Virtual Work space - An evolving concept of WWW - 'Work from Wherever you Want'

Imagine a life where you don't have to go to office everyday! Imagine a life where there is no worry about reaching home before 9PM! Imagine a life, where you don't have to struggle through the morning traffic and pollution to reach office tired and drained! Imagine a life where you are not compelled to stay away from your loved ones because your job demands so! Even better, imagine a life where you could commit to travel and not dread the notion of asking your boss for a leave. While this seems delightful from an employee's perspective, it is nothing short of a managerial nightmare.

Few months back, I had attended a conference by Great Place To Work institute. There was one topic which was touched briefly and that has stayed with me ever since. One of the panel members mentioned that the cost of property would fall down because in a few years, we will cease to have physical work spaces or office buildings where an employee has to reach everyday to work. This opened the realms of my imagination. The weirdest part about this statement was that it is possible in near future, probably next 5 to 6 years and no organisation is really talking about it. Organisations are still stuck at a stage where they are talking about hiring in the vicinity of their head quarters and rigorously debating whether to have a policy on work from home. Aren't we turning a surprising blind eye to the harsh reality which is going to dawn upon us suddenly?

With my new found fascination for this concept, I have been discussing this with everyone - friends, family, prospective candidates, colleagues and business leaders. I head the HR Business partnering function at ValueLabs, a global business technology solutions and services provider.The best thing about virtual work spaces is, it pushes my team to think beyond and make themselves relevant. It is a 'Giraffe' moment for the HR fraternity where they have to stretch their neck to fill their bellies.I foresee a marked role shift where analytics based insights would take the limelight and human interaction may actually become a challenge and some organisations may possibly choose to do away with an elaborate business partnering function altogether unless the business partners decide to stay relevant. The concept of organisational culture may shape up to have a strong bottom up influence instead of the traditional top-down influence.

Top of my mind, I can think of a few major challenges for organisations. Any company, which does not adopt to a strong networking technology like Lync, BlueJeans or Scopia will find it challenging to adopt to the sudden shift. From an Indian context, I know for a fact that close to half the population is below the age of 25yrs and the upcoming generation is the one who has been exposed to freedom and latest technology since their childhood. In a work space where baby boomers may still struggle with using I Pads, there are new-born babies who are adopting to technology at the age of 2.This tech savvy generation will join the workforce in the next one decade. You would see infusion of a thought process which will be so unique that the other generations may find it tough to cope with. Being a millenial, I still feel I am considerable malleable and only dream of working from a foreign location. However, the upcoming generation would actually demand that as a part of the negotiation while accepting an offer. This would mean that the organisations would have to be built with a strong leadership foundation which has capabilities to manage a virtual workforce. From a services industry point of view where there is a concept of hourly billing, it would be a positioning challenge for the sales team.

While there may be a lot of challenges, I cannot help but be excited by the infinite possibilities WWW (Work from Wherever you Want aka Virtual work space) opens up. You can hire your talent from anywhere, without any constraints of location. There would be a direct increase in productivity since no one would be spending time travelling to office. There will be an unbelievable level of freedom- which may boil down to something as simple as working in your pajamas, in the comfort of your home. This would considerably bring down the cost of operations for an organisation and impact the real estate industry directly. This would mean that a lot of loved ones will not have to stay away from each other to make ends meet. This would mean that an employee will have more time to spend with his/her family and to pursue his/her passion. While I am sitting in the comfort of my bed and typing the article, I have a business leader who has agreed to test this concept on his team. I will publish the results in my next article.

Till then, stretch your imagination , think beyond and be prepared! Another WWW is here to take the world for a ride :)