Web Worker Daily

The Wall Street Journal Online is running an interesting article this week about the decline of the cubicle office. The gist of the story is that Intel and other Silicon Valley firms are discovering that cubicles have many drawbacks: they block visibility but not noise, they give a false sense of privacy, they dehumanize people and so on. Thus, these firms are experimenting with a variety of more open seating plans and flexible space allocation schemes that are more friendly to drop-ins.

But, as the WSJ notes, no single way of setting up the office will please everyone in the company. Some groups at Intel actually like cubes, for example – whether through inertia or because they find positive benefits in this sort of democratic space utilization isn’t precisely clear. And that’s where teleworkers have a clear advantage: as our needs change, we can change our offices to match.

Consider some of the alternatives available to the typical laptop-equipped teleworker:

• Enjoy the privacy and comfort of working at home.
• Go for the camaraderie and mental stimulation of a coworking space.
• Let a problem simmer as you go Bedouin and load up on caffeine in the nearest coffee shop.
• Rent a private room at a restaurant, Fedex Kinko’s, or an executive suite for an important meeting.
• Drop in to a client site when you need to interact with a team of temporary coworkers.
• Treat yourself to work time in the park or on the beach when you’re feeling decadent and deadlines aren’t pressing.

Cubicle workers of the world, eat your hearts out. Teleworkers can have as many office settings as we’d like, from highly formal to completely informal, changing as mood and necessity strikes us. And we wouldn’t have it any other way.

Have any favorite work settings of your own to share? The comments are open!