An office operation where space is designed for use on a shared, as-needed basis. Assigned workers check in and out of this office, using and then leaving behind its standard business tools and technologies. In terms of the environment, many metropolitan regions and urban centers have significant problems meeting requirements of the federal Clean Air Act. Other locations face more moderate air quality hurdles, but current growth trends pose potential troubles. Beyond its degrading effect on the environment, over-reliance on the automobile for daily commuting also takes its toll on the earth's fossil fuel reserves.
Economic forces are no less compelling.
When traffic is snarled, all economic activity is forced to downshift. It slows the daily commute for millions of office workers and for others who make their living, go to school, shop, or simply visit sites around town. It also adds hours to delivery times for commercial vehicles, all the while introducing large amounts of pollutants into the air we breathe. Increasingly, employers are relocating to less congested areas to avoid the high cost of doing business in downtown settings. Given the innovations in telecommunications technologies, it is now also possible to distribute some work to suburban and rural locations and reduce facilities costs with no loss of productivity.