My mind is currently reeling after reading about how Best Buy corporate has switched to an entirely clockless culture. No arrival time, no departure time, no mandatory meetings — no need to ever be in the office. Simply work when you want, wherever you want. Since your performance is measured only on the results that you create, this new paradigm is referred to as ROWE or Results-Only Work Environment.
As I see it, ROWE brings work life into alignment with the realities of the twenty-first century — an always-on, wirelessly-connected, freeflow of information. As a professional, I’m paid to add value to an organization. In an era of ubiquitous electronic communication, there’s no reason I can’t add just as much — if not more — value from my kitchen table at midnight then I can from behind a desk in an office building at 8:00 AM. I’ll even go you one further and say that since being a modern professional is more about unleashing your creativity than it is performing tasks, the most productive workplace is wherever and whenever you feel most engaged.
The office of the future doesn’t exist because the company of the future doesn’t have an office.