Symposium V Update: We are going to have a very talented and diverse group of participants--from corporations, consultancies, universities. As of today, there are 27 registered attendees. In addition to Pamela Hinds' presentation and the follow-up panels, other highlights will be a visit to Renate's Project Based Laboratory--a research environment for exploring multi-channel technologies for remote collaboration, presentations of the Alternative Workplace Benchmarking Study and the New Ways of Working Sustainability Calculator. Don't miss out! Register today. http://www.newwow.net/members/#tabs-panelsblock_1-1
Our members recommend. Many thanks to the members who contributed articles this week:
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Patricia Roberts recommended links to recent news stories about the shift to "compressed schedules" or 4-day workweeks due to rising gas prices in the US, especially in the public sector. http://www.newwow.net/members/node/855#comment-580
David Coleman sent in a piece from IDC that forecasts the number of worldwide mobile workers will reach 1 billion by the end of 2011. Nearly 75% of the U.S. workforce and 30% of the world's workers will be mobile. http://www.newwow.net/members/node/615#comment-581
Joe Ouye will talk about "How People Work -- the changing nature of work, work place, and its impact on sustainability and corporate CO2 foot print" at the two-day Stanford workshop "Remote Collaboration, Telepresence, Interactive Work Spaces and Places." The workshop will be co-led by Dr. Renate Fruchter. http://www.newwow.net/members/node/870
Martha Russell sent in an announcement about another Media X program, "Engaging Teams Across Distance, Time, and Culture." This workshop will be co-led by Dr. Pamela Hinds. Get all the details in our calendar. http://www.newwow.net/members/node/873
Speaking of the calendar, be sure to check our listing of calendar events. http://www.newwow.net/members/events/calendar/coming
New study reveals impact of separate generational societies in the workplace
Randstad USA has been tracking workplace issues and trends for nearly a decade. Their latest report, Confidence and Concern: The World of Work in 2008, offers insight into the generational differences in the US workplace. Among the findings, the study authors conclude that cross-generational interaction in the workplace is rare. "Workers walk the same halls, but are separate generational societies." The generations aren't talking, sharing, teaching or learning from one other. The repercussions of this lack of communication are serious. The authors maintain that knowledge transfer between retiring generations of veteran workers and newer entrants to the workforce is unlikely. For more, see http://www.newwow.net/members/node/872
Workplace interruptions - an interview with Prof. Gloria Mark.
This interview focuses on Professor Mark's research on computer supported cooperative work. On average it took people more than 20 minutes to get back to the task they were on when they were interrupted. A surprise finding: people who were interrupted, performed just as well as those who were not. Not only did they not perform more poorly but they actually completed the task faster. What's that about?
http://www.newwow.net/members/node/255#comment-582
Also in the news:
- Nortel's Integrated Work Environment program. Nortel reports that about 80% of its employees are equipped to telework, while 10% work out of a home office full-time for real estate savings of about US $9,000 per full-time teleworker. http://www.newwow.net/members/node/615#comment-577
- Survey shows tech & telework up, biz travel down. Two-thirds of American businesses are experiencing the negative effects of the increased cost of fuel on their operations according to a new study by the Institute for Corporate Productivity. http://www.newwow.net/members/node/855#comment-579
- Latest telework news. We summarize five stories: how Maryland businesses are using "telework to grease the economy;" businesses using telecommuting to cut real estate costs; NEC's huge telecommuting initiative; a survey that indicates IT workers would work for less if they could telecommute; and a warning from Rep. Frank Wolf, who says that when monitoring US Federal agency compliance with telework legislation, "somebody should be watching the back door." http://www.newwow.net/members/node/615#comment-578
