The promise of a paperless office has been around for years. Unfortunately, most offices must still use paper frequently. Is the paperless office just a pipe dream that we will not attain? In a nutshell, no. We’re constantly moving toward paperless offices, but it’s just taking us a lot longer than we had expected.
The advantages of paper
As great as it would be to have everything in digital format, paper is still useful. The primary reason it’s still around is that paper is portable. It is simple to scribble a note and slide it into your pocket. Even the most eco-friendly offices still find uses for paper. If you’re an editor, you probably know how hard it is to edit a digital copy. Lots of people would rather proofread important documents in hard-copy format. It is sometimes simpler to spot mistakes when the file is printed out.
Less paper than ever
Most offices today rely less on paper than they ever have, and that is no myth. Employees do the vast majority of their writing with word-processing programs. Instead of sending written notes to one another, they send communications through e-mail and instant messages. Marketing campaigns are created and stored on computers. Meeting notes are typed in tablets. Meeting schedules are written not on sticky notes but on smart phones. Just think of how far offices have come in just the past decade. Paper, though not obsolete, is no longer king.
The future
Clearly the future of the office is using less and less paper, but will it ever be truly paperless? Will notepads and sticky notes go the way of the milkman? Possibly. Let’s look at the milkman: some still prefer to have their milk hand-delivered to their homes, but the majority of us just pop out to the store and pick some up when we want it.
Paper will likely end up exactly the same. As we use business solutions such as the cloud, smartphones, and computers for invoicing, writing and spreadsheets, there will still be people that prefer the physical feel of pen and paper.
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