Workplace Changes and Localism

From Joel Kotkin at New Geography:

…Americans actually are becoming less nomadic. As recently as the 1970s as many as one in five people moved annually; by 2006, long before the current recession took hold, that number was 14 percent, the lowest rate since the census starting following movement in 1940. Since then tougher times have accelerated these trends, in large part because opportunities to sell houses and find new employment have dried up. In 2008, the total number of people changing residences was less than those who did so in 1962, when the country had 120 million fewer people. The stay-at-home trend appears particularly strong among aging boomers, who are largely eschewing Sunbelt retirement condos to stay tethered to their suburban homes—close to family, friends, clubs, churches, and familiar surroundings.

Nothing allows for geographic choice more than the ability to work at home. By 2015, suggests demographer Wendell Cox, there will be more people working electronically at home full time than taking mass transit, making it the largest potential source of energy savings on transportation. In the San Francisco Bay Area and Los Angeles, almost one in 10 workers is a part-time telecommuter. Some studies indicate that more than one quarter of the U.S. workforce could eventually participate in this new work pattern. Even IBM, whose initials were once jokingly said to stand for “I’ve Been Moved,” has changed its approach. Roughly 40 percent of the company’s workers now labor at home or remotely from a client’s location.

These home-based workers become critical to the localist economy. They will eat in local restaurants, attend fairs and festivals, take their kids to soccer practices, ballet lessons, or religious youth-group meetings. This is not merely a suburban phenomenon; localism also means a stronger sense of identity for urban neighborhoods as well as smaller towns.

I am particularly interested in the idea of working from home and how that affects local economies, families and our idea of ‘place’ since the next rung up the corporate ladder for me will mean the opportunity to work from home as well. The anthropologist in me is extremely curious about how this will change performance metrics within companies and also change the general well-being of employees for the better.

I really like the idea of a performance measurement based on results and not hours logged. I also think that the morale of workers will be much better when given more flexible hours and a more comfortable environment based around their own home. For me personally, as my wife and I are in the process of selling our home and looking for a new one, I am thinking ahead to the reality of working from home and planning accordingly. Dedicated office space within our home will be key as I am one who is especially vulnerable to distractions.

As the ability to communicate over the internet becomes better and better, the need for face-to-face will of course decrease as well. There is no doubt that technology is rapidly changing the workplace models for a lot of companies. How that looks in 5, 10, 15 years is anybody’s guess.