'India will gradually have to adopt the virtual office'

First response to 'Work-from-home vs work-from-office' debate. Rahul Singh, a marketing professional from Hyderabad, adds his bit to the debate.

I am into marketing with 25 years of experience. Today I am associated with a firm which gives me the leverage of working from Home as well as office/field. I have my own desktop computer with Internet, printer, scanner and fax facilities apart from mobile phone which is the life line of present day communication.

Having slogged for 23 years in the field with various firms, I have experienced the merits and demerits of working with such a typical set up. There are more merits than demerits of having such a rare facility.

The only demerit is missing the office atmosphere, colleagues and office gossips, which I make up by visiting my office once or twice every week. I am in touch with my boss over phone and most of my work is accomplished through the home based office setup and internet.

I schedule my field visits as per the appointments of clients and follow up based on priority.

A marketing man has to be in constant touch with the clients. Communication, both with clients and office is the key.

Commuting in a metro like Hyderabad is a nightmare, specially when the public transport system is not developed and efficient. Lot of time and energy is wasted in commuting, which is compensated by flexible home based office setup. I work more independently, effortlessly and with flexible timings. Many a times I am hooked to the system and at times I continue in the field.

As long as a balance is struck between desk work and field work and results are encouraging the system is effective. The future work scenario will be a virtual office taking help of technological advancement like online web conferences with the boss, office and clients. The payments (collection or disbursement) is again on line through e-commerce. India will gradually have to adopt the virtual office to improve work efficiency and boost the results.

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