Even In The Office Millennials Want an Experience, Not Stuff

Creative office has become ubiquitous this cycle, but “creative” might be the wrong term. In the chase to attract quality talent, employers have focused on the workspace, but the amenities and campus setting are as important as the design and configuration of the space. Millennials and other young professionals want an experience, and what is on the outside is as important as what is on the inside, according to office expert Christopher Pascale of CBRE.

“Employers are trying to offer an experience to their employees, and that experience is vast. It is food and dry cleaning and show shine and fitness and happy hour and gaming and indoor outdoor amenities,” Pascale, an SVP at CBRE, tells GlobeSt.com. “The people that are delivering the highly amenitized experiential opportunity are winning today, and not only are they winning in transaction volume and absorption, but they are winning in rental rates. People will pay more money for the experience. Millennials want an experience. They don’t want stuff.”

Because this experience is created through amenities and services offered onsite, a quality experience can be created in a traditional office as easily as in a creative office. “You can do all of this in a traditional office environment,” says Pascale. “Creative office has a certain look and feel and may be a little more communal—but what happens outside of the space is just as important as what happens inside of the space.”