Have you ever thought your organization should go paperless? We’ve seen the potential of a paperless office grow over the past few years, but you’d be hard pressed to find an office that is truly paper-free. Is a paperless office even possible? The simple answer? No. We’re moving that direction, but it is going to take us quite a while.
The advantages of paper
Digital copies of documents and communications are nice, but paper is still useful in many cases. Even individuals who work at the most eco-friendly offices, with reduced paper use policies, find a need for paper. Paper can be very portable and quick. You can simply jot down a phone number on a sticky note and slip it in your pocket or leave your cubicle neighbor a quick note stating the boss stopped by. If you’re responsible for going over important documents prior to release, hard copy editing is usually much easier than editing on a computer screen. Sometimes it is easier to spot small typos on a physical copy.
Less paper than ever
Most offices today rely less on paper than they ever have, and that is no myth. Employees do the bulk 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 agendas are written not on sticky notes but on smart phones. 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 actually paperless? Will notepads and sticky notes go the way of the milkman? Perhaps. Let’s look at the milkman: some still prefer to get their milk hand-delivered to their homes, but most of us just pop out to the store and pick some up when we need 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 those who prefer the physical feel of pen and paper.
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