Are Offices Needed?

Seth Godin wrote on his blog a short while back on doing away with the modern day office.  I think that I personally would love the opportunity to work from home, and not have to go into a office everyday. I would get to spend more time with my family and not have to spend the time or money on the commute to work every day. I could work at my own pace, because if the work gets completed there will not be any complaints.

There would also be more time for family. You would not be restricted to working 8 to 5, but when you needed to get what needed to be accomplished completed.

However, I can see some problems that could arise from not having that modern day office setting. What would the individuals do who receive their motivation by being in a workplace setting? They would probably not be as driven, work would decline, and quality of work would dwindle. Also, I could see individuals who are lazy or less motivated struggle greatly from this kind of work environment. They would procrastinate and fail at many tasks that bosses usually would have to watch over them to make sure they are completed.

In my opinion working around others in a work setting will always be needed. It is the competition that is the driving force for a lot of people. Sure, the evolution of technology has made working remotely more feasable, but would iit bring about the same kind of productivity as working on site at an office?

What do you think? Could you do it?