Employee-friendly workplace attract young talent

New Delhi: Creating an amiable workplace for employees is increasingly important for companies seeking to attract and retain young talent to optimise their businesses profitability, said a study by research firm, Steelcase WorkSpace Futures.

The `Generation Y in the Workplace` study by the company that has presence in India, China and the US, revealed providing good foundation for office space designs can help attract, engage and retain talent. It said with 644 million people in India and China, aged below or at 30 and known as the `Generation Y`, companies that transform workplaces according to the preferences of the young talent will see an increased business success. The Gen-Y is the fastest-growing segment of the workforce pool in the country. "With the increasing influence of Gen Y Knowledge workers at work, we are assured of the importance of understanding the major trends happening in workplaces," Steelcase Asia Pacific president Uli Gwinner said, "We believe when the workplace better supports workers, business results improve, and so do worker attraction, engagement, satisfaction and retention." The qualitative research surveyed host employees at various Indian companies and multinationals, most of whom emphasised a "strong esire" for creating a workplace that was fun and that supported cross-team and generation sharing and collaboration. They also perceived workplace as a platform not only to perform work, but also for continuous learning, personal growth and social networking, it revealed. "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 communications among teammates," Gwinner said. The research firm is a part of US-based Steelcase Inc, makers of a comprehensive portfolio of workplace furnishings, products and services. Steelcase has a presence in India as well and exists in the higher end of the office furniture market. PTI