Savvy managers have downsized their office space to save money, leaving them without a workspace until new office space can be secured. This is likely to increase rental rates for all businesses.

It has been suggested that these deskless workers utilize break rooms. The nearly constant distractions will significantly hinder their efficiency. Hopefully, they do not require a phone to work, as cell service within the building is often unreliable. Additionally, power for the laptops may pose a challenge.

Even if assigned a desk, the equipment is probably inferior to what they have at home. For instance, at work, I would have just my laptop. At home, the laptop connects to a 24-inch and a 40-inch monitor, giving me twice the display area and making the text much easier to read. In many cases, it would mean switching from wired internet to WiFi. Maybe you must use the laptop keyboard and trackpad instead of a real keyboard and mouse. And, of course, the old broken-down chairs at most places.

There is considerably more setup and teardown time. Rather than simply locking the computer screen, these workers must shut down their laptops and pack them up to take home. Then, in the morning, instead of just unlocking the screen and continuing, they must set up the laptop, wait for it to boot, and reopen all their apps. In my case, it generally takes about 30 minutes to get up and running after a reboot. Plus, you must remember where you left off, possibly adding extra time to the teardown to jot down notes. Employers are probably assuming the employees will count this and the time hauling the laptop between their car and “desk” and off time, but in my experience, many count most of that time as on the clock.

Getting to appointments, generally closer to home than work (such as at doctors' offices and schools), will require much more travel time. Deliveries typically mean taking off the day instead of pausing for a few minutes. Lunch often goes from grabbing something to eat while working to about an hour out of the office. Again, I’ve seen many that count lunch time as on the clock even when out of office, while others take time off for lunch even when eating while working. Either way, an out-of-office lunch is generally more costly productivity-wise.

And, of course, there’s the whole disease issue, especially here in Texas, where we seem to be experiencing outbreaks of various illnesses lately. It’s a choice between staying home and getting nothing done or coming in and risking infecting coworkers.

All the above will also result in low morale, which has never been good for efficiency, especially with the added job insecurity.