A variety of factors is driving the move to less opulent CEO space. One big reason for the change can be traced to the Millennials’ influence. “In 2025, 75 percent of the workforce will be Millennial, and that is something you can’t ignore,” Gannon says. “They are a progressive group who wants access to leadership.” In their view, the leadership should relate to the workforce and set the pace for corporate culture. Thus, the majority of executives want “more progressive environments that involve some form of open plan.”
Scaling down the C-suite gives Millennials the open access and collaboration they crave, says Heather E. Robbins, associate and senior interior designer for Leo A. Daly. “Clients have moved to reduce the hierarchy by making the layout more equitable,” she says.
The explosion in tech companies is an important factor in pushing the gradual transition to more egalitarian and open executive spaces, says Bonnin.
The recession also changed the corporate landscape, and with “the austerity that came with the recession was a diminished appetite for opulent C-suites,” Bonnin says.
While it is important for many companies to present themselves as world-class organizations, they also “need to be cognizant of their stakeholders — clients, shareholders, and employees,” says Barnes, and the perception of how money is being spent. Rather than creating a sharp contrast between the spaces earmarked for the office staff and the executive team, more attention is being paid to buildout costs, says Barnes, and more money is being spent on highly functional/technology-rich spaces. Such rooms might have 60-inch flat screen panels functioning as a computer screen, microphones and a sound system, and state-of-the-art acoustics.