More on living in a remote world

Microsoft Office 365 LogoImage by Microsoft Sweden via Flickr

I was asked to write a post about living in a remote world from Janet Hanson the brilliant woman behind 85 Broads who is working with Microsoft Office 365.  So here is second of the two posts.

Hand held smart phones have changed the work world in good and bad ways.  On one hand you can be sitting by a pool calling into a conference call, doing email and closing a deal but on the other hand the constant flow of information can distract you from your daily life. 

There is no doubt that there is something about the instant gratification that runs deep in our society perhaps that is the constant obsession with checking our phones for any information.  The problem with that is that you ignore people around you and instead of socializing with the people in the present you socialize with people online.  Having a conversation with someone live in any setting takes a good deal of restraint to keep the steam of information at bay.  Yet these are just social skills that need to be learned.

The best thing is that you can conduct business anywhere at anytime.  I was recently in South Africa for a week and I did not stop blogging for one day.  I spent the summer out of the city and was able to continue to blog, talk to the companies that I was working with and even meet new people and hear their ideas through the beauty of Skype.  That is pretty powerful. 

The ability to function in a virtual world is changing the game especially for women.  We all work on our computers no matter if we are at work or not.  Women tend to be the one who manages the family finances and the day-to-day needs of the household.  There is no reason why someone can’t do their job from anywhere with the commitment to come into the office yet not from 9 – 5.  That workday has disappeared because we are living in a 24/7 world of access to information and you can plug in at 8pm at night if you had to get something done personally at 4pm.

I knew someone that started a company and none of the employees resided under one roof but across the country in different states.  He was able to hire the right people for the jobs and everyone conversed and did business in a virtual world.  There was Skype for conference calls, computers for access and hand-helds for constant communication.  It worked.  At one point a main headquarters was established because there was a time it became necessary but those early beginnings certainly created a culture that is was okay that not every employee live in the vicinity of that office. That culture gave everyone the ability to hire the right person for the right job no matter where they were located.

In essence, the wireless world has let us do everything we need to do when we want and on our own terms.

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Comments (Archived):

  1. Rue Nyangulu-Mungofa

    Thank you for sharing your thoughts, I completely agree, the electronic age has transformed my life in and out of the work arena from being able to work flexibly with various gadgets as assistants to rice cookers and slow cookers so I get dinner on the table on time and I don’t even have children yet but I can so see how I will be able to fit them into my life thanks to technology! It seems to be a miracle that women before us managed…

    1. Gotham Gal

      it truly is a miracle. dishwasher, washing machine, grocery store products, etc.

  2. Rohan

    Yeah. Big upsides and equally big downsides.Increased online connectivity = Increased # of blackberry orphansI’m optimistic balance will come though.. as we figure out how to deal with all this information and especially distinguish between information we need and that which is TBU (true but useless).

  3. ellen

    Certainly saves on office space rent, but I, sometimes, feel having everyone in one place can also be advantageous for a  company.  You are feeding off everyone’s excitement and creativity.  The important things are options.  We no longer have to physically do the time wasting chores we used to do.  I have not yet seen the documentary Connected, An Autobiography about Love, Death and Technology but from what I read Tiffany Shlain explores the topic about how being connected has changed our lives. I don’t think it has hit Boston yet.

    1. Gotham Gal

      Agree. There is something about having everyone in one room. We can do our day to day chores on line. Yet the ability to have total flexibility in our jobs helps particularly when t comes to family.

  4. Laura Yecies

    I so agree with many of these concepts.  I wrote a short piece on this a few weeks ago. http://thekitchensync.co/20

    1. Gotham Gal

      nice piece