The promise of a paperless office has been around for years. Unfortunately, most offices must still use paper regularly. Is the paperless office just a pipe dream that we will not achieve?  In a nutshell, no. We are constantly moving toward paperless offices, but it’s just taking us considerably longer than we’d hoped.

The advantages of paper

As great as it would be to have everything in digital format, paper is still useful. The primary reason it’s still around is that paper is portable. It’s easy to scribble a note and slip it into your pocket. Even the most eco-friendly offices still find uses for paper. If you’re an editor, you probably know how hard it is to edit a digital copy. A lot of people prefer to proofread important documents in hard-copy format. It is sometimes easier to spot mistakes when the file is printed out.  

Less paper than ever

Paper isn’t disappearing, it is becoming steadily less important. While we still need paper for certain tasks,  most offices are using less paper than ever before. Most writing is performed on a word-processor and correspondence is done via email or Skype rather than fax or letters. Meeting notes, company schedules, and whole marketing campaigns are stored digitally on our computers and smartphones.  So while paper is not yet obsolete, the sticky note is no longer king of the office.

The future

It’s clear that in the future, offices will rely much less on paper. However, will offices ever truly become paperless? Will legal pads and Post-it Notes go the way of the milkman? Maybe. Just consider the milkman: There are still some homeowners who prefer to have their milk delivered to them, but the majority of consumers purchase their milk at their local supermarket.

Paper could end up the same way. While most office workers are depending more on computers, the cloud, and smartphones for their invoicing, writing, and spreadsheets, there are still those workers preferring the old-fashioned feel of pen and paper.