A place to sleep and free breakfast: Here’s what British workers really want in their offices How to cater to a Gen Z workforce: From nap pods to office snacks

New data has revealed that the lines between work and home could be becoming more blurred than ever as Gen Z workers say they want home comforts such as a place to sleep and a provided breakfast in their place of work.

The research by Workthere, the flexible office specialist, surveyed UK office workers to find out what makes them happy and productive in the workplace. Those aged 18-25 named perks like napping pods (23%), office pets (21%) and exercise equipment (23%) as things they’d like to see in their office, suggesting the move to make offices more homely could inspire workplace happiness and productivity.

Across age groups, however, workers deemed spaces that supported concentration, mindfulness and social interaction to be the things that made them feel more productive:

The five things to boost productivity:

• Having a tidy workspace
• Being in a quiet environment
• Individual workstations
• Good lighting
• Being around colleagues

It’s often said that a tidy room can lead to a tidy mind so it's as expected that most workers need an organised working environment in order to get their job done. In fact, most workers agreed that calming working environments were key for inspiring productivity with being in a ‘quiet’ and ‘casual’ environment (29%) ranking highly for respondents.

Physical comfort is just as important as mental comfort, especially for Baby Boomers who named comfortable furniture (24%), casual clothing (27%) and good lighting (40%) as important elements to their working life.

Unsurprisingly, the desire for a shorter working week or even shorter working days is popular with younger workers with 49% of Gen-Z and Millennial officegoers claiming this would make them more productive, compared to one in 12 (8%) Boomers who would favour more time at work.

The study also revealed that, despite spending the least amount of time in the workforce, Gen-Z is the most social, coming out on top when it comes to being around colleagues (26%), working in an open plan office (20%) and working with a wide variety of aged colleagues (28%).

Despite requests for these homely additions, many workers across generation do still see value in a distinction between their professional and personal lives; almost a quarter (24%) said that the separation between home and work makes them the happiest, however this was higher in Boomers (34%) compared to Millennials (19%).

Cal Lee, Head of Workthere, said:

It’s interesting to see the generational differences when it comes to productivity and happiness within an office setting. It’s clear that each generation has different preferences when it comes to feeling the most productive and happy in the workplace.

It can be challenging for service providers to cater to every generational need in an office environment, but this is where the benefit of opting for a flexible/ coworking space can have its advantages. We know that workers want an environment that feels relaxed, comfortable and appeals to the senses of each employee.