What are Employees Looking for in a Workplace?

What don’t employees want in a workplace?

Most of them are looking for something that looks like the picture above. A comfy chill-out area, filtered water, and a bookshelf with books they’re likely never going to read. The issue is that ‘modern’ (we mean Gen Z and below) employees are more demanding than ever. For better or for worse, they’ve completely changed the work environment. Chill-out areas over standard breakrooms are the norm, health and safety actually exist past a hard hat that nobody would wear, and employees actually have a voice.

Despite the changes, global employee engagement declined to 21% in 2024 (Gallup.com), and 92% of workers want to work for an organization that values their well-being (Deel.com).

And there are more statistics we could provide that highlight how employees never seem happy with their workplace. So, what are they looking for? Read on to find out.

A Workplace That Works For Them

Employees don’t want to work for a company anymore. They want a workplace that works for them. Again, it’s the Gen Z and below drive.

37% of employees are asking for more flexibility at work (Deel.com), and one in three workers plan to look for a new job in the next year (APA’s Work in America Survey). To put it simply, the workplace simply isn’t working for people. And when you look at some of them, you can understand why so many are looking for more flexibility at work that allows them to work remotely.

A workplace has to work for the employees. It has to have the modern equipment they need. It has to have a fancy breakroom. It has to have the company culture (more on that in the next section). Some 82% of workers say that feeling happy and engaged at work is key to their productivity, and it starts with the workplace environment.

To understand the individual needs of your workplace, send out a 360-degree anonymous survey to see what your employees actually want.

Company Culture

Company culture is built around what happens in the workplace. Gallup reports that only two in 10 employees feel connected to their company culture. There’s a massive gap between what managers think workplace culture is and how employees perceive it. If companies can get it right, Gallup reports the following increases:

• A 50-point increase in employee engagement over 3 years
• A 25% growth in workforce over 3 years
• An 85% net profit increase over 5 years
• A 138% improvement in patronage over 5 years

Companies should constantly think about employee recognition, inclusivity and diversity initiatives, healthy working relationships, and, more than anything, actually listening to employees and following up on their requests.

All the Benefits

Employees want all the benefits. And we’re not just talking pay raises and bonuses. Well, if you ask employees, that’s absolutely what they want, but there’s more to it than that.They want job security and to work for a reliable company. A survey by Robert Walters found that 77% of professionals prioritize job security. And even job security is deeper than not having to worry about whether an employer leaves a notice on the desk. It’s about workers comp for sole proprietor employers covering things like lost wages, medical bills, retraining, etc. They want health insurance, life insurance, 401(k) plans, and professional development plans. Employees don’t simply want to be pen pushers behind a desk.

Flexible Working

We’ve mentioned flexible working, but it deserves its own section.

According to HR Grapevine, 49% of employees believe flexible schedules, like four-day workweeks or compressed working patterns, would help them or their families. It doesn’t have to be a remote contract. They want the flexibility to leave an hour or two early when needed, and they want to make their home their workplace once per week. They want to have the flexibility to avoid the constrictions of a strict 9-5.

This concept started after the pandemic, when many companies were forced to introduce work-from-home orders, and employees never wanted it to end.

What do you want from your workplace? Employees are more demanding than ever, but do you think that’s a bad thing? We think it’s driving the future of workplaces that actually work.