I recently read Liz Costas blog “Overrated” about how offices are becoming outdated as technological advances allow people to work almost anywhere. In some ways, I agree with Liz that technology has opened up many options other than offices that allow for flexibility in the workplace, like telecommuting (working from home).

However, I also think businesses shouldn’t abandon the office concept entirely. In fact, I recently read that Yahoo is now requiring all their employees to work in the office. The reason? To establish a corporate culture. When employees work together in offices it can foster teamwork and collaboration, which in turn can lead to innovation and higher productivity. In class we’ve discussed how the corporate culture is an important part of a business and can enhance the quality of the product a business provides, like we saw with the Zappos call centres. By having people work together in an office, this positive corporate culture and company identity can be created. This is especially important for a large complex company like Yahoo whose competitor, Google, has already reaped the benefits of a strong corporate culture.

So I wouldn’t say good-bye to offices just yet! They might be around for a while.

Doug Guthrie, “Marissa Mayer: Choosing Corporate Culture over Worker Independence,” Forbes Magazine, March 8, 2013, accessed November 11, 2013, http://www.forbes.com/sites/dougguthrie/2013/03/08/marissa-mayer-choosing-corporate-culture-over-worker-independence/

Omar El Akkad and Suzanne Bowness, “Telework or teamwork? Yahoo and the evolution of the office,” The Globe and Mail, February 26, 2013, accessed November 11, 2013, http://www.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/careers/the-future-of-work/telework-or-teamwork-yahoo-and-the-evolution-of-the-office/article9099573/

Image from: “Micro-bloggin can help build your organizational culture,” Dan Pontefract, accessed November 13, 2013, http://www.danpontefract.com/micro-blogging-can-help-build-your-organisational-culture/