Supporting mobile worker networks: components for effective workplaces

Purpose – To better understand mobile work and the lives of mobile workers from the employee perspective and to identify aspects of mobile work that are working well or could be improved.Design/methodology/approach – A survey of 557 respondents involved in mobile work, including managers and workers. Questions focused on how mobile workers identify roles and communicate socially/professionally; how they use space, technology, and collaborative tools; and how they feel about mobile working.Findings – Identifies the workplace needs of mobile workers. Gaps in mobile workers' stated activities and work patterns are revealed in relation to current thinking about workspace utilisation. Considerable employee disenchantment suggests that office design is not supporting the new roles mobile workers are asked to fulfill.Research limitations/implications – This report summarises the findings of the first phase of a multi‐year research study which included 557 mobile worker respondents representing 84 world‐wide orga...