With the strides that society is making in technology it is
not surprising to also see an evolution in the work environment of men and
women. A decade ago it was necessary for employees to commute to the office
every day. Fortunately, technology has offered us an alternative. Workers now
have the flexibility to work remotely from places such as their home.
Recently, I had a close brush with a black and white furry creature that made me very grateful for this flexibility. I have gotten into the habit of jogging along a creek trail in the morning before work. In addition to the hordes of feral cats living along the trail, I have also come across a raccoon, a possum, and a couple of skunks.
One very dark morning I didn’t see the skunk until I heard a growling noise to my right. Turning quickly I was dismayed to see the wrong end of the skunk with its tail raised. Needless to say, I put on a burst of speed and don’t need to repeat the thoughts going through my head. Luckily for me, the skunk decided to play nice and didn’t spray.
It was as I was jogging home that I began to ponder what I would have done if things had turned out differently. My first thought was to wonder if the tomato juice remedy actually works. The second was to consider what I would have done about my job, since it is unlikely my colleagues would have welcomed me in the office. Several years ago I probably would have been forced to take the day off. Now, that would not have been necessary with the increasing resources that technology offers us.
Workers today have the luxury of enjoying greater mobility than the previous generation. Tools such as laptops, wireless Internet, email, communal servers and call forwarding allow employees to work from home, and still have access to all of the same resources that they would at the office.
As more and more people take advantage of this flexibility, it raises a question of how the work environment will look in another 10 or 20 years with even greater advances in technology. Will the physical offices of certain sectors of the workforce still remain, or will the growing trend of working remotely have caused them to become obsolete?
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