Infographic: The Evolution of the Office

The workplace is constantly evolving and adapting. As new technologies and work practices come to the fore the office environment is subject to change. Over the past 50 years offices have changed in both in terms of design and technology.

The biggest leap in office design innovation was the introduction of office cubicles in the 1970s. The cubicle environment has two principle benefits, it is cost effective keeping construction costs down and it also helps to boost productivity, as employees can easily interact.

In terms of technology the workplace is always evolving, the rolodex and land-line telephone have been replaced by Outlook Contacts and Skype. Increasingly offices are becoming paperless, with a focus on cloud computing and storage over traditional filing. Business meetings are held over web conference, diminishing the need for companies to spend money on costly plane tickets and accommodation.

The largest trend of recent years is the ‘Bring Your Own Device (BYOD)’ phenomenon. A Deloitte report outlined that almost 70% of professionals bring their own devices to the workplace. In addition to bringing their own devices modern employees are often telecommuting to work. The number of telecommuting employees is expected to rise by 21% by 2016.

The outlined facts and figures in this infographic provide an interesting look at the evolution of the workplace and where trends predict it will be in the next decade.