Is the office disappearing?

A routine morning commute southbound on Georgia Route 400 into downtown Atlanta can easily take a working professional well over an hour. With many people leaving the city at the same time at the end of the workday, the return trip can be even longer.

That is a minimum of two hours of non-value-added time per day or 450 hours per year wasted. The cost to the employee is more than the wear and tear of the commute, it includes time away from family and the inability to be mobile, plus expenses that simply would not exist without the need to "go to the office."
The costs to employers may be even greater. Having tardy employees who finish the day with one eye on the clock, to assure themselves an exit timed to minimize the effects of gridlock, leads to lowered productivity and an uninspired work performance. In today's economy, employers must ensure maximum productivity from every worker. And workers today value their work environment more than ever.

The advent of superior technology and the ability to work remotely has opened up opportunities for companies to not only outsource work to third parties, but to outsource their own employees. A few years ago employers were concerned about the productivity of distracted employees working from remote sites. But enhanced technology, designated workspace furniture and individual performance measures have shown employees are more productive and much happier in remote work environments.

Large corporations, especially those in industries like financial services, such as Bank of America, American Express, Progressive Insurance and others with an easily monitored service factor, have already embraced the concept. Companies in a wide array of other industries are destined to expand this concept as they realize they can improve employee performance and even outsource to lower cost markets without going offshore. They too can decentralize work centers by forming satellite workstations without the need for massive corporate overheads.

Today, over 20 million Americans work from a remote site fulltime and nearly twice that many work remotely on a part time basis. The number is growing by double digits annually. The newly immerging workforce will demand flexibility. At Bush Inds., we have recognized that for these professionals, durable, quality furniture solutions for their remote office is essential to staying organized, being productive and meeting deadlines. We have embraced this notion and have declared manufacturing office furniture solutions a priority in our business.