to "Growth"– Pursuing continuous learning opportunity and guidance is more important than job security;

4. "Supporting work"to "Supporting workers"- extending the workplace function from providing space and tools for work to social networking;

5. "Worker"to "Explorer"- developing a career path and proactively exploring opportunities;

6. "Work & Life"to "Working & Living"- striving for work-life balance, i.e., "work hard, play hard."