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One day offices will be a thing of the past

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Re: One day offices will be a thing of the past

#31

Post by alan_cx »

We make machines to replace workers, for lots of really great reasons. But, where does that end?

I'm struggling to think of a task that a machine cant or wont be able to do. I cant get further than art and thinking up things for machines to do, but even then I'm not so sure. I'm sure even philosophical issues could eventually be determined by a computer program. Robots can perform most mundane tasks, and equally highly complex tasks we cant even do. We even have machines that design and build machines.

So yeah, offices will be a thing of the past, because workers will be a thing of the past. Well, just a few workers who watch over the machines. But, wont they be deemed inefficient?

Re: One day offices will be a thing of the past

#32

Post by msrpotus »

binxbolling wrote: post #28

Apparently I'm an anomaly, but I like going to the office. Currently my company's offices are utter shit, but I'm still not opposed to the concept in general... and I still come in despite the less-than-inspiring setup we have at the moment. I think what's crucial here, however, is that I don't extrapolate my "I prefer to work in an office" sentiment to everyone, like Bloomberg does. Furthermore, I'm lucky in that I…

I agree. Having worked in great offices, not-so-great offices, and currently working on my own (i.e. from coffee shops, coworking spaces, and at home), working with other people at an office isn't horrible. Not something I always want to do, but also not something that I would want to rule out.

Re: One day offices will be a thing of the past

#33

Post by StacyC »

ollysb wrote: post #9
jmaskell wrote: post #5

A lot of proponents of home working seem to ignore one of the big reasons people may want to work in a centralised space (be it an office, co-working space, somewhere else..) - the interaction with other people. I hate working at home - I get cabin fever, bored and lonely. I prefer being around other people and having that interaction (IM, video calls just aren't the same). I like a change of scenery during the day.…

I work remotely but I have space in a shared office about 10 minutes walk from my house. This means I never have to a long commute, can work from home or work around others when I want a bit of company. In terms of working conditions this seems to be the best of both worlds.

This sounds absolutely perfect.

Re: One day offices will be a thing of the past

#34

Post by jbattle »

StacyC wrote: post #29

I love working from home and also enjoy the occasional day in the office with my peers. But I prefer to work at home most of the time. Avoiding the daily commute is a wonderful thing.

I actually like my commute most days - I spend half an hour walking outside, and half an hour reading (each way). Those are good things I might not otherwise make time for. But if I had to drive, that same hour would be intolerable.

Re: One day offices will be a thing of the past

#35

Post by jbattle »

dugmartin wrote: post #21
jbattle wrote: post #11

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I can't imagine the pain of having to assemble a team of freelancers every three-nine months for the next iteration on some product/project. Unless the freelancers are utterly interchangeable, which is a pretty awful vision (people think they are cogs now?). When you want to organize a team you'd spend 25% of your time just assembling a team. The freelancers themselves would also spend tons of time waiting for a team…

That sounds exactly like a movie production. I'm sure they have figured out how to bring teams back together for sequels.

Movies take years to produce. At least from what I've seen, people switch jobs every 3-6 years. So not much different really. I agree that the 25+ year tenure at a company is by and large gone for good.

Re: One day offices will be a thing of the past

#36

Post by tribaal »

ollysb wrote: post #9
jmaskell wrote: post #5

A lot of proponents of home working seem to ignore one of the big reasons people may want to work in a centralised space (be it an office, co-working space, somewhere else..) - the interaction with other people. I hate working at home - I get cabin fever, bored and lonely. I prefer being around other people and having that interaction (IM, video calls just aren't the same). I like a change of scenery during the day.…

I work remotely but I have space in a shared office about 10 minutes walk from my house. This means I never have to a long commute, can work from home or work around others when I want a bit of company. In terms of working conditions this seems to be the best of both worlds.

I do the same, and find it invaluable to be able to spontaneously decide where to work in the mornings.

Re: One day offices will be a thing of the past

#37

Post by pionar »

talmand wrote: post #24
csallen wrote: post #16

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Hypothetically speaking, in a society in which "offices were a thing of the past", a problem so common as loneliness would likely be solved in a multitude of ways. Perhaps by changes in social conventions (e.g. friends working from each other's places) or by entrepreneurs directly attacking the problem (e.g. more coffee shops with fast internet, better tools for being social from home, etc).

That's the same argument that is often heard against home-schooling, the lack of socialization with other kids. What such people tend to not realize, or ignore, is that there are opportunities for kids to get socialization other than through school. True, it requires some effort on the parent's part but that doesn't mean they are not there. If you work remote then there are avenues for socialization outside of an off…

The problem, though, is that there's no "forced" interaction with others outside your own interests/background.

When I was in school, I was a white kid from a white neighborhood in a school that was 50% black. Had I been homeschooled, even if I had interactions outside of home, I would not have been exposed to the diversity of cultures.

I feel this will lead to a form of tribalism.

Re: One day offices will be a thing of the past

#39

Post by purephase »

johnward wrote: post #22

One day jobs will be a thing of the past. How will our current society adapt when we reach a point that we are so productive that we don't need everyone to work?

As idyllic as that sounds, they've been predicting that since the start of the industrial revolution and the trend has continued in the opposite direction.

Manufacturing desires and trumping economic needs over social goods is so entrenched now that I doubt most people would choose a more relaxed lifestyle over the next shiny bauble dangled in front of them.

I wish it were not so, but I see little to no evidence to the contrary.

Re: One day offices will be a thing of the past

#40

Post by Fishkins »

untog wrote: post #17
citricsquid wrote: post #14

Choice empowers people and makes for a more content workforce. ... people are going to look back and wonder why offices ever existed The choice employees make is always going to be to work from home? Surely forced attendance at an office every day 9 - 5 will be looked back on as something that should never have existed, but offices disappearing completely seems unlikely.

Agreed. I enjoy working in an office environment. My ideal would maybe be four days in the office instead of five, but I wouldn't want to go without it entirely.

That setup works well for me. I work from home Mon and/or Fri, and I'm always in the office Tue through Thur. It's nice to save some commute time and being able to really focus on coding, but I think I'd go crazy doing it every day. There are also lots of conversations I have with coworkers that wouldn't happen if I were never in the office.
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