All of this is interesting considering that the traditional worry has usually been that computers would make the workplace even more impersonal and cold, separating people from each other and creating an inflexible paradigm. If anything, the exact opposite has been the case. One could make a case that the original Luddites who protested the factories because it destroyed their cottage industries and wasted their skills would probably applaud what is happening today. There is more room for the individual than ever before. The digital age has stirred our imaginations and interconnectivity.
Many possibilities exist now, many ways to make an impact in the workplace.
We all are familiar with the economic uncertainties that time has brought, especially in the face of downsizing and restructuring. Maybe now we are poised on the other end of that. Fast-growing companies are realizing that investing energy into human potential is the future. The old hierarchies are breaking down and the gravitational pull now is toward teamwork and projects. The problem in the past has been that cost has been the primary motivator in making these decisions, and more attention to design was thought of as an ego thing for higher executives.