It's fair to say that the world of work will never be like it was 10years ago.⁵⁷ IT has opened up new possibilities for employees to do their work in locations as remote as Patagonia or in the middle of downtown Seattle. Although organizations have always had employees who traveled to distant corporate locations to take care of business, these employees no longer have to find the nearest pay phone or wait to get back to "the office" to see what problems have cropped up. Instead, mobile computing and communication have given organizations and employees ways to stay connected, be more productive, and be more environmentally friendly. Let's look at some of the technologies that are changing the way work is done.

Handheld devices with e-mail, calendars, and contacts can be used anywhere there's a wireless network. And these devices can be used to log into corporate databases and company intranets.

Employees can videoconference using broadband networks and web cams.

Many companies are giving employees key fobs with constantly changing encryption codes that allow them to log onto the corporate network to access e-mail and company data from any computer hooked up to the Internet.

Cell phones switch seamlessly between cellular networks and corporate Wi-Fi connections.

The biggest issue in doing work anywhere, anytime is security. Companies must protect their important and sensitive information. However, software and other disabling devices have minimized security issues considerably. The biggest issue in doing work anywhere, anytime is security. Companies must protect their important and sensitive information. However, software and other disabling devices have minimized security issues considerably. Even insurance providers are more comfortable giving their mobile employees access to information. For instance, Health Net Inc. gave BlackBerrys to many of its managers so they can tap into customer records from anywhere. One tech company CEO said that all types of organizations should start thinking about identifying and creating innovative apps that their workers could use in doing their jobs more efficiently and effectively and get those to them.

(a) What benefits do you see with being able to do work anywhere, anytime? (Think in terms of benefits for an organization and for its human resources.) (b) How do you personally feel about being able to do work anywhere, anytime?

What other issues, besides security, do you see with being able to do work anywhere, anytime? (Again, think about this for an organization and for its employees.)