September 5, 2008
Guru can't wait for 25 years' time. Admittedly, the chances of Yours Truly still walking this earth by then might be slim - Guru plans on dying a rock star's death sometime around Christmas 2014.
But if by some miracle he makes it to 2033 then he certainly won't be commuting to work. The impressively titled Future Laboratory predicts that by then hardly anyone will actually physically be 'at work'. The growth of something they call 'the internet' will mean a huge rise in flexible working - putting an end to crowded trains, tubes, buses and the traditional rush hour.
Instead of office spaces, the study says town centres will offer wi-fi hubs, and office blocks will be turned into leisure and retail facilities.
To illustrate its argument, brainiacs at the Lab have predicted Birmingham will be transformed from a sprawling urban cityscape into something altogether greener and more landscaped.
Guru has often wondered about the merits of flexible working. BT claims seven in 10 of its employees work flexibly with 13% home-based. How do the people who aren't allowed to work flexibly feel about this? They're busy answering the phone talking to customers while their colleagues are at home watching TV in their pyjamas.
Anyway, Guru must go, Jeremy Kyle is about to start and he needs to turn the laptop on.
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