accomplishing work in organizations in the next century. Technology seems to have tree main effects on the workplace, which are: The constraints of the physical facility no longer exist Hours have extended to be on-call nearly 24 hours a day Huge issues in personal time management. The virtual office has come about with the advent of the cell phone, pager, laptop, e-mail and other such electronic tasking devices. The good or bad new is that fewer people are normally in the physical office. The virtual office can be an advantage if it results in lower office space costs. New issues will arise if the cost in equipment to support the remote employee increases. However, the expectations are for greater productivity as a result of the company providing flexibility in space scheduling and physical space. Also, you have probably heard a cell phone or pager lately during a movie, or at a ball game as evidence of the proliferation of the workplace in public/private space. Businesses are able to expand without the normal investment in physical property. Employees can live where they wish and telecommute. With this however will come even more changes that HR will need to cope with. Here are some of the keys ones where technology will have a high impact on the workplace. A proactive, strategic approach will be necessary to deal with and work around these changes.First lets begin with the virtual office. This will mean that there will be fewer workers physically at a single work site. What HR will need to do is determine what space is necessary and what space can be leased or sold out. The office space and current equipment inventories should be reviewed and looked at to determine adequate levels. Also, the IT capacity plan should make sense and be flexible to adjust to future changes within the workforce. Staffing, sourcing and retention will be another area that will need much attention. In the future ...
