The UZH Generations Project - Designing Workplaces That Help People Thrive

11 September 2026

How can workplaces better support people across career and life stages?

How and where we work can have a meaningful impact on well-being, engagement, and the overall employee experience. As hybrid work, new technologies, and changing employee expectations continue to reshape the workplace, organizations are increasingly asking how physical work environments can better support people with different needs.

The Generations Project, led by Prof. Dr. Lauren Howe and Dr. Peter Bacevice at the Center for Leadership in the Future of Work, explores how physical work environments, including its spaces, technologies, and workplace policies, can support employees across different career and life stages. (note: dont focus osn UZH only, include the company examples)

During the 2025–2026 academic year, the project combined two perspectives. First, we examined the work patterns, personal growth priorities, and team dynamics of UZH employees to better understand what contributes to a positive workplace experience in our own organization. Second, we looked at major organizations in the Zurich region, including The Adecco Group, EY, Microsoft, On, Swiss Re, and Vitra, to understand how they approach workplace experience and use the physical work environment as a strategic organizational asset.

One key insight is that workplace needs cannot be reduced to age or generation alone. Employees differ in how and where they work, the degree of flexibility they need, and the types of environments that help them focus, connect, collaborate, and grow. The organizations studied therefore increasingly design workplaces around different workstyles and user needs, rather than around generational categories alone.

The report brings these perspectives together and provides recommendations for the future UZH workplace, combining external best practices with the specific needs of a university workforce. More broadly, it offers practical lessons for organizations seeking to better understand employee needs and manage the workplace as a resource that can support both people and organizational performance.

Interested in learning more? Request the full Generations Project report below.