As a millennial in the office interiors industry, I hear a lot of talk about what people like me want from a workplace. Those descriptions typically involve a mini-golf course and about twelve different kinds of cereal; I’ve even been woo’d with the promise of freshly stocked avocados. Judging the Geekwire Awards Geekiest Office category each year, I hear a lot about the flashy elements of the modern-day tech office, too, and please don’t get me wrong. I love hearing about the crazy things employees love about their workplaces, and I love avocados as much as the next person. But there’s more to it.
When you look past the Taco Tuesdays and Waffle Wednesdays, the Thirsty Thursdays and Flannel Fridays, you’ll find in the tech industry a common thread of total scrappiness. Save for the few ubiquitous, household names, of which we have a few in the Pacific Northwest, most of these tech companies are working with what they have, and when attracting the best talent is on the line, culture is nothing short of critical.
I recently sat down with CEO Nathan Kundtz to hear what this means for his company, Kymeta. After five years of building their technology and the resulting product, Kymeta is at a major turning point, moving full speed ahead toward general availability this October. They’re about 160 employees strong, Gates-funded, and introducing a product with seemingly limitless application. Despite all of the apparent success, however, the scrappiness is in full effect. In Kundtz’s own words, “One of the things most indicative of a young company is the ownership that every individual feels, because they’re a small group… They just have to get stuff done. And we want to hold onto that.”
You’d be hard-pressed to find the on-staff masseuse or vintage arcade at Kymeta (yes, these are real-life things I’ve seen out there). The last five years have been solely about product, and in many ways, the office is, too. Design Engineers sit feet away from the test chambers, for example, minimizing barriers between the areas where products are being made and where they’re being tested, resulting in efficiency. And while the promise of flashy cultural perks may catch a prospective employee’s eye at many companies, it turns out employee satisfaction and performance are tied more closely to the fulfillment of basic human needs, like the ease with which a Design Engineer can float between heads-down work and the test chamber without cognitive interruption.
A recent Gallup poll found that 87% of the global workforce is disengaged with their work, a figure which is all too real in the competitive market of Seattle. And while organizations continue to up the ante on employee referral perks and kitschy ways to garner top talent’s attention, the most game-changing investment a company can make is in keeping the people who are already in the door.
Research conducted by my own company, Knoll, found that Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs runs parallel to the needs of a fulfilled employee, serving as a framework for organizations as they pursue happier, more engaged people. You’ll notice that while two important components – the environmental and physical needs – are certainly the least extravagant, they’re the foundation that’s necessary to sustain employees before things like culture, team dynamics, trust, and purpose can have a lasting impact. While cultural perks might get people in the door, they likely will not stay without work-life balance or a healthy office environment.
Americans are spending exponentially more on experiences and substantially less on “things.” The workplace experience is no exception to the rule, despite any apparent generational differences. We millennials might come for Mimosa Monday, but paid family leave and opportunities to advance our careers will keep us around for many Mimosa Mondays to come.
