Via Instapundit, I ran across this piece by Mike Elgan:

"One thing leads to another. High gas prices prompt employers (including the federal government) to allow employees to work from home once a week. Once that's accepted culturally, an elephant appears in the boardroom: If it's OK once a week, why isn't it OK five times a week? (This is what happened with 'casual Friday' -- its once-a-week acceptance lead to the current trend of casual wear every day.) Once telecommuting is accepted, 'extreme telecommuting' -- working from the Bahamas or Paris or an internet-connected shack on the Australian Outback -- becomes acceptable, too. After all, once you're out of the office and connecting to the company over the Internet, it doesn't really matter where you are, does it?"

I hadn't really thought about "casual Friday" and the move to all casual, but it's true. Fifteen years ago, any visit to a Wall Street firm was in a suit. Now, it's business casual - and I've seen people in those offices dressed like California startup staff from the original web bubble.

The next phase seems to be underway, and I guess I was one of the first fulltime adherents to the remote lifestyle. I've been a remote worker since 1992 - I go to an office by plane when I need to go. It looks like that trend is picking up speed, and I suspect it will drive demand for bandwidth. It should be an interesting next decade.

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