A press release that Nokia sent out overnight caught my eye:
More than half of working Americans - 53 percent - have been interrupted by a work-related phone call or email while in the bathroom… Twenty-four percent have allowed a call or email to interrupt them while in the throes of passion, and 23 percent while on a date. That may be because most working Americans - 59 percent - never turn off their mobile device.
Nokia claims that these numbers (collected from an online survey) are representative of US adults with a 4.4% margin of error. Of course, they have a technology pitch for tools that are supposed to help you maintain a better work-life balance, but it’s those raw numbers that fascinate me.
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At WWD, we’ve long recognized that there are many types of web workers: though the stereotypical web worker may be the always-on-the-go, device-laden, “digital bedouin,” there are millions of others in home offices and cubicles who couldn’t do their job without constant internet use. The latest survey from the Pew Internet & American Life Project, “Networked Workers,” shows just how pervasive web work has become. It’s becoming clear that web work, by our expansive definition, is business as usual for many in the workplace - and that, as its growth expands, many of the issues on our agenda are becoming increasingly important.
The bottom-line number from this particular survey is simple: 62% of all employed American adults can be considered “networked workers” (Pew’s term) who use the internet or email at work. In fact, 27% of employed adults report that they use the internet “constantly” at work, with the heaviest internet users being government, educational, and non-profit workers, as well as professionals, managers, and executives.
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I’m downloading apps like crazy onto my iPod Touch, trying to find the perfect combination of tools to make it more than just a great entertainment device. I was especially inspired by Judi Sohn’s post about her iPhone, one month later.
I’m still on the fence about purchasing it only because it isn’t like an iPhone with its near-ubiquitous connection to the Internet and online work tools. When I’m not around wifi, it is not as useful to me from a work standpoint. So in addition to looking for work-related applications, I’ve been scoping out any application that can also support offline work.
Here’s my growing list of iPod Touch/iPhone apps that are giving me added productivity when I’m not around my MacBook.
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Chance are, if you are a web worker, you occasionally have to travel for your job. That means taking your work on the road, possibly using different tools than usual, and very likely using different connectivity, depending on where you are.
If you’re a frequent traveler, i.e. a global nomad, you’ve likely got a set of tools–both hardware and software–that you use when you travel. If you’re relatively new to the whole travel game (you do it infrequently, or you just want an occasional change-of-pace from working at home or your office) try to practice working remotely–without the expensive plane trip.
What does it mean to “practice?” Go someplace local you don’t normally go and attempt to work as if you were hundreds or thousands of miles away. Depending on whether or not you have a mobile broadband solution, you might need to scout the area first to ensure that there are adequate connectivity options.
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A job is that thing where you go to work in the morning, work in somebody’s office, report to a boss, leave by the end of the day, and get a regular paycheck. It’s that thing we’re supposed to get when we grow up, when we’re done with school.
It’s also becoming more and more irrelevant.
Some of you web workers are already getting along fine without a job: you work from home, or can work from anyone (you bedouin, you!). But for those of you who aren’t there yet, and are either looking for a job or have one, consider not having one.
There are so many other options out there right now, with the rise of the web worker, the entrepreneur, the telecommuter, the freelancer, the blogger, the consultant, and more.
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