According to a European survey, 4 percent of all employees work from remote locations for at least a quarter of their time. This increase in telecommuting has transformed corporate culture. As fewer people work in the conventional office setting, status symbols such as the corner office are no longer as important, and socializing between employees has declined. Some companies have cut back on telecommuting because they feel their business has suffered from a lack of face-to-face interaction.
See "The workplace: It's all about the coffee pot", Doreen Carvajal, International Herald Tribune, February 3, 2004