Computers have made it possible to run big companies without offices.
By products of the development of the internet, virtual worksplaces are offices without a physical location, but in which employees can collaborate regardless of what where in the world they happen to be: residents of Sydney, Australia, can and do work for companies in London, England, not as field representatives but as fully functioning members of in-house teams.
A virtual workplace significantly reduces company overheads, most notably by saving the cost of premises that can accomodate all the staff. Tasks are distributed by email or other forms of electronic data transfer, performed by workers on or within reach of their own computers and then returned to base or headquarters via the same media.
The system also has advantages for employees, saving them the cost of commuting and childcare and enabling them (with the company's agreement) to work more flexible hours than are normally possible in a traditional office. According to a survey by Global Workplace Analytics, it is popular: 79 percentage of respondents said they would rather work at home than in an office, and 39 percentage of those said they would prefer a virtual workplace to a pay rise. However some managers complain that virtual workplace have restricted their ability to monitor their subordinate's working methods: thay can now judge employees only on their performance.
Another of the problems associated with virtual workplace is their inability to generate a sense of shared purpose, morale, or esprit dr corps. The problem may be reduced by interactive systems such as teleconferencing and WYSIWIS ("what you see is what I see") technology, but even these do not entirely eliminate the difficulty: psychologists believe that tone of voice and gusture alone are insufficient to convey the finest nuances of meaning, which can be gathered only through physical proximity.
By products of the development of the internet, virtual worksplaces are offices without a physical location, but in which employees can collaborate regardless of what where in the world they happen to be: residents of Sydney, Australia, can and do work for companies in London, England, not as field representatives but as fully functioning members of in-house teams.
A virtual workplace significantly reduces company overheads, most notably by saving the cost of premises that can accomodate all the staff. Tasks are distributed by email or other forms of electronic data transfer, performed by workers on or within reach of their own computers and then returned to base or headquarters via the same media.
The system also has advantages for employees, saving them the cost of commuting and childcare and enabling them (with the company's agreement) to work more flexible hours than are normally possible in a traditional office. According to a survey by Global Workplace Analytics, it is popular: 79 percentage of respondents said they would rather work at home than in an office, and 39 percentage of those said they would prefer a virtual workplace to a pay rise. However some managers complain that virtual workplace have restricted their ability to monitor their subordinate's working methods: thay can now judge employees only on their performance.
Another of the problems associated with virtual workplace is their inability to generate a sense of shared purpose, morale, or esprit dr corps. The problem may be reduced by interactive systems such as teleconferencing and WYSIWIS ("what you see is what I see") technology, but even these do not entirely eliminate the difficulty: psychologists believe that tone of voice and gusture alone are insufficient to convey the finest nuances of meaning, which can be gathered only through physical proximity.
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