Like most companies more than a century old, Steelcase embraces renewal and reinvention both in ourselves and in our partners. Founded as the Metal Office Furniture Company, our past, present and future have always been about turning insights about human behavior and what drives people to excel into innovations that unlock the promise of people at work.
We’ve seen a lot of advancements since the design of our first product, a low-cost fireproof wastebasket — a major innovation in 1914. From telephones, mobile technology and IoT, to the cloud and advanced computing, the way we do our jobs continues to change. Today, the fundamental shift we are seeing in the office is unprecedented.
A New Kind of Workplace
To compete in today’s fast-paced, complex, global economy, organizations need people who come to work energized, ready to generate new ideas, solve problems in new ways and make meaningful progress every day. But, the reality is highly engaged workers are the exception not the rule. The Steelcase Global Report: Engagement and the Global Workplace surveyed more than 12,000 people in 20 countries. It’s findings backup similar research from places like Gallup — more than one-third of workers are disengaged and another third are somewhere in the middle neither harming nor helping drive their companies forward.
Workers, especially millennials who will make up three-quarters of the global workforce by 2025, are seeking a new kind of workplace — one that inspires, connects and supports a variety of workstyles. A Microsoft survey reveals collaboration is a key driver for this group, 65 percent prefer face-to-face meetings. While nearly all, 93 percent, say having access to the latest technology is a big factor in choosing an employer.