A traditional office setup will no longer suffice thanks to millennials’ needs.
How millennials live their day-to-day life continue to dominate thoughts of those predicting the future. Whether it is how they shop or their desire to own property, this demographic of society are hugely influential on how businesses are shaped.
Now millennials are the largest segment of today’s modern workers. Therefore their needs should be heard more than ever. They differ from previous generations such as Baby Boomers and Gen-X simply due to their connection with technology and desire for just the right work-life balance. Flexibility is key. On top of this they want to do well at work. Receive regular feedback and to work in an environment that helps their productivity. The days of working at desks partitioned by screens is long gone.
There is a thirst to be entrepreneurial among millennials. This is even more important than obtaining an executive job title at a well known company. Subsequently small businesses are expected to grow even faster in the future.
It is predicted by CHGR5, an American based research institution that by 2020 there will be 13,000 new start-up companies in Indonesia. A growth of 6.5 times. Real estate firm Savills therefore expect that a further one million square metres of office space will be needed to meet this.
Different office setups.
Developers and landlords need to adapt to these changes. Workplaces will need to offer diverse solutions for the differing needs of individuals and companies. Jakarta has already welcomed 18,000 square metres of co-working space since 2012, 30,000 square metres of serviced offices and 200,000 sqm of Small Office Home Office (SOHO).
To recap, co-working spaces are essentially a shared working environment. Ideally suited to freelancers as desks or rooms can be rented out on an hourly or daily basis. All facilities such as Internet connection are included much like a serviced office. Service offices differ from co-working spaces mainly as they aim to appeal to small medium enterprises. Generally housed in an office building they provide an actual office with services such as reception, mail collection or phone answering. Lastly a SOHO office is both a home and an office. Offering all the usual office services plus residential facilities by the means of an apartment building, fitness centre and swimming pool.
This range of office space fits will how millennials live, but it is not enough to meet demand. Developers need to take heed of these changing trends in order to set themselves in a weakening office market, and in fact peg them against their competition.
