Generational Differences in the Experience of the Office Space - 2 Case Studies in South Africa

The purpose of the study was to explore the existence of generational differences in the employees’ experiences in the office environment in Johannesburg. The authors conducted a survey of employees in two financial institutions in South Africa.Open plan offices were found to be the dominant office form. Private offices were the least common type of space. Most offices also had supplementary facilities like restaurants/canteens and covered parking. We found no generational differences in the trade-off between privacy and collaboration in the workplace. There were, however, significant associations between generational differences and group cohesion in the work-space.Cost savings in the dominance of open plan offices create a trade-off between privacy and collaboration. The privacy concerns appear to be compensated for by the dominance of private meeting rooms. It is unclear if the differences in group cohesion are related to physical work-space or other concerns.