Work And Travel In The USA

Globalization combined with being more technologically interconnected to each other may lead us to believe that travel for work, certainly work and travel in the USA, are seriously rising trends. Well an interesting statistic published by Robert Half International in July 2005 revealed that 48% of employees polled said they travel for work less frequently compared to five years ago. Another study published by Harris Interactive for the same time frame indicated that 43% of workers polled said they use their laptops on vacation for work-related e-mails. Although not specifically travelling for work, these vacationers clearly stay connected while on holiday. The US Travel Industry estimated a 1.5% increase in Business Travel for 2006.

International Data Corporation put the global market for info-tech products and services for 2005 at approximately $2.1 Trillion. Another fascinating 2005 figure was spending for Information technology as it topped out at nearly $416 Billion. Business productivity tools essential for the business traveler are the must have gadgets of our time. Something as simple as having remote access to your home or work pc from anywhere in the world can turn the nightmare of "I forgot that file!" to the dream of "oh, not to worry, I left that the file on my work PC, but I can access it from here".

Working and travelling is no longer the jammed packed briefcase experience it use to be. The employee can be seen totting briefcases with wireless laptops, cables and cords just in case, Ipods, microphones, and multiple USB memory cards, along with a lot of other gadgets.

Where is business travel headed? Perhaps it doesn't take a statistician to see that technological simplicity could become the wave to ride. For those who haven't taken the work and travel technology plunge the market can lure these reluctant souls in with, "don't worry, sign up for 'this service' and let us do the technical". No matter how savvy we are with technology, keeping it simple is the ultimate in productivity thus allowing traveling business people to focus on their business trip goals, rather than a hook up to a meeting, or a forgotten file, or chasing down a fax machine.

We are then lead to the next question; Are you reachable? Is that a good thing? - Very interesting statistics seem to indicate that yes, we are all "reachable", maybe too "reachable". According to http://NationMaster.com, the US leads in the number of personal computers, approximately 161,000,000. Although not the leader in the number of cell phones, the US sits at about 48 cell phones per 100 people. So back to the question, "attainable, is that a good thing"?

Speaking in general terms, one would have to scream NO! Just look at the above numbers one more time. However, perhaps the question isn't whether this is a "good thing" or a "bad thing", perhaps the real issue, begs the real question; "are we using technology to define time management". Even if we completely disconnect ourselves from the information world, technological advances will continue. So being left behind while the world progresses may be the equivalent of swimming against the tide.

Always available can be an option we define. The basic understanding of what options are available for us to choose from, is where our personal power begins. As an example, having the option of being able to hook up to our office pc from anywhere at anytime is a matter of simply accessing an affordable service. Are we too connected then? Well, the painting of Working Mom/Dad, rushing around at home with the kids, after work, when the office calls in a panic to remind them they need to modify paragraph 3 of the proposal that must be sent out before 9:00pm that night, can create a maddening level of stress. However, Mom/Dad simply need to have their home pc set-up to access their desktop at work, and there you have it, problem solved. The document can be modified directly from the comfort of home.

The office reaching us over the phone will not end. That's a given. When the office calls it's normally to resolve a matter, so the obvious becomes how do we use modern technology to resolve our unexpected work related surprises. We can be reached no matter how disconnected we want to be, but if we define ourselves as "part time flexible" in a full-time world, being accessible becomes our own definition. When we have access to solutions, we can move on. With flexible hours becoming the choice of many employers, your virtual office becomes a tool, not a hindrance.

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