Should Offices Continue to Exist?

Virtualization of the office has never been this close to becoming a reality. Thousands of companies across the world are starting to embrace the idea that centralization of the work effort is not essential to managing an effective and successful enterprise. Cloud computing, server colocation, and mobile internet connections are making digital management methods the dominating force in market achievement. Every year, more and more businesses are throwing their office furniture into self storage units and forgoing the office in exchange for the flexibility of working remotely and outsourcing many responsibilities.

For start-ups it's all about the money. Maintaining an office environment is an expensive investment and continual cost for fresh enterprises that don't yet have a large amount of disposable capital to fuel their monthly bills. The typical office space rental can be hundreds and even thousands of dollars a month. The end result is a unit wherein everyone connects to the Internet and communicates via email and other electronic means. What's the point exactly? There's thousands of dollars that could be saved just from cutting the costs of keeping an office up and running.

Proponents of the office will tell you it's the only way for businesses to ensure they can control productivity rates. The controlling end of that argument might be true, but studies have actually indicated that those that work remotely are more productiveon account of being happier. The idea that an office is the only way to motivate workers to perform better is ridiculous when you consider that what drives people to work harder has nothing to do with oppressive managerial practices and everything to do with positive motivation and reduced stress.

But the health benefits of getting rid of the office don't stop at the mere subtraction of stress. Office buildings are literally hazards to your health. Sealed windows and doors plus re-circulated air equals air quality that's rated worsethan the air outside if you lived in a city. The particles emitted by scores of printers has been identified as being more harmful than cigarette smoke. Sitting for hours at a time has been linked to increased instances of heart disease and cancer.

Then there's the future. The office-free workforce is where we are ultimately headed. Outsourcing and contractual labor might become the dominant methods of employment on Earth. It won't be a one-way street either; virtualization opens the door for international transition of employment without the hassles of actual international transition of person. The way technology exists today ensures that in one or two decades time the office will be as archaic as the typewriter.  Many people think this way including Jennifer Tresh who is a business owner her self. 

Deciding entrepreneurial action always comes down to one choice: either you'll be at the forefront of the future or remain a passive part of the present. Virtualization of the office is the future. Make it part of your present business.