Paralegals: No More Fax Machines, Panty Hose?

LinkedIn surveyed more than 7,000 global professionals for their opinions regarding tools and trends will disappear from offices in the next five years and which will become even more common.

Fortunately, Paralegals and other legal support staff members are not on the list!  However, nearly three quarters of those surveyed said they expected fax machines and tape recorders to disappear, along with other once common office tools like the Rolodex, desk phones and even desktop computers to become obsolete.

Here are the top 10 office tools and trends that professionals think will vanish in the next five years:

1. Tape recorders (79 percent)
2. Fax machines (71 percent)
3. The Rolodex (58 percent)
4. Standard working hours (57 percent)
5. Desk phones (35 percent)
6. Desktop computers (34 percent)
7. Formal business attire like suits, ties, pantyhose, etc. (27 percent
8. The corner office for managers/executives (21 percent)
9. Cubicles (19 percent)
10. USB thumb drives (17 percent)

More than half of professionals surveyed say tablets will become increasingly common in the office. Laptops also ranked high, with 34% of those surveyed predicting they would become more common.

I doubt many of you will mourn the loss of the fax machine, the cubicle or the standard working hours. However, you may miss your Rolodex and your business cards.

This survey is just the latest example that technology in the workplace never stops changing. You will need to adapt to these changes or else risk having technological skills that are obsolete as well.

Credit: http://mashable.com/2012/09/25/extinct-office-tech/