KEY POINTS:
Short espresso and excel spreadsheet. P.A.Y.E and toasted panini. While these are unlikely combinations to find in your typical office they could soon become the norm in the new work environment for the truly mobile-worker.
The 'mobile office' has been a reality for a number of years now. Yet the use of mobile technology such as WAN or Wi-Fi enabled laptops, PDA's and call diverting services has mainly been used as a means of working from home or on the road.
Mobile technology is becoming easier and more cost effective as office-rentals continue to increase in price. Is now the time for sole-traders or those who spend most of their time working outside an office to consider the option giving up office space completely?
National Sales Manager for Norsewood Industries, Raewyn Stewart is your typical mobile worker. Her company is Australian based, and consequently all trans-Tasman communication is done via laptop or mobile.
Raewyn places all client orders online, rather than over the phone. And once an order has been placed she can track it at any time to tell the client exactly how far away it is, even when she's mixing work with play.
"I went skiing at Ruapehu recently and one of my biggest clients emailed me a large order. In the past I would have had to leave for the closest hotel, or find a wireless hot-spot to go online. With the datacard I logged on to our website and completed the order then and there."
Internationally, a trend is emerging in which the 'office' is actually someone else's workplace.
It involves a 'tribe' of workers in coffee shops throughout the UK and the US. Dubbed by some journalists as the 'new Bedouins' (a reference to the nomadic lifestyle of Arab Bedouin tribes that wander the desert) these workers move from Wi-Fi hotspot to Wi-Fi hotspot using laptops and mobiles as their only office equipment.
As Dan Frost of the San Francisco Chronicle commented in an article earlier this year, the 'new Bedouins' are often disaffected ex-corporate employees who are wanting a lifestyle and workplace far removed from the traditional office.
"[They] see themselves changing the nature of the workplace, if not the world at large. They see large companies like General Motors laying off workers, contributing to insecurity. And at the same time, they see the Internet providing the tools to start companies on the cheap. In the Bedouin lifestyle, they are free to make their own rules."
While this trend is yet to emerge fully in New Zealand it does connect well with the attitude of many independent workers and Kiwi lifestyle the ability to set ones own hours and mix work with play. And with the number of Wi-Fi hotspots on the rise, finding a place to plug-in is becoming easier and more cost effective.
5 things you need to become a 'new Bedouin'
1. A laptop with Wi-Fi and Bluetooth capability
2. A smartphone or PDA with Wi-Fi and Bluetooth capability
3. Back-up storage in the event of Laptop failure
4. An ability to work in different environments
5. Spare change for coffee and a muffin
