The changing workplace

The classical scene is engraved in our memory. The father (and the mother) get dressed in the morning, get their morning breakfast, say their good byes, and hop in their cars to "get to work" and at the end of the day, they come back tired and exhausted after a long day "in the office".

Chances are, if you're reading this and you're under the age of 50. You'll likely start seeing this classical scene disappear as more and more companies opt to give their employees the liberty to work from, well, wherever they want to work. So if you pick to work from home, you can.

It's a win-win-win solution. First, for the employee who now doesn't have to beat the clock to get to work. Nor does he/she have to dress up or waste time commuting. They no longer spend money on fuel to get to and from work. Add to that the liberty to live near your favorite school. Landmark or away from the crowded-expensive cities since commuting is no longer an issue. But perhaps the important aspect for parents in particular is to have the capability to be close their family while earning a living. So they won't be wasting any precious moments with the family while trying to support this family.

Second for the business. Now that companies don't have to have huge work spaces equipped with everything from safety gear to furniture, and expenses ranging from utilities to insurance. Let's not forget the rent of the office space. Now companies can downsize their square footage without downsizing their services (or shipping them to the other side of the world).

The final win is for the environment. As we burn less fossil fuel for our cars to get to and from work. We ensure that we have a smaller carbon footprint and that's a huge win by all measures.

But business in particular are raving over these "virtual offices" that they don't have to rent, and they don't need to provide services for. Who wouldn't want to reduce their operating expenses from a thousands per year per employee to hundreds? It makes a lot of business sense. Which means, more and more businesses are going down that path of allowing their employees to go "virtual".

Don't think for a minute that working virtual is in anyway "less" work or requires less time. It's as much work as you could do in the office, perhaps even more.

It just feels great to have your first meeting with your boss while you're still in your boxers! But for my father, that's is a very wierd concept that defies everything he's done for decades.

All I can say is ... the world keeps changing