Hold on to your rolodex from 1975—that dust-collecting gadget soon may be a collector's item. According to LinkedIn's 2012 Office Endangered Species Survey, 7,200 global professionals predict these 13 items and trends will fade from office life within the next five years:
- Tape recorders (79 percent)
- Fax machines (71 percent)
- Rolodexes (58 percent)
- Standard working hours (57 percent)
- Desk phones (35 percent)
- Desktop computers (34 percent)
- Formal business attire (27 percent)
- Corner office for managers and executives (21 percent)
- Cubicles (19 percent)
- USB thumb drives (17 percent)
- An office with a door (16 percent)
- Business cards (14 percent)
- Copy machines (13 percent)
On the other side of the coin, some items and trends boast skyrocketing office popularity. Respondents believe flexible working hours, telecommuting, video conferencing, web-based documents, enterprise social networking, and casual dress will be commonplace in 2017.
The surveyed group also collectively shares its loftiest dreams for today's workplace, citing idealistic wishes such as a clone or assistant to help out during the day, a place in the office that provides natural sunlight, a quiet room in the office to take a nap, and a mute button for co-workers.
