Reworking the Work Space

Abstract

In today’s world of expensive real estate, the ideal of a private office for every employee is a thing of the past. Today, many companies are evaluating how their real-estate assets are actually used and reaching the conclusion that they are not used much at all. In the lean and mean 1990s, chief financial officers across the country are investing in proactive fixed-asset management. They are developing strategies that streamline operations and use resources more efficiently. Consequently, a new set of buzzwords has entered the management lexicon: “shared office,” “virtual office,” “hoteling,” “telecommuting.” A concept common to these new design approaches is that the individual employee no longer has a personally assigned office on a long-term basis. Much like cellular telephones that free telephone conversations from the constraints of a fixed location, organizations are separating work from a fixed office. According to many surveys, employees who telecommute or work from virtual offices at their clients’ facilities are usually more productive than employees in traditional offices because they lose less time to interruptions and meetings. The implementation of alternative workplace arrangements could increase worker satisfaction, improving employee retention and recruiting activities. The savings in rent and other facilities costs are also major potential benefits.