Happy Hump Day! 

So I am back, and now it's time to talk about the growing mobile workforce.  The mobile workforce can include a number of different types of workers such as business travelers, mobile office workers, and telecommuters.  Of course many employees can fall into multiple categories.  I have attached a diagram that shows the number of employees in several categories for 2008, just to give you an idea.  But I also think it is important to look at the number of SOHO home-based employees and businesses in the U.S., which also contribute to this growing mobile and remote workforece.  From a vendor standpoint, this is a highly growing market and presents an opportunity, thus the growth in Internet and Software as a Service.  I will get into some cool SOHO and Small business tools next week. 

The largest category is the telecommuter employee, followed by remote branch office workers.  The fastest growing segment of the mobile workforce are mobile office workers.  We have seen a shift in some industries and business where employers are letting customers work from home is becoming more acceptable, and in fact you can bet that some employees will be pushing for this even more because the rising costs of fuel.  In some cases businesses are letting employees work from home 1 to 2 days a week, while others are actually hiring work-at-home employees. Working at home is also seen as a benefit!  So some employers are actually providing this as a benefit to employees, because we all know other benefits like 401Ks and health insurance is falling, so businesses are having to be more creative to compete for highly skilled workers.

I would love to get your thoughts on this subject and learn about what your company is doing for this growing segment.  Drop me a line and let me know what you think.

Stephanie