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“ For the first time in our nation’s history, we have four generations in the workforce – each with their own distinct needs and skills. This blending of talent will present challenges but also tremendous opportunities as our society benefits from the eclectic mixing of mentorship among each segment. Combining the technological and collaborative skills of Gen Now with the entrepreneurial talents of Gen X and the experience of Zoomers and Prime Timers is the force that will ignite America’s return to innovation dominance in an increasingly competitive global landscape.”

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how to adapt… workspace for each generation, including flexible

workstations for young adults and telecommuting opportunities for Gen X

understand… the growing role of women in the workplace as they change

history due to this economic recession and become the majority of employed workers – from the new role of design and comfort to the influence of female social networks

learn about… new expectations fueled by generational cohort

experiences, including encore careers for Zoomers, work/life balance for Gen X and co-innovation contributions from Gen Now



“ With women occupying over

50% employment, we now have

four generations of female workers in the workforce, each with their own unique set of expectations & needs.”



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According to Steelcase research, this generation – the first to be raised with technology – enters the workplace looking for fun & open collaborative space, flexible workstations, personalized workspace design, visual displays everywhere & tech environments (plug ‘n play, wireless etc.)

co-creators… this generation

collaborates, co-innovates, enjoys group think and discussion

have a 24/7 mentality… technology is like air to Gen Now; work and life are always available to them

are not text oriented… They do

not absorb information sequentially and scan for visual cues

ABOVE: HERMAN MILLER – SPHERE TRENDING – NEOCON 2009AT RIGHT: STEELCASE – SPHERE TRENDING – NEOCON 2009



Gen Xers are in prime family-formation stage and these moms want to be around for their kids, unlike their

parents who worked long hours away from home.

They are well-educated and have work experience that can be applied to a

home business, which many of them are choosing for the flexibility over a

more traditional career.

More than

20 million people work from

home at least once per week

Sculpting a workplace to fit the lives of Gen X is key to providing them the family lifestyle they desire. The healthcare provider, Cigna, offers

an Employee Assistance Program (EAP) that helps workers manage stress and develop a

healthy work / life balance. Services they offer save their employees an average of 6.5 hours when they need help finding child care, elder

care and other services.

Other concepts desired by potential Gen X employees include job sharing, telecommuting, on-site child care, mentoring, and flexible work

schedules.



In fact, they represent the booming new demographic of retirement-age entrepreneurs. For the past 10 years, adults from ages 55 to 64 have been the group most likely to start a new business. It is now believed that the younger half of the Zoomer generation will spend 15 years in retirement versus 30 years as they work longer to make up for financial woes as well as staying active.

“ Zoomers are looking for

Encore Careers for

the second half of their life”

A 50-year old female today can expect to

live until 82.5 years of age and 1 in 8 Zoomers will live to be 100.

www.retireeworkforce.com is an

online job board that provides contract, flexible and full time positions for retirees.

22 recently built retirement communities are connected to college campuses – examples include Lasell Village at Lasell College (Mass.) and

Capstone Village, affiliated with the University of Alabama.



“ Many firms recognize that women make most of the household decisions and, therefore, having them in key management positions offers more insight into the consumer base. In other words,

they understand aspects of consumerism from a personal point of view.”

There are over 200,000 sellers on Etsy.com &

more than 3.75 million registered members

The Quit Your Day Job blog on Etsy.com receives

2 million page views per month



“The mall is not the American dream; Etsy is

the American dream.” The massive online

marketplace is for buying and selling all things

handmade: “Everyone with an idea, follow

through and access to a digital camera can start a

business with Etsy.”

Source: New York Times 12.17.09

A study by the Center for Women’s Business

Research shows that women now own 40 percent of private firms, women-

owned businesses generate about $3 trillion in revenue and employ 16 percent of the workforce. Source: Entrepreneur Connect 1.20.10

LadiesWhoLaunch.com is an online and offline social network that provides opportunities for

entrepreneurial women to move their businesses and personal goals forward.

With more women in the workplace and in the home office, manufacturers and service providers are

addressing their specific needs.

Designer Monica Forster, creator of the Lei Chair for Officeline, explains her women-specific design process: “First, women are more pear-shaped than men, so they sit with their elbows slightly more towards their backs, and less at their sides. Thus, the armrests of the Lei chair sprout from the backrest, rather than rising from the sides as usual. Second, women tend not to sprawl backwards when they're working; rather, they sit more upright, on the front of their seat. That means that they often slump forward. So the Lei has a more pronounced lumbar support and a more forward-leaning seat pan. And the seat-pan itself fosters a ladylike sitting position, legs together.”Source: www.monicaforster.se

http://www.ladieswholaunch.com/



“ Society is already on a path towards more non-traditional ways of working.

With advancements in technology, such as faster and more reliable broadband, powerful smartphones and 24/7 social media,

telecommuting has become an accepted employment alternative.”



Women account for 40% of consumer-

electronics spending (Chicago Tribune July 2009)

About 20% of women reported that Apple was

the technology brand or company they admire most, followed by Sony at

14%, and Microsoft and Dell at 10% (Women & Digital Life Study May 2009)

When asked about the technology that has had the biggest impact on their lives in the last two years, 26% of women said

the Internet, followed by computers at 22%, and cell phones at 18%

ONE DESIGN – SPHERE TRENDING – AMBIENTE 2009

Chip Chick – “tech & gadgets from a girl’s perspective”

www.chipchick.com

Popgadget – “personal tech & innovative lifestyle for women”

www.popgadget.net

Gadgettes – “reviews & news of tech gadgets for women & girls”http://reviews.cnet.com/gadgettes/



A study by BlogHer found that 42 million women in the United States (roughly 53% of the 79 million adult women in the United States who use the Internet) participate in social media at least weekly. As they spend more time with social media, women are spending correspondingly less time with traditional media: 39% less on newspapers, 36% less time reading magazines, and 30% less time watching TV.

(7 powerful social networking sites for women entrepreneurs)

Empower me! (www.empowerme.org)

Diversity Woman (www.diversitywoman.com)

PINK Magazine (www.pinkmagazine.com)

Savor the Success (www.savorthesucess.com)

Women on the Rise (www.sylviabrowder.com)

Woman Owned (www.womanowned.com)

Women's Peer Network (www.womenspeernetwork.com)



“ Women bring new attributes to the workplace.

For example, happiness and well-being are key elements for increased productivity. It’s now about making the workplace and the home office as comfortable as our living environments.”



The newest generation of workers are experiencing and expecting a more customized work program. We are already seeing signs of personalization:

-- Best Buy prefers to judge productivity by output versus hours and has instituted a program at its headquarters that essentially says workers are free to work whenever they want, wherever they want, as long as they get their work done.

-- At IBM 40% of the workforce has no official office while, at AT&T, a third of their managers are untethered. A 2006 Boston Consulting Group study found that 85% of executives expect a big rise in the number of unleashed workers over the next 5 years. As a result?

“Work is becoming some thing you do rather than somewhere you go.”

“At the recent High Point Fall Furniture Fair & the NeoCon Trade Fair the new-news in office furnishings

revolved around color, comfort, pattern and material.”

OFSCOALESSE

BRETFORDASPEN HOME ALLERMUIRSTEELCASE

KRUG

©2010 Sphere Trending. All rights reserved. The text, graphics and information (“Content”) provided in this work are furnished by Sphere Trending for educational and internal research purposes only, in order to give meaning and dimension

to the trends discussed herein. Content may also be subject to the copyright, trademark and other proprietary rights of third parties. Any use, display, reproduction, publication or preparation of derivative works incorporating or based upon any Content without prior authorization from Sphere Trending and/or the applicable third party violates U.S. and foreign

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