As I've been going about my daily routine of working in the wild, wild west construction industry, I've been wondering about something - are the majority of people in this industry getting younger or am I getting older?

I decided to look into this because I certainly don't think of myself as "that older guy"- although, sadly it is probably true. Not only is the construction and real estate industry evolving towards the next generation, but the entire make-up of the US workforce is soon going to comprise a majority of the Millennial generation. By 2016, millennials will outnumber the boomer generation in the workforce and in 10-15 years, will make up the majority spending group in the US and will begin to find themselves in position of political influence. Children of helicopter parents in child-centric households who are "stimulation junkies" want it fast and they want it now. They came out of the womb with an instinct to multi-task and were taught to recycle in kindergarten. With an "anytime, anywhere" mentality, they want to set their own goals and care more about meaningful experiences than climbing the corporate ladder. They value flexibility over compensation, and will drive innovation and collaboration through the roof if provided the right atmosphere and culture to do so.

That is a lot to take in for corporate America! What have we been doing to get prepared for this next wave of Millennial worker? In case you haven't noticed, that little trendy phrase of "creative office" that used to a nice to have, but first to get cut out of the budget design upgrade, is now the focal point of any new office design and construction project that is happening today.  The creative office component has gone from an emerging trend to an employee attraction and retention "must-have" strategy for employers. In combination with a defined culture and flexible corporate mindset, today's design and construction budgets have evolved to include the necessary components of the creative office environment such as: playful outdoor amenities, extensive natural lighting, collaborative open area meeting spaces, open to structure ceilings and customized workstation areas with less and less hard wall offices. However, it is extremely important to realize that if your corporate culture is not in alignment with this new style of office space, you'll end up with a "fish out of water" feeling and it will not accomplish the goal it was intended - attraction and retention of employees. Therefore, get your culture defined and understood, then emulate that culture throughout the vital areas of the office to create the right balance where the next generation of worker is free to be productive, engaged, connected, autonomous, understood, and collaborative all at the same time.