“Kahlil Gibran, in “The Prophet,” wrote: “Love is work made visible.” Whether he meant that love is work or that work is the expression of love, it’s a good reminder that our work and the place where we do that work is a huge and important part of our lives”. (http://jessarch.wordpress.com/2012/10/12/thesis-statement/). What are the benefits, features, and other aspects of office of the future? Some of the benefits, features, and other aspects of a virtual office that I want to take a look at are: the definition of a virtual office, technology and it’s role, people’s view of the future office, Microsoft’s view, an effective workspace, the flexibility of a virtual office, and what you might find/see in your office of the future.

“A virtual office is a combination of off-site live communication and address services that allow users to reduce traditional office costs while maintaining business professionalism.[1] Frequently the term is confused with “office business centers” or “executive suites” which demand a conventional lease whereas a true virtual office does not require that expense” (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Virtual_office). Virtual office is the new office of the future. Although a virtual office has been around for a while, it has not been used by everyone because when the concept was adopted, there was not much technology developed yet to support it.

Now, with the increasing amount of technology for home use, now companies can move more jobs to this form of an office. The most common careers using virtual office is customer service representative’s jobs. A plan is put into place when designing what an office should look like in the future. When a company designs a model for a project; there is also a model designed for future offices. Corporate America has designers to create an office. What I love is that Corporate also has to consider what an executor or manager will be like in the future in order to create a space for them.

“Think back just 15 years and picture a workplace with bulky computers — few of which were connected to the Internet — cumbersome wires, and oversized fax machines and copiers. Today, outdated equipment has been replaced with flat screens, wireless devices and high-tech conferencing systems. Ten years from now, modern devices will give way to more advanced technologies such as multilingual and sensory-recognition software that allows work to be conducted more efficiently — potentially meaning less people required to do a job. “More employers are embracing technology as a way to not hire as many people,” Gioia says. “In the future, interior designers will need to think about how these expanded technologies must be incorporated into the spaces they are designing” (http://www.iida.org/content.cfm/the-workplace-of-the-future). This article goes on to describe the top “Emerging Technologies in the work place”. Let’s go through and name each and give what each of them means. “Sensory-Recognition Software; this is where computers in the future will increasingly be able to respond to voice, handwriting, fingerprint and optical input” (http://www.iida.org/content.cfm/the-workplace-of-the-future). “Knowbots.” These future programs scan databases to filter and retrieve information for users. For example, the program could summarize key points of a report, and deliver an e-mail and voicemail to the device a user is working on. “Smart devices”. Computers will use algorithm-based programs to learn the relationships between words and phrases, creating a smoother interface and enabling users to conduct more effective information searches. “Miniature wireless communication tools”. These future devices will combine, for example, a personal computer, phone, fax, scanner, electronic organizer and camera all in one. “Wireless everywhere”. Users can connect to the office in taxis, in buses, on planes, in parks, in building lobbies or even on beaches. “Interactive office spaces”. By 2020, offices will be embedded with sensors that monitor and maintain the environment, including temperature, humidity and lighting. For example, a sensor in a desk chair could detect back tension and signal the chair to give a massage. “Virtual conferencing technology”. Offices may be equipped with walk-in facilities outfitted with wall-sized screens that project 360-degree views of video conference participants. “Automated business process management”. Collaborative software will streamline the process by which teams work together on documents, eliminating the need for email as the means of document transmission and sharing”( http://www.iida.org/content.cfm/the-workplace-of-the-future). It is interesting to see the emerging technologies perspective. “Future technology will transform the office environment. Offices are major innovators in technology. Whether they seek to create new products that customers will buy or work to improve their own office processes, many offices consistently embrace change. Information technology has allowed businesses to communicate over long distances cheaply and instantaneously, and they may be able to accomplish other tasks at a distance” (http://www.ehow.com/list_7696572_future-technology-changes-office.html#ixzz2MW5i40KI).

Automation

“Technology has automated various jobs in almost all areas of business. With automation, businesses can carry out necessary tasks with fewer workers, thus cutting down the costs of hiring employees and paying out benefits. However, this automation might increase unemployment. Employment losses have already begun. Forbes reported that companies such as McDonald's employed 400,000 employees in 2008, while Google employed only 20,000 employees, demonstrating how more technology-oriented companies tend to use fewer employees. The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) has projected that between 2008 and 2018, chemical manufacturing employment will decline by 13 percent, automotive manufacturing employment will decline by 16 percent and machinery manufacturing employment will decline by 8 percent. The BLS reported that these declines primarily come from improvements in production technology.

Information Technology

Information technology has increased the speed at which companies can communicate and also has cut costs on information storage. Also, future technology advances minimize office dependence on paper, which not only reduces waste but also allows information to be transmitted more quickly. As offices become more networked, they will more easily communicate with other offices. As a result, these offices might become more interconnected, which will foster more cooperation between offices.

Product Development

Future technology creates new industries as these advances lead to the development of new products. For example, the multi-billion dollar computer industry did not exist until computers were invented. New technological advancements can create new offices devoted to developing, testing and marketing new products. As robotics become more affordable and useful, more robotic technology might enter the market.

Security Technology

Technological advancements in computer security have reduced the number of computer crimes that cost businesses money. Also, as future technology advances, bandwidth and other technological resources become cheaper and criminal attacks such as denial of service attacks have a smaller impact. Companies continue to develop more secure systems so that customers can give companies personal information without fearing identity theft. This has increased customer bases for various companies, especially companies that operate entirely online.
Green Technologies Companies have increasingly moved towards innovating processes that minimize waste. This waste minimization saves the company money and also reduces the environmental impact that the company has on the Earth. Composting techniques have allowed many companies to transform waste into compost that can be used to grow food and perform other actions beneficial to the environment.

RFID Technology

RFID technology is allowing offices to more closely monitor products than ever before. This RFID technology can help businesses monitor the performance of products, provide updates to the products and analyzing products for potential defects. Businesses might also be able to power products at a distance with advancements in wireless power transmission.
Artificial Intelligence.

Artificial intelligence will provide automated thinking for offices. The more advanced the artificial intelligence becomes, the more tasks the artificial intelligence programs will be able to perform. Recent advances have helped detect credit card fraud by comparing credit card purchases with past credit card behavior. Businesses are seeking to implement artificial intelligence in areas where human workers cannot survive, such as in areas with insufficient oxygen and physical space. Artificially intelligent robots may play a large role in elder care, allowing a robot to perform actions that elderly patients cannot, allowing the patient to avoid the nursing home. This will stimulate growth in new industries”. (http://www.ehow.com/list_7696572_future-technology-changes-office.html#ixzz2MW7dwnuf). The items listed above gives a detail description of how technology plays a role in the office of the future.

What is employee and people saying and loving about the office of the future? It all depends on who you talk to. Some people are clueless about what the office of the future consists of, some have not thought about it, others are already planning it out, and many already have a virtual office. My personal favorite is a transferable virtual office. By that I mean, I can move from a cubicle to my home office or anywhere and back to my office at work without losing any information and which can be updated and I can have access to all my information no matter where I am. I have a cousin that works at the Federal Court House and she works in the Human Resource Department and her workstation is set up that all information she works on in a cubicle can be easily picked up and be set up at a coffee house or her home office and have the same access as she did at her cubicle desk. She is not limited. Everything on her laptop is on her IPAD, and her workstation at the court house. I would love to have a job like that. This is why I love my current college, Columbia College Missouri Online because I can study anywhere without having to miss class as long as I follow the syllabus provided by the course I am taking. “Central to understanding what the future workplace will look like knows who will inhabit the spaces. Experts say one thing is certain: The workforce will be more diverse than ever, with multiple generations, cultures and ethnicities working side by side. Gioia predicts the variety won’t stop there. “The workforce will be increasingly diverse in terms of not only old and young, but heavy/slim, sighted/not sighted and more people with disabilities,” she says” (http://www.iida.org/content.cfm/the-workplace-of-the-future). The experts say that the evolving workspace will be functional for most ages but “Across the globe, the working age population(ages 20-64) will continue to diminish in numbers up through year 2050 according to Workforce Crisis” ( http://www.iida.org/content.cfm/the-workplace-of-the-future). This is what is happening because not everyone is able to keep up with the advancement of technology.

To my amazement, Microsoft’s CIO’s are using social business to design future offices. It has been reported that if companies do not configure how the world is changing when it comes to their environment; then they are creating problems for themselves. “The MTC demonstrations are leading to a rush of new technology implementations. “Every square foot is built around some element of the customer’s decision making process,” Hecktman explains, “we’re reducing the risk for businesses to quickly prepare and implement Microsoft technologies” (http://www.forbes.com/sites/markfidelman/2012/05/24/microsofts-view-of-the-future-workplace-is-brilliant-heres-why-2/). “Microsoft and IBM are talking about this. What I’ve seen in my research with executives and MTC Directors is that the world is moving faster, product cycles are shorter, and yet the workplace is still built for slower moving organizations. I can say with confidence that the workplace has to change dramatically in order to remain effective” (http://www.forbes.com/sites/markfidelman/2012/05/24/microsofts-view-of-the-future-workplace-is-brilliant-heres-why-2/2/). Microsoft uses Humanities and Science to develop smart workspaces for the future. “And that space doesn’t align with the social business transformation taking place around the world. The workplace of tomorrow will need to adapt to the new more social and mobile environment, while remaining flexible to accommodate different situations” (http://www.forbes.com/sites/markfidelman/2012/05/24/microsofts-view-of-the-future-workplace-is-brilliant-heres-why-2/). Now, let’s take a look at 10 reasons why the workspace has to change according to Microsoft. “We’re going to be measuring emotional IQ in the workplace: Happiness and sentiment for the enterprise? Sounds sappy right? But it’s going to happen. There are companies working on this now -because you get what you measure. And if you measure employee happiness to changes in their work and physical environments, management can make the necessary changes to increase productivity. Using the data, ethical leaders will rebalance the work environment to support greater collaboration, serendipitous encounters, informal knowledge flows and more profit.

Environmental Changes Needed- Sensors in the workplace that measure how people are using spaces and infrequently query employees on sentiment for a given topic.

The right information will find us:

The user interface of the workplace is a major inhibitor to growth. Because people are not working on the most important things at the optimal time with the optimal people that can solve the problem. Why? Because we don’t know – what we need to know – unless we know to search for it. But information in the future will find us by checking our calendar for meetings and people, looking at our activity streams for trends, and studying the rest of the organization for information and people that may be important to our job.
Technological Changes- Big Data will become Smart Data and all of that information being aggregated by social platforms (SharePoint, Connections, Yammer, etc.), email (harmon.ie, Gmail, etc.), sensors in the workplace and mobile devices will soon be used to increase workforce effectiveness. Most companies are going paperless and all data is transferred as digital. The workplace will reinforce corporate goals and strategy:

Based on a recent study by Chris Zook of Bain, only 40% of the workforce knew about the corporation’s goals, strategies and tactics. Imagine if you had a football team, where only 4 in 10 knew what the game plan was. A physical environment that reinforces strategies and tactics and prioritizes them is paramount.

Environmental Changes- Using Smart Data analytic's, digital screens and surfaces in the work environment will automatically display goals and strategies in the context of a meeting. Changes to strategy will automatically be sent to an affected employee’s mobile device in order to reduce inefficiencies.

Employees will provide vastly higher levels of real time feedback:
Command and control management models will disappear over time. Employees will gain the ability to provide real time feedback to management through social platforms, mobile devices and automatically through their digital behavior (Smart Data will capture this). These feedback mechanisms will be built right into their work flow processes. Management will use that feedback to become more agile and adaptive to changing market conditions.

Cultural Changes- Management will encourage employees to provide consistent and relevant feedback on projects, customers and the organization’s strategy and tactics.

Mobile devices will interact with our physical environments:
Why is it that we still can’t capture and interact with notes produced in our physical environments? Sure we can snap a picture of a whiteboard, but the picture doesn’t understand the contents of the whiteboard. That’s going to change. Harald Becker, who leads business strategy for Microsoft Office Labs showed me how mobile devices are interacting with smart boards and screens placed around a room. The technology enables bi-directional content sharing from screen to mobile devices with the press of a button. This will enable far greater collaboration and information capture for both manager and employee.

Environmental Changes- Digital smart boards and screens will need to be placed around the workplace. Mobile apps will need to be downloaded in order to interact with them.

Organizations will become fast learners:

Everyone has heard Hewlett Packard’s Lou Platt famous quip: “If only HP knew what HP knows, we would be three times more productive”. Even today, there’s a lot of information created that is stored in digital silos. But with the forthcoming aggregation and analysis solutions hitting the market soon, the ability to turn organizational learning’s and continuous improvement into repeatable patterns is right around the corner. Soon, teams will be able to quickly learn and build on the ideation work of others simply by pulling it up on their desktop, mobile device or smart board.

Environmental and Technological Changes- Digital smart boards and screens will need to be placed around the workplace. Social platforms will be querying and aggregating social information from ERP systems, CRM solutions, enterprise apps, and mobile devices to provide employees with relevant information.

Gamification in the workplace will go mainstream:

Imagine if leader boards were placed around the company ranking teams’ net promoter score with employees, customers, partners or suppliers. If you’re in the bottom half, you can easily pull up and review the game plan from the high performing teams. It’s already happening. Companies are beginning to understand the power to solve a variety of business problems by encouraging the right user behavior through the use of gamification principles.

Technological Changes- Companies like Bunchball provide plug and play gamification for a variety of social platforms
.
The workplace will help you build relationships:

The new role of management is to facilitate the finding of solutions; not to dictate them. The new role of management is to facilitate “connections”, to match people with the right skills and abilities to projects where those skills are most needed. The new role of management is to remove hurdles to engagement by building approvals mechanisms into workflows. Management won’t do this alone. They will leverage new technologies that automatically introduce employees to employees, partners and suppliers in order to build relationships that help you and the organization become more effective.

Technological Changes- Smart Data and social aggregation solutions will suggest people and partners to follow, connect with and engage – in situations enterprise wide.

Work spaces that support the visualization of ideas.

It’s aggravating to be in a brainstorming situation with your colleagues when inspiration strikes and there is no way to capture the ideas visually. The future workplace will support spaces that materialize a team’s ideas while remaining fluid so that teams can move in and out of concepts. These spaces will allow virtual notes and ‘content as objects’ to be shared on screens and smart boards – giving the team the ability to animate the ‘objects’ to test and improve on concepts. The best ideas and content will be moved into digital collaborative environments for further study, improvements and perhaps new products or micro-improvements to processes.
Technological Changes- Motion sensing technologies like Kinect combined with smart boards and mobile devices. Adaptive work spaces will adjust to its intended purpose:

Becker showed me a ceiling grid system that at the press of a button, moved curtain walls, increased Wi-Fi bandwidth, changed the lighting and set up a smart board with the previous day’s work. There will be more systems like this developed to accommodate a more fluid workplace. Flexible work spaces that change according to need. Think of these flexible work spaces as providing the right infrastructure, physical environment, tools and content to complete a meeting objective.

Environmental Changes- There are companies that are starting to provide adaptive workplaces. Social business platforms and mobile solutions will soon interact with these spaces as well” (http://www.forbes.com/sites/markfidelman/2012/05/24/microsofts-view-of-the-future-workplace-is-brilliant-heres-why-2/2/). After researching this information, I would love to be able to work for Microsoft and be on the committee that helps design the offices of the future. I never know what is in-store for me for the future! “The best workplaces find a way to integrate their organization’s culture and mission. In the future, these workspaces will also help your workforce to become more effective. An adaptive workplace – where physical objectives and software adapt to the working style of the organization and not the other way around. Work in the workplace will become more human and more results oriented. In the end, the future workplace will be more of a digital and analytical environment that smartly enables more innovation, more collaboration, and more learning opportunities that increase competitiveness and your bottom line. It will remind employees that the business does not exist in a vacuum and will set organizational priorities. Investment in social business platforms and mobile solutions are great – we’re finally on the right path. But ignoring the workplace infrastructure to accommodate them will be a missed opportunity. We have to move away from the Mad Men era office, to digital workplaces that take advantage of the entire social, mobile and content being produced by an organization’s greatest asset. Its employees” (http://www.forbes.com/sites/markfidelman/2012/05/24/microsofts-view-of-the-future-workplace-is-brilliant-heres-why-2/2/). Other companies are jumping onboard to reorganize the office of the future.

How flexible is the office of the future? In my opinion very flexible; because if companies offer the office of the future with flexibility, then employees will be more productive. Of course, you will have some employee’s that would try to take advantage of the option; those are the employees that you do not want. I have to admit, having the option of studying my MBA online is very challenging, it is not easy but the difference is I have a goal. When I make up in my mind that I am going to achieve it, I will sacrifice some things to achieve it. So you see this is my example of flexibility; studying for an MBA online. The same principle applies to flexibility of the office. It’s not easy but it is attainable with all the right resources and the desires to work hard and meet the goals of the company. Being flexible also means being willing to train on new software or equipment provided by companies. Some companies are setting up testing stations before interviewing candidates. If the candidates do not pass the required test, then the company feels there is no need to move to the next phase in the hiring process which would be an interview. The best way an individual can be flexible is to do their homework; do your research on the company and find out everything you can, brush up on your skills that are required for the position. Prepare, prepare is the best way to the flexibility process. Rick Newman describes different features you might see in an office of the future. “Companies aren’t just streamlining their space-they’re revamping their offices to compete better, get more out of workers and keep up with the times, here’s what you might find in you next office”( http://money.usnews.com/money/business-economy/slideshows/the-office-of-the-future). “The decline of the cubicle. Sales of the Ubiquitous cubicle have dropped from 37 percent of all office furniture in 2000 to 26 percent today. At many companies, such as this Accenture office in Houston, open work areas let people communicate more easily. And they’re more attractive than rows of grey, partitioned workstations” (http://money.usnews.com/money/business-economy/slideshows/the-office-of-the-future/2). “More gathering space. Workers used to shuttle between their workstations and conference rooms for meetings. Now, companies are setting up more gathering areas in “in between” spaces, where workers can hold informal meetings or plop down with laptops (http://money.usnews.com/money/business-economy/slideshows/the-office-of-the-future/3).

“Work Lounges. At some companies, sofas and other cozy furniture are an inviting alternative to the traditional desk. But don’t get too comfortable: The key to work lounges is that work actually gets done there” (http://money.usnews.com/money/business-economy/slideshows/the-office-of-the-future/4). “Less time for games. In the dot-com era, pig pong and foosball tables signified the “work hard, play hard” approach to work. But in today’s lean environment, companies are cutting the superfluities and focusing on getting the job done” (http://money.usnews.com/money/business-economy/slideshows/the-office-of-the-future/5). “Less personal space. At the New York offices of Vayner Media, an internet-branding firm, workers cluster around tables that let them face each other and talk freely. Many companies that mash workers together also reserve a few private offices for confidential discussions or personal phone calls” (http://money.usnews.com/money/business-economy/slideshows/the-office-of-the-future/6). “The “Wormhole”. This is a workstation dedicated to online videoconferencing. With a connection to other key offices around the world that’s always on or ready to go. “Telepresence is a big deal, says Jim Keane, president of office-products company steel case. It lets you cut costs, with less travel” (http://money.usnews.com/money/business-economy/slideshows/the-office-of-the-future/7). “Electronic white board. Forget magic markers. With an electronic version of the ubiquitous whiteboard, a laptop screen can be projected onto the board for everybody in a meeting to see. An “electronic pen” functions as the mouse. Moving stuff around” (http://money.usnews.com/money/business-economy/slideshows/the-office-of-the-future/8). “Standing-room meeting table. Instead of slouching and suppressing the desire to get up, you can easily slide off your stool or adjust your posture at these tables the height of a lunch counter or bar” (http://money.usnews.com/money/business-economy/slideshows/the-office-of-the-future/9). “Work benches. Instead of cubicles, some firms find that long tables, with roving plugs for laptops and no legs or obstructions underneath, offer a more productive and comfortable place to work. They can also accommodate more or fewer workers” (http://money.usnews.com/money/business-economy/slideshows/the-office-of-the-future/10). “The “Walk station”. Need more multitasking? Then climb aboard a workstation, where you can get some exercise on a treadmill while answering an email on an ergonomically placed computer. No kidding” (http://money.usnews.com/money/business-economy/slideshows/the-office-of-the-future/11). “Shared Offices. Why waste space? With more workers logging in remotely, firms are splitting offices among workers who show up on different days” (http://money.usnews.com/money/business-economy/slideshows/the-office-of-the-future/12). “More Glass. Transparent walls and doors are supposed to create the impression of openness and approachability. So go ahead, bring that radical new idea to the boss” (http://money.usnews.com/money/business-economy/slideshows/the-office-of-the-future/13). “The diner booth. A few firms are filling hallways or other open areas with booths, just like you’d find in a restaurant. They’re inviting places to chat with colleagues or pack on your laptop for an hour or two” (http://money.usnews.com/money/business-economy/slideshows/the-office-of-the-future/14. “The empty office. With widespread cutbacks, a bit of office real estate is even more valuable today. “The ultimate status symbol may now be an empty private office,” says Jim Keane of Steelcase. “You have one, but you don’t have to go there” (http://money.usnews.com/money/business-economy/slideshows/the-office-of-the-future/15). This just a few things you will see in the office of the future. Some people stated that they would love to incorporate “free coffee” in the office of the future. In conclusion, I have absolutely enjoyed researching about the benefits, features, and other aspects of the office of the future; which I included the definition of a virtual office, technology and it’s role, people’s view of the future office, Microsoft’s view, an effective workspace, the flexibility of a virtual office, and what you might find/see in your office of the future. I quoted some interesting information about future offices that I felt needed to be included in this research paper. With the changing of technology can be exciting on one hand but can be frustrating if you have a hard time adapting. Nothing stays the same, so it is best to figure out the details now than later. What I am learning now about offices of the future will be nonexistence in about 2-5 years from now. I hope I have captured your attention by letting you see a preview of our future offices and what has already been implemented in some companies which is vastly catching on each day.

Works Cited

http://www.livescience.com/4009-intelligent-workplace-office-future.html

http://www.ehow.com/list_7696572_future-technology-changes-office.html

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Virtual_office

http://www.forbes.com/sites/markfidelman/2012/05/24/microsofts-view-of-the-future-workplace-is-brilliant-heres-why-2/

http://www.iida.org/content.cfm/the-workplace-of-the-future

http://jessarch.wordpress.com/2012/10/12/thesis-statement/

http://money.usnews.com/money/business-economy/slideshows/the-office-of-the-future