I like to travel light. I have absolute
dislike of waiting for my luggage to be found and off loaded from the plane. On more than one occasion in
the past I’ve had my luggage go missing and had to deal with all the
hassle that involves. So for a number of years now, I’ve used a small rucksack
that is capable of carrying all my mobile devices, an overnight toiletries bag,
a change of clothes and the occasional present and/or bottle of wine and
M&S sandwiches. Usually this system works well and only becomes a problem
when I have to carry paper versions of reports, minutes and so on. Then the
rucksack can become very heavy – or I end up having to take two bags – which obviously
defeats the objective of traveling light.
Experience has taught me that one needs to take care with such
a system. Last week I came across a very grey looking Robert, clearly in pain
and in need of some attention. Robert had worked most of his life for BT (there
are other telephone services providers available). He had for years carried a
computer bag, with what would have been a chunky and heavy lap-top. Robert favoured one side when carrying his case. Over many years this had resulted in problems in his shoulder, neck and back requiring
physiotherapy. I saw him immediately after he had received one of his
treatments, which had been painful, very uncomfortable and left him in a great
deal of pain.
Whilst it was going to be a busy day of
meetings to get through, it was clear that Robert wasn’t going to be able
to take part in any of them. We got someone to take him home, and as I write
this he is well and on the mend. The second meeting of my day was the Quality and
Safety Committee, a committee I chair. Although electronic versions of the meeting papers are available, I do take paper based copies as I make comments on these,
which I find easier to refer too in the meeting rather than reading ‘track
changed comments’ on the computer screen.
So this means my rucksack gets
temporarily filled with a massive sheaf of papers. I say temporarily as I have long
used my car as an office. I am able to ‘file’ paper work there, unlike my bricks and mortar
office. I’m into week 2 of my new job and already my new office resolution of
becoming a paperless worker is beginning to waver. It’s proving difficult to
steer clear of using paper to record, track, or capture information. My
new (recycled desk) is already displaying a growing mountain of paper. I am
going to have to try harder as I refused to have a new (recycled) filing
cabinet, and apart from my car, I actually have nowhere to ‘hide’ the growing
mound of papers.
The trouble is that paper based
information is just so seductive and even without considering the content of
the words, it is hugely reassuring to print off a report, paper or whatever. As
in the example above, sometimes it’s easier to use a version than an ‘on
screen’ format. Paper is a tangible artefact, and for my generation, certainly
provides a high degree of ontological security and of course can often be
visually pleasing to look at.
However, it’s estimated that the
average office worker generates nearly a kilogram of paper each day (about the
weight of a cheap bottle of wine). That much paper cost industry dearly. So
it’s not surprising that organisations have long looked at ways of reducing this
cost. 30 years ago it was a software company ‘Micronet’ that first used the
term ‘the paperless office’, but as late as last year research suggested that only 50% of
small/medium sized business believed they could go paperless by the end of
2015.
The
Department of Health and NHS England obviously know something different. Last
week they pledged funding to create a paper-free NHS. £1.8bn to get rid of ‘old
technology’ (which could include folk like me); £1bn on cyber security and data
consent; £750m to transform out-of-hospital care, medicines and digitise social
care and emergency care; and nearly £400m to build a new website – NHS-UK - aiming to develop apps and ensure wi-fi is provided free. 14 years ago, the
then Labour government spent some £10bn on developing electronic patient
records – but the programme was eventually scrapped after it proved impossible
to make any progress.
Creating
a paper free office? Actually, it may well already be a redundant aspiration. The
20-something generation (the so called millennial's) is already influencing the way the
world turns. They would rather go on a good holiday than save money for their
pension. Instability is at the core of the millennial psyche – they don’t want
to own stuff (most can’t afford to anyway). More importantly perhaps for the office of the future, is the notion that the millennial are ‘digital natives’ – people who grew up on the
internet and want to be able to do anything and everything online, and on
demand. And maybe in such a world there is no longer a place for rucksacks, whether these are large of small. However, on Valentines Day it is still lovely to get a proper card (or 2) rather than an e-card pinging into your phone or computer.
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