The more I thought about an intriguing article to blog about (one with horrible visuals or one with exceptional ones) I began to think about how visuals would look in the future. This thought reminded me of a few articles that I read in the January edition of Fortune Magazine about the office of the future. Although my initial interest in these articles was about the newest kinds of technology that will be available, after class I began to think of how these technologies would be designed. The first article discusses smart and rollable glass, Foursquare and Kinect for the office, hologram tables, and instantly translated and transcribed skype calls. These kinds of advances are great for those of us who are currently using the devices and applications that they emulate. However, the second article sheds light on the increase of the traditional retirement age. With the advances of the first article, there will have to be extremely user friendly interfaces with the technological office of tomorrow. Business men and women who are not a part of the generation of video games, "checking in," and casual video calls may not be comfortable with the changes. How do you think the seasoned CEO or leader will accept these changes? Will the ease of use have a bearing on their acceptance, or will the sheer joy of having the best of the best be enough?
The Office of Tomorrow
Older Workforce of the Future
Technology has been developing a lot just in the last 10 years. We have a lot more gadgets that seemed foreign to many people at first but many of the professionals have benefited from them. I think that people will be very accepting of new technology in the workplace especially if they see their benefits. I know that my parents are pretty illiterate when it comes to new technology but they are eager to learn about them. It may be that the seasoned CEOs will need directions that are broken down step by step with really detailed visuals in order to learn how to use the technology.
ReplyDeleteI read both articles, and the visuals for each give a stark, clean, almost hospital-like feel to the offices of the future. However, I've read and heard recently that people who are happier at work have deinstitutionalized their offices. They have brought in family photos and little homey touches to make their time at the office more pleasurable. So, if the office of the future is cold and impersonal, that must mean that people aren't spending 40 hours per week there... which is probably the case. Many tasks will take place on-line, and time in the office will likely decrease. The up and coming CEOs will most likely be more receptive to these changes than the old fogies who are just counting the days until retirement. My husband's boss still watches the parking lot to make sure all of the employees do not leave before 5:00pm - this kind of thinking that employees are not working unless they are present at the office must become an attitude of the past.
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