Are you a part of “The Kinko’s Generation?”

Posted by Jim Stroud

November 14, 2006

The fall morning is mercifully fog-free, which puts a spring in the step of Mordy Karsch as he rolls into work. In short order, he fires up the computer, turns on his cellphone and orders breakfast.

Though he has toiled on these premises for two years, he doesn’t know anyone here well except for Angel Pinto, who brings him his hot coffee. That’s because Karsch, 34, works out of The Grove, a bohemian eatery in this city’s hip Marina district that caters to a growing army of office-less employees.

“Working from a place like this is less stressful than being in an office, and I find I get a lot more done,” says Karsch, general manager of Spanish Sales Force, a Spanish-language marketing consultancy. “If you can make this work for you, you’ll love it.”

Call The Grove the office of the future, except the future is here.

An estimated 30 million Americans, or roughly one-fifth of the nation’s workforce, are part of the so-called Kinko’s generation, employees who spend significant hours each month working outside of a traditional office.

READ: Working out of a third place