Technology has changed the world in numerous ways, one of which is that the resources of a physical office are often unnecessary to get the job done. Now, most people only need a computer and an internet connection.
If you are management still forcing employees to show up so you can prove that they are working, you are operating with blinders on. I’m not saying that having an office is bad, what I’m saying is that forbidding employees from working at home is silly. What do you really care about? Do you care that you can supervise someone or that they get the job done?
My company, True Voice Media, works with a virtual team from all over the place. Do we meet up from time to time? Absolutely. Am I requiring it? Absolutely not. It’s often a waste of people’s time to meet when meeting isn’t a necessity. Think about how wasteful travel time really is; what does sitting in traffic really accomplish?. Think about how much money is wasted on dry cleaning when the same job could be completed by someone in their PJs. Think about how much time is wasted on irrelevant meetings that only result in…MORE MEETINGS.
Face time is outdated and unnecessary, and in the spirit of Stephen Colbert, “I’m putting it on notice.”
