A small coup against the " dictatorship of cool "This is how we might sum up one of the lessons to be learned from the study published by Ingrid Nappi-Choulet. Ingrid Nappi-Choulet, a professor at the Real Estate and Sustainable Development Chair, interviewed some of the world's leading real estate developers. 400 ESSEC students (École supérieure des sciences économiques et commerciales) in May and June 2016. His research focus: the office of tomorrow imagined by future managers. Its reference point: a survey carried out three years earlier by ESSEC's Real Estate and Sustainable Development Chair, on the same theme of the office of the future. As the preamble to the study points out, this is a good way of "to draw a distinction between the effects of fashions and underlying trends, when it comes to workplaces and their design".. Indeed, the Google model - defined as " the opposite of the traditional office "However, students are no longer unanimous about the idea. Nearly a third have reservations about it, and 12% even say they are opposed to this type of organisation. These reservations lead the authors of the study to consider that " The dictatorship of cool [is] now overthrown ". The Apple model, defined as a working bubble in a natural space, seems to be more in vogue: almost one in four students (23%) would be attracted by this configuration, which is due to culminate next year in Cupertino with the Apple's new campus.
While some fashions are cyclical, the theorem apparently does not apply to workspaces. In fact, the traditional office does not make a come back This is far from the case. Far from it... Only 13% of those surveyed imagine themselves in a traditional environment, even though their elders are used to it. This means that large companies in search of well-rounded, well-built heads will have to use their imagination to rethink their workspaces. And it's going to be an arduous task... In fact, the managers of tomorrow are most likely to (23%) " a place that doesn't look like an office " (sic).
70 % of students imagine themselves working in a third place when they leave school
The concept of third places therefore seems to embody the answer to these new expectations, insofar as ESSEC students remain attached to the idea of going to the office. The home office, advocated by many companies, does not offer an ideal solution, as the distinction between home and work remains crucial for most of those surveyed. " 70 % of students imagine themselves working in a third place when they leave school " stresses the summary of the study. However, this endorsement should be treated with caution, as it all depends on the frequency of visits. Only a third of the students questioned said that they would like to work in such a space on a regular basis, while half of those surveyed (51%) would only consider going there occasionally for fear of the noise and lack of interaction with the "real" company headquarters. " Is Generation Y complicated? "The authors of the study logically ask... Undecided, at least!
So it's hard to answer all these organisational subtleties. But one thing is certain: the office of tomorrow will play a key role in human resources, in terms of recruiting the best people. Workspaces will be key factors for 36 % students ESSEC students when choosing their future employer.
The other findings of the study by Ingrid Nappi-Choulet are compiled in this infographic, which can be found at this link:
