The Odyssey of the Office: Our Workplace Evolving in Time

THE ODYSSEY OUR WORKPLACE, EVOLVING IN TIME OF THE OFFICE EVER WONDER HOW WORK "WORKED" 30 YEARS AGO? The modern office has evolved a great deal in a short span of time. And at the rate it's changing, we can only imagine where it will evolve to next. New software, tools and advancements in tech have created more efficiency, collaboration and increased employee engagement for companies across the world. The question is, do you have to be physically in an office to do work? Not anymore. See how work has evolved from the years of a rolodex and a landline to the coming years of virtual reality and web 3.0. YESTERDAY Even in the late 20th century, office workers faced many of today's top challenges, including: COMMUNICATION OVER LONG FILE-KEEPING AND TRACKING AND SHORT DISTANCES Cubicles and c-suites defined the offices of yesterday, the comfort-zone of Baby Boomers and Generation X. In a culture marked by solitary employees individually working toward a common goal, things like workplace couch-surfing, Web browsing, and personal music-listening were taboo. BUT PIONEERING TECHNOLOGY BROUGHT INNOVATIVE WORKFLO W CAPABILITIES. 1971 E-MAIL 1972 WORD PROCESSOR 1973 FIRST PERSONAL COMPUTER 1983 CAMCORDER 1984 APPLE MACINTOSH COMPUTER 1985 MICROSOFT WINDOWS SOFTWARE 1988 DIGITAL CELLULAR PHONES 1990 WORLD WIDE WEB 1994 PDAS 1995 DVDS TODAY A paradise that until recently seemed just a dream-standing desks, living room-style workspaces, and remote working capabilities reign supreme in today's open office blueprint. THE MILLENNIAL OFFICE'S FOCUS ON SOCIAL COLLABORATION GOES HAND-IN-HAND WITH RISING TECH TRENDS TO SPUR OPENNESS AND CREATIVITY. GPS 2001 SKYPE 2003 TiVo 2004 FACEBOOK 2004 YOUTUBE 2005 APPLE IPHONE 2007 • With smartphones came mobile apps-all 1.6 million of them. Many focus on productivity, helping us more efficiently plan and execute our days. GOOGLE DRIVE (commonplace file-sharing platforms) 2012 $131 billion economic impact nationwide MAINSTREAM COLLABORATION TOOLS AND APPS 2013 •Collaboration technology allows us to work wherever, whenever. •80% of employees consider having the flexibility to telecommute a job perk. STANDING DESKS 2015 . BUT AS ANY OFFICE WORKER WILL TELL YOU, WE STILL FACE MANY OBSTACLES AND CONTINUE TO PERFECT THE ARTS OF MULTITASKING AND COLLABORATION. Shifting between tasks can suck up to 40% of someone's productive time, according to the American Psychological Association. Only an estimated 2% of the population is actually proficient at multitasking, while the rest inefficiently juggle too many tasks. TOMORROW With Millennials comprising nearly half of the U.S. workforce (46%) by 2020, how will the future workplace adapt? GAUGING TECHNOLOGY'S ADVANCEMENTS IS DIFFICULT, BUT WE DO HAVE AN IDEA OF THINGS T O COME. 2016 WEARABLE TECHNOLOGY 2017 VIRTUAL REALITY 2018 LIGHT PEAK TECHNOLOGY Enabling data transfers up to 100 gigabytes per second, less wait time means more productivity. 2019 MAINSTREAM AI Multitasking will soar to new levels with automated technology in average electronic devices. 2020 WEB 3.0 New Web-browsing capabilities and experiences are still to come. WITH THE GROWTH OF REMOTE WORK AND VIRTUAL OFFICES, COMPANIES ARE SEEING AN OPPORTUNITY TO REMOVE PHYSICAL OFFICE LOCATIONS FROM THEIR OVERHEAD. WILL WE EVEN NEED OFFICES OR WILL WE WORK COLLABORATIVELY OVER THE WEB? ONLY TECHNOLOGY AND TIME WILL TELL. Sources: "A Brief History of the Office," Deskmag, 2013 jive "Costs and Benefits," Global Workplace Analytics, 2015 "Google Economic Impacts 2014," Google, 2015 "The Evolution of the Office," Archdaily, 2014 work better together" "Welcome to the Social Media Revolution," BBC, 2012