Chapter 7
To Office or Not to Office
Your Future Workforce Doesn't Want One
“What does the public consciousness want?” When you stew about this question, don't restrict your thinking to how (and why) they spend their money within your industry. You also have to consider how they want to come to work for you. I'll never forget a conversation I had with some code writers at computer chip maker Intel. The engineers were vocal about how much they loved the company—as well as the caché that goes with getting a paycheck from such an internationally known brand. I asked them if there was anything they didn't like about Intel. One young programmer didn't even hesitate: “Yeah, the only thing that bugs me is that fact that they make us come to the office.” Because these programmers can do their jobs from a closet in their parents' home, they don't understand why they have to log in at a workplace.
You already know that many people can work from home and that many of them love it. With a good broadband connection, they can work from Starbucks, Barnes & Noble, or Waikiki Beach, for that matter. And some do!
But that's only what's happening above the waterline. What lies beneath?
There is a movement afoot for which you—and many other professionals—might not be prepared. I'm talking about the distinct possibility that the majority of your workforce could work from a remote location. It's called Results Only Work Environment (ROWE), which, simply stated, is a leadership attitude that says, “I ...
