Happy 10th birthday to The Office
Ten years ago today the very first episode of the hit sitcom The Office was aired on BBC2 in England, with the show placing David Brent firmly into the public consciousness as the embodiment of a bad boss.
But how has office life changed over those 10 years, and how is it likely to change in the coming 10 years. That was the question asked by Virgin Media Business as they surveyed business people this week.
They found that the advent of technologies such as smart phones, cloud computing and tablets have made people more productive now than they were in 2001. Such technologies have also proved a godsend for remote working and have helped respondents with their work life balance.
The office of the future
They then turned their attention to how the office will look in another 10 years time, with some fascinating findings. Half of those surveyed believed that in 10 years time, the office as we know it will cease to exist. Heavy stuff.
Mark Heraghty, managing director, Virgin Media Business, said: “Just like the dinosaurs, the office may soon be resigned to the history books, with six in ten workers predicting that they won’t exist by 2021. This is a trend that we’re already starting to see across the UK, with mobile working tripling in the last year alone. As employers search for more agile and effective ways of running their businesses, we’re increasingly finding that firms are swapping expensive office spaces in favour of a virtual workplace, where all activities can be conducted remotely."
There have been similar predictions from other organisations. For instance Napier University in Scotland predicted recently that the office of the future would contain devices that wouldn't look out of place in movies like Minority Report.
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