Posts Tagged ‘office of the future’
July 25th, 2009 in Trends 1 Comment
The proliferation of touch screens on electronic devices over the past several years has included mobile phones (notably Apple’s iPhone), satellite navigation systems and portable game consoles. Now, according to this article, PCs will soon join the crowd. The author points out that Microsoft has already demonstrated a prototype of the next version of its flagship operating system based around “multi-touch” capabilities that allow a touch screen to sense more than one finger at once. Soon one will be able to press buttons, tap icons, call up windows and rotate and stretch onscreen objects using two fingers at a time. Apple, for its part, has put multi-touch track pads on its laptop computers and is rumored to be working on touch screens for its next line of computers. (more…)
April 1st, 2009 in Trends No Comments
This article declares that the office environment of the future will have office personnel organized around processes rather than functions, with work activities largely done by teams rather than by individuals. The goals of office design will be to provide efficient space that incorporates current and emerging technologies at a time when change comes at a frantic and ever-quickening pace. In the transitional near future, this means that offices must go beyond the usual lighting, HVAC and power requirements to include consideration of robust data networks, WiFi, smart phone systems and communications technologies and how to ensure that they are linked to every workstation. (more…)
October 11th, 2008 in Trends No Comments
The paperless office predicted by futurists decades ago never materialized. As the digital era emerged, people were exchanging ever more information but technology and behavior lagged behind as emails were printed for archiving and word documents for editing by hand. A 2001 book, “The Myth of the Paperless Office,” summed the situation up nicely.
This article notes, however, that the year this book was published was the very year when demand for office paper finally peaked and began its steady decline. A paper expert at Info Trends estimates that office workers in developed countries will continue to reduce their office paper consumption for the foreseeable future. (more…)
April 25th, 2008 in Trends No Comments
Office Team, an international administrative staffing company, prepared a report, “Office of the Future 2020: The Evolution of the Workplace and the Skills Needed to Succeed.” Based on research and expert interviews, the report includes a section addressing jobs of the future. This article offers readers a look at the fourteen jobs expected to be highest in demand. Some, like “Compliance Officer,” “Electronic Security Specialist” and “Facilities Manager” are obvious. Others, however, offer a bit of surprise, including:
- “Knowledge Manager” – With baby boomers leaving the workplace en masse and younger workers job hopping, companies will use this person’s services to “capture information and knowledge that could be irretrievably lost.”
(more…)
