My previous office was straight out of Office Space — a grey office of cubicles, key-cards, and strict scheduling, where the constant murmur of other voices drifted through to break up the silence. It was a big, prestigious company. At Staffing Advisors, everyone in our company works from home. There’s no other option (by design) — we don’t even have a central office to report to.
Guess which job my friends are more jealous of? (Hint: if the office space was lampooned back in 1999, people are not champing at the bit to work there anymore). Any mention that I work from home is instantly and near-unanimously followed by intense jealousy and curiosity about how great it is. My home office feels like the Holy Grail.
It’s not that people want to work less, or less hard, but they do want to be able to better conform their work-life with…life. Especially in a city like DC or Chicago, where what little free-time you may have is taken away by lengthy, uncomfortable commutes.
That’s why we love looking at articles about how the future of work is changing. There’s an increasing number of people who can easily work anywhere that they have WiFi. More importantly, there’s an increasing number of employers who will let them.