Paperless Company Myth Debunked

 

For more than two decades we have been proclaiming the imminent arrival of ‘a paperless world’ but the fact is, we are no closer to it than we were then. If anything, there are more businesses now than before; therefore, more paper is being used than ever.

The very popular TV Show, ‘The Office’, that’s based on a paper manufacturing company called Dunder Mifflin, pops automatically into my head.

Their motto is: “Limitless Paper for a Paperless World!”

It’s comedic and yet rings true at the same time.

Rumour has it that companies will be losing their filing cabinets by upgrading digitally, people will be saving the earth and paper will be a thing of the past, but how much of this factual?

That’s what we’re here to discuss!

It’s not that some companies are not trying to go paperless because in some countries, the technology needed for going paperless is readily available and even inexpensive.

It’s the simple fact that companies won’t!

Some might say that tools such as digital signatures and encryptions could very well change the way companies do business but in order for them to accomplish this, the companies they do business with need to adapt the same technology for it to work.

How would this work out for countries that are not as technologically advanced as 1^st world countries? International services and supplies would be immensely delayed or stopped altogether.

Think about telephones and fax machines when they were first introduced (and even now) – they were only useful if a number of people you wanted to communicate with ALSO had the same equipment.

Digital signatures and encryptions work the same way!

For the digital filled era, going paperless may appear to be a great idea for companies who want to reduce office expenditures and space, but it’s unrealistic to believe that paper will cease to exist.

To help explain reasons why paper will always remain a crucial part of our lives, let’s look at the three most common misconceptions that are held within the notion of going paperless:

Misconception #1 – Going Paperless = Going Green

For all of the self-proclaimed tree huggers – or those who are environmentally friendly – think twice before making this assumption!

Because we are not physically holding that little pine tree between our fingers, we are less aware of all the extra resources we are consuming.

In all actuality, more technology requires more deforestation and more energy consumption to increase the amount of electricity needed for everything digital.

According to the U.S. Department of Energy, the electricity consumed by data centres in the United States doubled from 2000 to 2006, reaching more than 60 billion kilowatt hours per year, roughly equal to the amount of electricity used by 559,608 homes in one year. According to the EPA that number could double again by 2011.[i]

Misconception #2 – Pixels Are Better Than Paper

Have you ever timed yourself reading text on a computer? What about reading from a book?

Experimental findings show that silent reading on a screen versus paper is significantly slower by 20-30%.[ii] In other words, page reading and screen reading differ extremely from each other.

When reading on the computer screen, you have to scroll up and down, worry about headaches that will pop up from the contrast of dark letters and bright screens and good grief if you don’t have the perfect eyesight! If you need to make the text larger so that you aren’t squinting to make the words clearer, not only are you scrolling up and down, but now you’ve added scrolling left to right which can get rather annoying.

With page reading, there is more of a connection and less of the shallow feel than there is when reading on a screen. We can zoom the words in and out just by moving our arms back and forth, the glare is not present and reading tends to be more focused.

People are creatures of habit – it’s comforting to see the right side of the book you’re reading grow smaller as the left side fills up. A sense of accomplishment is fulfilled without the bottle of Tylenol.

Misconception #3 – Companies Are Printing Less Paper

I, personally, like to think of people who predict technological futures as weathermen. Sometimes they forecast correctly, but other times, it’s unpredictable and way off course.

This is one of those times.

The prediction was that paper would become extinct and people would work in an entirely digital setup. But here we are still waiting and all that has improved is combining machines into a one-size-fits-all contraption (say hello to printer fleets).

Although nearly 70% of people say that they would prefer better managed printing structures to reduce costs, this has more to do with the economy doing poorly rather than going paperless.[iii]

People ARE finding ways to reduce the costs of printing but the printing output, as a whole, is not slowing down in the least!

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Everything I have said above is everything you either already know or are now informed about – so let’s see a few mainstream industries that have claimed to be going paperless and then examine WHY they have not been able to do it yet.

Medical – Most hospitals worldwide rely mainly on paper – whether it’s test results, prescriptions, ambulance logs, administrative and HR forms or the warehouse – printing is part of a daily ‘ward round’ for employees in any hospital.

Just in the United States of America, only about 1.5% of roughly 6,000 hospitals nationwide use comprehensive electronic records while the rest still rely on paper records.[iv]

Looking at the psychological aspect of keeping paper, most clinicians would rather have charts in hand so they can sit and talk with the patient rather than walking back and forth from behind their desks because it’s comforting and not distracting.

Banks – Many aspects of banking are done online, but the undertone of banking is paper.

That’s right, money is considered paper!

Ironically, banking is one area that does not cut down in costs when using it electronically. Banks charge for online banking and sending records and statements because sending you records is a nuisance to them.

Also ironic are the types of records held. The information is so confidential that the IRS, for example, will tell you to print out your documents as proof since computers prove nothing more than a reference point and it can be doctored by anyone brave enough to do so.

Educational Systems – In a study in the U.K., on average, roughly 4,450,000 pieces of paper are printed yearly making that about 8,000 pieces of paper per kid[v] and keep in mind that this does NOT include textbooks, notebooks or projects.

Let’s think about children who are just beginning school for a moment. Kindergarteners are not going to be able to lug their parents’ laptops to school to type their ABC’s – they haven’t even learned their letters yet!

Obviously, they can reconsider that option when they reach high school or college level, but for children, this can never be a solution.

Courier Services And Libraries – Need I say more? Just to humour you, I will!

Courier services and libraries are just as obvious as educational systems as to why it would be impossible to go paperless.

If libraries and mail services went digital, then they would cease to exist, solely for the reason that both businesses are made up of paper.

Libraries are stocked with paper filled books; mailmen walk through rain, sleet and snow to deliver letters, bills and magazines.

Although I’m sure mailmen would love to stop being chased by dogs and librarians would enjoy not shushing people, it’s highly unlikely they would appreciate having to begin a search for a new brand new career.

I may be exaggerating for emphasis in some areas, but I do it to point out the obvious – that everyone uses paper daily, from homework to reading books to hanging inspirational posters on office walls.

While the concept of going paperless sounds fantastic, most companies are just not capable of enforcing the zero paper law – change does not come as easily as you think!

To put just how much paper is consumed regularly into better perspective, here are some not-so-small numbers to help you out:

• World consumption of paper has grown 400% over the last 40 years
• Nearly four billion trees or 35% of the total trees cut around the world are used in paper in every continent
• Each person in the United States ALONE uses 749 pounds of paper every year or 187 billion pounds for the entire population per year[vi]

Even after knowing all of this, some folks are still trying to jump on the paperless bandwagon, but ask them how many pieces of paper are still floating around THEIR offices.

When they reply with, “Oh no, we scan all of our documents into the computer,” then ask them what exactly it is they are scanning from.

Is it…PAPER?

The one thing that will never change with paper is its versatility and usefulness. People, whose offices are demanding they go paperless, most likely have a secret stash of paper themselves – notepads in their desk drawer to scribble some notes on, calendars to note down reminders or printed out files they take home with them.

There is no denying that people want to go paperless, but perhaps when predicting the future, it would be fairer to put the word ‘less’ in front of paper, rather than after when deciding the fate of paper.

References:

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[i] http://www.pbs.org/mediashift/2010/03/is-digital-media-worse-for-the-environment-than-print090.html?utm_source=Facebook&utm_medi

[ii] http://www.ischool.utexas.edu/~adillon/Journals/Reading.htm

[iii] http://news.xerox.com/pr/xerox/NR_2009Dec8_Xerox_and_Quocirca_MPS_Survey.aspx

[iv] http://www.physorg.com/news166164064.html

[v] http://ostatic.com/blog/paperless-schools-and-linux-notebooks-for-every-kid

[vi] http://ecology.com/features/paperchase/