The Leader - September 2007 - (Page 18) real e stat e maNaGemeNt Mobile Workers: Practices, Relationships and Components for Effective Workplaces by camIlle veNezIa aNd verNa allee over the past decade, there has beeN a substaNtIal INcrease IN the Number of Workers Who speNd a sIGNIfIcaNt portIoN of theIr tIme, aNd IN maNy cases all of theIr tIme, aWay from tradItIoNal assIGNed offIce space. mobIle Workers are NoW able to do theIr Jobs WIthout beING tIed to oNe desk for a fIxed perIod of tIme. today, techNoloGy alloWs employees to Work flexIbly aNd Improve theIr Work-lIfe choIces by WorkING WheNever aNd Wherever they Need. yet, lIttle Is kNoWN about hoW the shIft to Greater mobIlIty aNd the assocIated chaNGes IN Workspace aNd techNoloGy usaGe are ImpactING dIverse Work roles, actIvItIes, INterpersoNal collaboratIoN aNd Worker satIsfactIoN. K noll, Inc. has been focusing on the work force in a long-term study to explore how organizations can best support workers in professional environments in the digital age. By concentrating on new work patterns, the current research demonstrates the need to reconfigure physical infrastructure to support the rapid changes in business and working practices such as mobile, flexible and collaborative work. In 2006, Knoll research and partner Verna Allee Associates, a network anal- ysis and knowledge management group, focused on better understanding mobile work and the lives of mobile workers. The study surveyed mobile employees working for diverse organizations. The key goal of this study was to identify aspects of mobile work that are working well or that could be improved from the employee perspective. the study’s INNovatIve approach Most mobile worker research focuses on tasks and technology. The roles such workers play, the kinds of professional interactions they need to conduct and th e le ade r differences in their output are rarely examined. Recent applications of network analysis in organizational settings, however, reveal that roles carry very different kinds of motivators and patterns of connection. The implication is that different roles may actually have very different needs when it comes to support for mobile work. Based on this reasoning, the 2006 study used a network perspective to better understand the roles and interactions of mobile workers. The study’s premise is that mobile workers depend upon a web of relationships, a network, 18 september / october 2007
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