According to a new study from the London Business School, commissioned
by Sony Ericsson, wireless mobile technology is revolutionising modern
business practice and has given birth to a new breed of switched-on professionals
who work smarter not harder.
According to Professor Richard Jolly«s report, “Roam Alone: The
Boundaries of eMobility,” Britain has a growing army of four million “eWorkers” -
also known as “mobilers” or “teleworkers” - who are at the centre of social change as they take greater control over their lives.

Thanks to the flexibility, freedom and choice offered by wireless mobile technology, 21st century professional laptop users can be found
downloading emails and accessing the internet from coffee shops, airport lounges, on trains, in taxis, hotel lobbies and customer meeting rooms. British
firms
can save up to £6,500 a year per eWorker with more efficient employees,
saving on office space and travelling.

Sony Ericsson
commissioned the study to mark the launch of its GC75 PC Card
Modem. Complete with detachable aerial, the credit card sized
triple-band GPRS modem slots neatly into the side of a PC laptop enabling users to
work wirelessly and enjoy equivalent speeds and user-friendliness to that of
a fixed line modem. Downloading emails, accessing the Internet and
corporate databases on the move is now as easy as logging on at home or in the
office.

Gunilla Nordstr, Head of M2M Com at Sony Ericsson, said: “The GC75 PC
Card Modem is a liberating technology with many benefits to individuals and companies. Thanks to the flexibility, freedom and choice offered by
mobile technology, professionals can work smarter not harder and have a greater control over their lives.”

The key findings of “Roam Alone: The New Boundaries of eMobility” are:

Rise of the eWorker

There are more than four million eWorkers in the UK and nine million in
Europe using mobile communication technologies to work outside
traditional
offices - a number set to rise to 27 million by 2010. This coincides
with
a
European-wide agreement amongst employers and trade unions to give
eWorkers
equal rights with conventional workers.

Inbox Pruners

The average number of emails received by senior executives has soared to
in excess of 100 per person per day.  The dread of returning to the tyranny
of
the inbox could be a thing of the past as eWorkers prune their inbox
while
out of the office commuting, in coffee shops, or on business trips,
saving
time and making life significantly less stressful.

Gridlock Busters

More people live further from their formal place of work than ever
before. The traumas and costs of commuting provide another impetus to the rise
of eWorking. Half of UK managers would like to change their working
pattern, introducing more flexibility. It is estimated that 63% of executives
maintain contact with the office whilst on holiday and 16% take their laptop. For many the ability to choose when and where they work makes
them more efficient and productive.

Freeworkers vs. Desk Slaves

Mobile internet technology provides freedom from being a `desk slave`
and a `time slave`. These Freeworkers are increasingly in control of their own
destiny, viewing their career as a portfolio of roles and opportunities
to be managed like a stock portfolio. Freeworkers embrace the flexibility
of mobile internet technology. Being connected 24 hours a day does not mean
being available 24 hours a day. The conventional boundaries between
`work` and `not work` are evolving into `work` and `available for work`. In
other words, when we work is no longer defined by a work contract stipulating
specific hours of employment.

Always on

With technologies such as General Packet Radio Service (GPRS), which
makes it possible to always be connected, work colleagues and customers,
friends and family can choose when to contact us - and the eWorker chooses when
to respond. The flexibility that comes from being able to manage where and
when
you work brings greater freedom. Even the boundaries between public and
private spaces are being transformed, as employees can work in their
kitchens or receive private correspondence in a busy airport or coffee
shop.

Psychological Safety Net
Erich Fromm wrote, “The deepest need of man is the need to overcome his
separateness, to leave the prison of his aloneness.”  There is a safety
net
that comes from a deep-seated feeling of connection with others. Through
the
rise of mobile internet technology it is possible to avoid any sense of
separateness.
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