According to CoStar Realty Information, the U.S. may now be witnessing the first major contraction in office space leases since the glut following the tech-bubble burst. The pinch on small businesses to contain operating costs may mean a downturn in traditional office leases and upgrades, yet ground has never been more fertile for alternatives.
Enter Ralph Gregory, the self-titled "father of virtual offices." In 1995, long before the media latched on to various definitions of this term, the Colorado-based Gregory started Intelligent Office on the research-backed premise that other professionals like him would want to work from home or telecommute, while using professionally managed business functions that don't necessarily require an office, such as phone calls, faxes and e-mail.
In the following interview, Gregory discusses how management has increasingly embraced this model of doing business, and what that means for employees across the hierarchical spectrum.