To better understand the increasingly mobile workforce, Knoll recently surveyed over 500 mobile workers employed by 84 different organizations. Here are some findings from their resulting 2007 report.

Demographic profile:

• 65% over age 40
• 65% male, 35 % female
• 82% married or living common law

Role and/or status in their organization:

• 80% held professional, managerial or executive positions
• 75% work more than 40 hours per week

Mobile workers “at the office”:

• 75% of mobile workers use “the office” for face-to-face meetings with co-workers, clients, and to socialize.
• 50% said they needed conference room space at their primary office, but typically had trouble finding it.
• 64% of mobile workers reported having an assigned workstation or private office at “work” with the majority commenting that they rarely used it, needing collaborative space more when at the office.
• 23% of mobile workers used unassigned workspaces or team spaces at “the office”

Other interesting facts:

• 61% of mobile workers say they do their best work at home. When asked to describe that work, the majority said it involved writing, reading, creating presentations, creative thinking, and correspondence.
• 25% reported doing their best work “at the office” and 8% reported client premises as the most productive place. A handful reported cafes or other as the best place to work.
• 90% of mobile workers use a lap top as their primary technology.

Are you mobile?

Do you fit the profile above?

For me: I’m semi-mobile, under age 40, married, work less than 40 hours (for my employer), managerial / professional. At the office, I collaborate during formal and informal face-to-face meetings; collaborate or research/interview on the phone; do smaller research or reading or writing tasks – for all these tasks, the office is the most efficient place. At home, I tend to do bigger research or writing projects – for this work, home is the most productive place.