Once upon a time, corporate success was measured by the proximity to that corner office with the great view.

Today, receptionists and CEOs alike are finding satisfaction in work stations that overlook their backyards. Or the parking lot of Starbucks. Or the ever-changing face of the corporate neighbourhood within SuiteWorks.

 “I have a real small team and we all travel a lot,” says Jeff Wells, vice president of HotelSolutions, which distributes hotel products (like televisions, art, mirrors, etc.) throughout North America and the Caribbean. “We used an office space in Toronto and we all commuted.

“After the big accident a few months ago that had us all sitting in our cars for hours on the highway, we thought we have to find a better way to do this.”

While discussing what to do to suit people from Barrie, Horseshoe Valley and Aurora, they discovered SuiteWorks, the innovative fully equipped on-demand office space that offers flexibility and economy – and a way off the highway.

Upon reflection, there was no reason the team had to be based in Toronto.

 “There is a mindset that says you have to be associated with the big city to be taken seriously,” he says. “Maybe it’s a vanity thing, maybe it’s habitual.”

Regardless, more than 30,000 commuters continue to make their way south from the Barrie area daily. The opening of the GO train hasn’t made a significant dent in the bumper-to-bumper traffic that is rush hour on the 400.

But there has been a shift in the last 15 years and the trend continues to gain momentum.

As technology advances, the option of working away from the corporate office becomes viable.

Untethered courtesy of a laptop and cellphone, workers can take it on the road.

On a recent trip to Korea, Wells used a Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) system to connect with clients oversees via Internet-supported telephone and e-mail.

“We can be literally anywhere on Earth,” he says. “In Korea, I used it flawlessly.”

When the change began in earnest, workers began to see opportunities to work from home.

Companies would set up these “teleworkers” or “telecommuters” who could give up the commute.

Problem was, says Peter Browne, new President and CEO at Barrie’s SuiteWorks, early telecommuters were also giving up access to the corporate work environment.

“It was a real revolution in the workplace that started with telework: a binary notion that meant choosing one or the other,” says Browne. “Once a home office was set up, coming back in the office wasn’t an option.”

Many workers felt isolated and disconnected, he adds, especially due to the lack of technology of the time.

Browne says the concept of distributed work came into being in the last four or five years and grew out of that first remote-work model.

 “The companies who have embraced it successfully have moved beyond the original notion of telework, recognize employees need a network of places for work, he explains. “It’s not a binary notion. There’s a time to work at home, there’s a time to work in a community centre and there’s a time to go into the corporate office.”

Browne was introduced to SuiteWorks as a supplier and then became their first client.

As the vice president of global real estate for Nortel, Browne met with the owners of SuiteWorks to “talk about our corporate real-estate strategies that related to their business strategies and I ended taking up some space at SuiteWorks for Nortel employees to use as part of our overall real-estate strategy.

 “Nortel, like many other companies, was somewhat of a corporate pioneer of telework,” he recalls.

“Distributed work was an evolution that started out as telework."

In a 2004 series of “thought leadership” articles written in conjunction with the Economist Intelligence Unit, AT&T explored various aspects of remote working and published survey results.

 “Remote working has emerged as a key factor driving corporate success. Employees can expand their working day, operate more productively – and, in many respects, lead healthier lives,” states the report.

“Employers save on office overheads, are not limited to hiring those able to relocate to where they’re based, and get better performance from their staff.”

Based on a global survey of 254 senior executives and in-depth interviews with business leaders, “a strong swing has taken place in favour of more flexible working arrangements over the last 12 months,” according to the article.

“In a similar survey carried out in 2003, 46 per cent of executives said that almost none of their staff work form home regularly; this declined to only a third in 2004.”

Although the people environment has become more transient, the brick-and-mortar remained fixed and so does the overhead costs.

 “Walk into almost any office today and you will find more than a few desks empty,” the AT&T report says. “Cash spent on sponsoring unused desks is going down the drain. This loss has been calculated at around $10,000 annually per workspace by the International Telework Association and Council.”

The study states “in 26 per cent of companies, half or more employees already work regularly from home and that this should rise to one-third by 2006. The entire workforce is becoming more mobile.

As remote working becomes more common, the office is likely to evolve into more of a meeting place, and not somewhere for solo work. If the work can be done on one’s own, why be there?”

While 28 per cent of companies responded at least half of their employees were on the road at any given moment, the number is set to skyrocket over the next two years.

At HotelSolutions, Wells will even do the meeting long-distance if his clients are set up for video conferencing, which as major hotels, they usually are. This way he can have several meetings in one day, waste no time or money on travel and get home in time to take his son to karate lessons.

SuiteWorks allows him (and his staff) the luxury of tapping into an extremely sophisticated telecommunications system that couldn’t be justified purchasing for use only a few times a month, but very worthwhile when required. This way, Wells can pay a user fee for everything with no initial investment.

It also allows him to grow his team without worrying about the limitations of the space.

 “It’s scalable,” he explains. “It allows us to grow or shrink if required. I started with me and now have 14 employees across Canada and the U.S. All I have to do is just plug in another laptop and we’re ready to go.”

Global results of AT&T’s survey were encouraging as well.

“In Germany, 94 per cent of BMW’s remote workers reported increased job satisfaction, whereas 90 per cent said their take-up and implementation of new ideas had improved,: it states. “Around 90 per cent of UK remote workers reported enjoying a better quality of life and work-life balance despite working longer hours.”   

It’s those longer hours that can lead to potentially harmful technology usage says computer network specialist Tim Holmes, president of HHC Technologies.
 

“The technology is definitely there,” he says. “And it’s becoming a cost-effective option. But on the other hand, it’s a leash. It’s a 24/7 connected world that’s great for business, but for the family? It’s not so great.”

When you’re given remote access, you’re expected to use it, Holmes cautions – at any time of day.

“Think of all the people who now take their laptop on vacation – what kind of holiday are getting like that?”

Although the technology specialist is well aware of the exciting possibilities of his industry and uses them regularly, he acknowledges the surprise feedback from his friends and clients when he pulls the plug regularly for family time.

 “There’s a reason it’s (Blackberry) called a crackberry,” he says. “People get addicted and they can’t put it down.”

Interestingly, many cellular devices now come without a power button – which means they are not equipped to be easily turned off. The battery has to be removed.

Sue Cook, a family therapist and life coach who has been seeing clients for more than 20 years, says relationships can be damaged because they come last on the ladder of priorities.

 “I remember instances where there is devastation by one partner because their spouse brought the Blackberry into the bedroom,” she recalls. “And the person with the Blackberry didn’t see the problem in it.”

Where once someone had to visit the home to the home, technology has provided many other routes, she says, like telephone, radio, television, fax, etc.

 “There have always been things that could be barriers in a relationships,” she acknowledges.

“We’ve just increased the options.”

Her new clinic in Barrie, Family TLC, works with families in transition (like changing from commuting to remote work), to set up conscious barriers between work and home.

 “When you carry your work around in the palm of your hand, you’re also carrying your availability with it, “she says. “You also don’t give yourself permission to not answer it.”

While remote work access allows the potential to increase corporate efficiency while remaining closer to home, establishing healthy boundaries with the technology increases effectiveness of off-hours, too.