Virtual offices at home

The children turn sleepily in their beds as the alarm goes off at an early hour in the morning. Daddy is soon having a shower and shave i...

The children turn sleepily in their beds as the alarm goes off at an early hour in the morning. Daddy is soon having a shower and shave in the bathroom as Mummy prepares an early breakfast.

Even though in slumber the son is aware of his father8217;s hasty preparations for his nine-to-five at the office and as he turns his side it occurs to him that some day he would step into his dad8217;s office shoes. The male child in the family naturally idolises his father first.

The superior8217;s activities, regardless of their nature, have a first hand influence on the junior. Doesn8217;t the first urge to lather and shave come to the son from seeing his dad do it? The latter8217;s desire of following his dad to the office may soon be countered, though, with electronic commerce fast gaining popularity threatening to wipe out the concept of office accommodation.

With worldwide concerns already transacting business over the Net, the trend of the paperless office and officeless business sure seems to be setting in. Of course, it will take an aeon for this concept to properly gather force.

One question, though inconsequential it may seem in the face of the concept8217;s wider import, remains whether the office-goers of tomorrow have altered their mindsets to operating out of a single terminal whether from an airplane seat or the morning loo. 8220;I have always had a fascination for working at a conventional office. God knows when I start working full time whether they would still be around. I haven8217;t given this problem a serious thought though,8221; says Ratan Thakkar, a tenth standard 15-year-old at one of the premier city schools. 8220;Freelancers in any profession do not have an appointed desk at an office. If they can adjust to the idea, why can8217;t I?8221; questions Shirish Tamhane, a college fresher who admits fancying the idea of having an office set-up.

The phasing out of the workplace8217; has its advantages as well. Praveen Mokashi thinks it is a good idea to do away with the office as it removes petty office politics along with it. 8220;One can work at peace without having to think about the next best move to undercut your colleague. A virtual office imparts real time effectivity to one8217;s work,8221; he avers.

Scaling down of commercial complexes would further facilitate the accommodation of residence colonies to roof the homeless. But obviously. With information and communications ruling the roost in worldwide operations today, working out of one8217;s home looks a more agreeable arrangement.

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Important business correspondence is sure enough found even while the addressee pours a drink out of the decanter. High fidelity systems are slowly taking over from their human counterparts and working with better efficiency.

The virtual office is, thereby, an obvious fallout. And though the era of the functional virtual office may still be a fantastic dream, anxieties and pertinent inquiries are already simmering. A case of dashed hopes for many as against readjustment and eager anticipation for others. A briefcase packed with a laptop, cellular phone and a modem is being considered a new address of a new global business. Professionals may soon be seen working out of nowhere8230; probably everywhere.