The Future of the Workplace

The workplace has changed dramatically over recent years. With such rapid advancements in technology, it has enabled remote working to take place on an unprecedented level. With a rise in the number of people freelancing and taking on contract work - who are not tied down to an office - what will the workplace look like in ten years' time?

Work is no longer a place

Work normally brings up connotations of a certain desk in a certain building, which you arrived at after a certain commute in the morning. This is gradually changing. New technology such as ubiquitous internet, smartphones and tablets, and cloud computing has enabled not only freelancing to grow, but also employees to work from home more easily from time to time. While you could argue that interaction with colleagues or clients becomes an issue with remote working, advancements in video technology such as Skype, FaceTime and Google Hangouts have helped to bridge this gap. Or, of course, there's still the good old-fashioned landline connection - if you still have one, that is. 

Here are some reasons why there may be fewer people in conventional offices in ten years' time.

Future technology

We've seen what impact the technology currently available to us has had - so who knows what 2024 will look like? Think back to 2004 - iTunes had just been released and there was only one version of the iPod out on shop shelves. Tim Cook, Apple's chief executive, recently admitted the iPod was a declining business. Meanwhile, the iPhone and iPad wouldn't have rendered any hits on Google. Can you imagine life without such devices, particularly in the world of work? There's a good chance that in 2024, many of the devices we cherish and use frequently could lie discarded like our VHS players and tape recorders do currently.

The concept of wearable technology is expected to make an impression on the market within the next couple of years - and the fact that this will be on your person at all times only increases the potential of working wherever this may be. Whether this is a smartwatch, smartglasses or even smart contact lenses - the possibilities are endless. With so many technological giants competing over market share, this will hopefully spark more creativity and innovation in the production of new devices and gadgets. 

Superfast broadband is growing in popularity and availability, meaning you could have faster internet at your house than you do in your place of work. This will only ameliorate what are currently slightly lagging video calls with colleagues or clients. 

Cloud computing has come to the fore in recent years and seems to be showing no signs of losing popularity. With hybrid solutions offering firms the best of both worlds - private clouds for sensitive data and cheaper, public clouds for other material - data is readily available in any place at any time from a wealth of devices. With online safety and security improving, it's only a matter of time before more firms take the leap and do away with heavy physical servers, reducing the need for office space.

Jellies 

One common downside to freelancing is loneliness. While many are happy to avoid the morning commute and make small talk around the water cooler with colleagues they don't especially like, there is a sense of community in an office that a freelancer can miss out on. Jellies across the country are combatting this problem and are almost becoming rivals to the conventional workplace. While it seems ironic that freelancers enjoy not being constrained to an office, yet have started their own gatherings, it still affords them flexibility - they can choose which jelly they go to and for how long they stay. In addition, some jellies only operate on certain days of the week so it still gives a variety of working locations. Jellies are only set to rise in popularity as freelancers grow in number, stealing people from the conventional office. 

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An Intuit report predicts that 40 per cent of America's workforce (approximately 60 million people) will be freelancers by 2020. It's very unlikely that offices will disappear dramatically in the next ten years. However, offices could have a different function - acting more like a temporary anchor and a base, while the majority of the staff are either homeworkers or freelancers.