The Paperless Office: Do You Have Skin in the Game?

Hmmm, where do you standon the make paper obsolete initiative?

The Paperless Office concept has been around for longer than you mightthink. I did some research and discovered that the paperless world was a publisher’s slogan all the way back in themid-1970s. Those of us old enough to have been around back then are somewhatskeptical. If it has been spinning its’ wheels for 45+ years, what are the oddsit will finally take hold?

It was clearly a prematureprediction when it first emerged. The thinking was that computer technologywould make paper obsolete. But that backfired on the futurists. Improvements inprinter and photocopier technology made it easier to produce documents in bulkand as a result paper consumption increased. Oops, didn’t see that one coming,did they!

The concept has comeback around in recent years. The unstoppable, high speed train of technology,including the emergence and acceptance of digital signatures, has opened thedoor anew for the possibility. The driving force, of course, is cost savings –the holy grail of modern, do more with less, business thinking.

Admittedly, one of theobstacles to the Paperless Office istaking care of itself. Baby Boomers like me, who hate reading and processingbucket loads of information on a computer screen, are aging out of theworkplace.

The younger generationsare conditioned to consume information in digital format. It is their preferredmethod of consumption. Paper? We don’twant no stinking paper! E-mail the file to me or better yet put it in theCloud! So perhaps it is a concept whose time has finally come.

However, it occurs to methat the movement could end up dead in the water before it has a chance to gaina foothold. A lot of us are working from home now. Does the Paperless Office make any sense in an officeless business world? Oops, didn’tsee that one coming, did they!

And there may be anotherfly in the ointment. What about viruses, malware and ransomware? If allinformation is maintained exclusively in digital format, it increases theincentive for the developers of these malicious programs. They could literallyhold the world hostage.

Oops, didn’t see thatone coming, did they? Talk to Chapters-Indigo if you think I am overplayingthat risk.

In all seriousness,where you stand on the Paperless Officedebate depends on how much skin you have in the game. I am on the cusp ofretirement. T-minus 27 days and counting. I am a skeptic but more or lessneutral given that I am about to sign off.

If you are a Millennial,you are no doubt all-in on the idea. If you work for a paper manufacturer, youare likely arguing the other side of the equation while you contemplate acareer change.

As I become a retiree, Iwill watch the movement play out from the comfort of my easy chair as Icontinue to curse out my wireless printer for losing its Wi-Fi connection yetagain.

~  Now Available Onlinefrom Amazon, Chapters Indigo or Barnes & Noble: Hunting Muskie, Rites of Passage– Stories by Michael Robert Dyet

~ Michael Robert Dyet is alsothe author of Until the Deep Water Stills – An Internet-enhanced Novel whichwas a double winner in the Reader Views Literary Awards 2009. Visit Michael’swebsite at www.mdyetmetaphor.com .

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