User login
Courtesy navigation
Search
Without the office, what are we?
Without the office, what are we?
July 28, 2010
The current hoo-hah about advertised vs. actual speeds shouldn't detract from one of the biggest benefits of broadband — it allows home workers at least some form of access to the office network. Mums on school runs, carers for the elderly, those who actually believe the designated arrival times of gas company engineers — we all benefit from this flexibility.
For the firms whose business models allow the luxury of home working, IT is the great enabler. We're free, free from the office!
Flexible yes, but productive?
Early arguments about home workers’ productivity focused on the reliability of the IT and the potential for domestic distractions. Chatting about last night’s Eastenders around the office kettle is just part of office life; hanging the washing out while awaiting a critical phone call might not been seen in such a kindly light.
Nevertheless, issues of individual productivity are dealt with easily enough these days, while our computers, phones, routers and switches are generally up to the job.
There's an irony, though; communication technology means less communication — at least, of a face-to-face kind. The big question about home working is this: can a more dispersed employee base be such a good thing?
I'm not so sure. Our new IT tools are wonderful indeed, but can social media, instant messaging, conference calls et al really make up for a lack of face-to-face contact?
In praise of the office
Apart from its role as a company's central 'hub', the office provides priceless social interaction. An efficiently run office environment can be literally inspirational to those that work within it. Ideas can be floated, project teams constructed and product development nurtured.
What's more, office politics — a term too frequently used in a pejorative sense — are a necessary part of the ebb and flow of people and power that ultimately fuels a company's sense of, well, company. We’re all human, after all.
The character of a small business is defined as much by the interplay of its employees in the work environment as by its presentation of products to market. As IT allows ever more staff to work from home (the law obliges firms to consider employees' flexible working requests), don't we run the risk of dissolving the 'glue' which keeps our businesses together?
Navigation
Founding partners
Follow us on:
IT Donut
Small business technology advice, tools and resources | IT Donut
Copyright © 2010-2012
Comments
@Martin, thanks for the positive reply to my points. I agree that more ad hoc renting is occuring as I see it (and do it) myself. I know I am in IT, but a laptop, a WiFi link (or dongle) and a cup of Java and I can actually work anywhere. I have setup camp some days in Service areas, Regus locations or even a client premesis. Fixed offices are not necessary to DO the work, but help to reflect ON the work. That's my take anyway.
@Mark - agreed, it's not all one-way traffic. Less time spent on admin because you can remotely input sales data is a good example of how IT can actually free up some 'face time'*. Love the distinction between digital immigrants and digital natives, and I take the point about the younger generation. I wonder, though - while the young'uns are more likely to communicate in an entirely digital way, they must first have needed to meet and get to know their colleagues, right?
@Craig - "a greater understanding about your fellow team’s perspective on the work in hand, or their concerns over pending issues" - that's spot on. Perhaps what we'll see is more adhoc renting of serviced office space at the expense of the fixed lease as companies try to get the right balance.
(* Face time - I'm aware that Apple has taken this name for the videoconferencing facility on the new iPhone. Would genuinely easy videoconferencing go some way to solving the problem? Or will it just exacerbate it? Anyone other than Apple and I'd say this was just another doomed attempt to promote videoconferencing to the masses. But seeing as it's Apple, you never know this time...)
I agree with Martin's position. As a business owner who has been in both camps I can see both sides of the argument. I have run our business from both a formal HQ location and in the early days as a Home Working collective of individuals. Both actually delivered the results needed; Both provided a way for the business to deliver its services to clients and in a manner that clients didn’t know (or care) about our physical location.
However, the issues surrounding personal contact, the ability to interact with co-workers and to pick up on issues within the business quickly are all valid. The infamous 'water-cooler moments' can not only be about last night’s TV schedule but also allow a greater understanding about your fellow team's perspective on the work in hand, or their concerns over pending issues.
Fixed offices are costly; Fixed offices can be limiting; But there are many intangible benefits in a fixed office location that means they will always have a place in the commercial world.
You hit on a very real dilemma. Is communication technology actually making us more isolated or more productive? To some extent it depends upon your age. For Digital Natives (those born in the era of computers, video games and the Internet) communicating via technology to a wider audience is second nature. As they enter the workplace they are blurring the lines between work and play. They use the same mobile device to talk to their friends as they do the answer work emails or access their CRM. Sure, it means they could be “at work” 24/7, but also means that they are not tied to a desk or tied to the daily grind of an often environmentally unfriendly commute. It also means that they can be productive in what was previously dead “downtime” such as on buses, waiting to meet clients or drinking a coffee. In fact since 1995 when Maximizer introduced its first mobile CRM solution that exactly what people have been doing with it. However, for some Digital Immigrants (those born in the days before mobile phones, microwaves and downloading) this all-pervading access is a major negative. At 5pm they switch off and leave work behind. Being constantly available is a major invasion of their space, time and liberty. But they also appreciate that this means they can input data to their CRM via a BlackBerry straight after a meeting rather than at the end of the day or end of the week. Thereby freeing them up to do the thing they want like, family, football and friends. Does that make them more in touch or more isolated?
I read some research that the most productive emails were those sent to people who were in the very same office as the sender. You would think that they could just lean over and chat about it! But in this digital age that is not the case. As we all get use to the idea of micro-messaging via SMS, Twitter, Facebook et al we may all get used to meeting at the virtual water cooler rather than the real one.
Add a comment
Not registered? We'll create a new account for you when you add your comment