In the last decade, almost the whole world has practically gone virtual, virtual offices are just another step in this change. What exactly are virtual offices? Well, virtual offices like in the name suggest that it’s an office that is virtual, it allows a business to have many of the benefits of a traditional office but minus the actual office and desks, a company can conduct their business almost anywhere without being fixed to one specific location. The idea of a virtual office actually came from the Executive Suite industry, and was first started by Ralph Gregory in 1994.
Why would a company ever even consider a virtual office? The main thing about virtual offices is that it gives you the many perks that a traditional office can provide but not the cost of operating one, this can be a huge save to a company’s budget hence the reason for virtual offices being popular among startups, but where would an employee work if a company does not have an actual space? Well, basically, an employee can work anywhere, it does not only give the employee free range in working in a space where he or she is comfortable working in it also entirely slashes off the hassle of commuting from home to an office, the two to three hours a person would take to get ready and travel to work could be entirely cut out and be poured into working, it increases the productivity of an employee it also gives the employee a more focus approach to working by taking off unnecessary idle time of traveling off their schedule.
While a virtual office certainly lessens the cost of a company by not having a traditional office it doesn’t stop there, a virtual office also lessens the cost of technologies used by employees, in this kind of working setup an employee can freely choose and work with a device that are preferable for them, not just that, but the upgrades that the technological device might require are entirely their responsibility. This might seem perfect, but there is one downside to this and it’s a minor cyber security risk, but it can easily be prevented with a few rules to how an employee should handle their computer, but overall, the gain much higher than the risk, with the risk being almost nonexistent at all.
Virtual offices may give you some of the benefits of a traditional office might offer, but that’s not the only advantage that a virtual office has, flexibility, having an employee work anywhere they want makes them more active, not only do they have more freedom and comfortability by having to choose a perfect space for them to work in, but it is also possible that the employee limits the uses of Vacation Days, for an employee would not feel the usual pressure of catching up to themselves that one would normally feel if they work Eight to Eleven hours a day in front of a work desk in a traditional office.
All in all; virtual offices offer a far more convenient and modern take to the traditional ways businesses were meant to be conducted, and with how the world is changing, virtual offices would be more and more mainstream and would be a go-to for new companies.
