Where you work.
 
I know, I know--a cubicle is a far cry from a jail cell, but there are some similarities.  People who are outside of both are happier.

Telework Research Network reports that 41% of workers who have the option to workshift are "very satisfied" with their jobs, compared to only 27% of those who are office bound.*  And other research suggests that more virtual employees are "engaged" than their peers who work with their entire team present (34% vs. 28%).**

Clothing choices
When you work from home, you can wear what you want--that includes your most embarrassing (and comfortable) pair of sweatpants, something you'd never be caught dead in at work.

This flexibility, along with the other work-life balance benefits of workshifting, can secure your company the best, most talented employees, since 72% of employees say flexible work arrangements would cause them to choose one job over another.***

Driving to work.
 
Spare yourself the bird, please.  Workshifting saves you a headache and could take 10 million cars off the road, if a workshifting policy was in place in the U.S.  It's estimated this policy could also prevent over 95,000 traffic injuries and deaths, save over $11 billion in accident costs, and lower highway maintenance costs almost $2 billion a year.**

Now, let's put the brakes on for that!  Are you in?



I have to give credit where credit is due.  The concept of these graphics comes from Indexed (http://thisisindexed.com/). The ideas, however, were all me--so I'll take the blame for that.
*Lister, Kate. Workshifting Benefits: The Bottom Line. Telework Research Network, 2010.
**Preston, Camille, PhD. Leading Virtual Effectiveness. AIM Leadership, 2010.
***Montero, Phil. Work Unchained: Workshifting and the Competitive Edge of the Anywhere Office.  The Anywhere Office, 2010.
 

A friend of mine started workshifting full-time about eight months after I took the plunge myself. I was still basking in the glow of my own good fortune at being able to workshift 2,000 miles away from HQ and was, of course, thrilled for my friend who, as it turned out, was a tad apprehensive about working day in and day out by himself.

In an effort to ease himself into his new workshifting routine, he invited me to work in tandem at a local coffeehouse called the Black Dog, a great workshifting venue with generously sized library tables, ample outlets and a tomato-basil pizza that makes my knees buckle. We made a few attempts to coordinate work schedules, but things never came together.

His craving for a larger group of colleagues led him to poll other workshifters he knew in the area to see if there might be any interest in working regularly from his home as a group. He discovered that there was actually a mighty big demand for this type of arrangement.

Soon after (and perhaps to the chagrin of his tolerant wife), the dining room table was recast as a permanent conference table. A post-it note went up on the front door inviting the crew to "Come In." A larger coffee pot was procured and a band of workshifting regulars poured through the front door of his home in the heart of a residential neighborhood to work independently, together.

My friend has since converted the master bedroom suite, which occupies the entire second floor, into a much larger collaborative workspace. (Like I said, his wife is a tolerant woman.) The setup looks less haphazard than the dining room table with its nest of cords underneath and allows the living space of the house to flow more naturally. The new office digs look incredibly professional and polished--just as you would expect any other office out in the world to look. It's less "home office" and more "office within the home."

The first time I saw the suite workspace, I said, "Hmm, I could see myself working here. Are you hiring?" Though I didn't land a permanent placement, I was invited to observe the collection of workshifters on a typical workday and interview a few folks to see how things looked from their side of the multi-workstation table.

I'll share my observations of the collaborative workday and my conversations with some of the regular crew next time.

Would this type of arrangement work for you?

I was playing Red Light / Green Light with my daughters the other day.  My favorite part is when I yell "red light" while they are running at me with the same intensity and drive as linebackers trying to sack the quarterback!  I usually cover up my man parts and hope for the best.

Red Light / Green Light reminds me of the constant stop-and-start of my work routine.  I workshift on Wednesday's because that's the day I've chosen to read, do research, write blog posts, and generally catch up.  What I've learned while workshifting is that distractions are literally everywhere.  Yesterday I was workshifting from my local coffee shop.  It has the classic steady hum of your typical coffee joint.  The steam from the espresso machine, the beans grinding, the cars passing by, locals and tourists stopping in, the shaking of my table because the legs aren't even, James Blunt playing in the background and a nice breeze coming through the windows.

Whether you're workshifting on a corporate campus, coffee shop, co-working space or by the pool, there is a steady stream of distractions.  When we choose to workshift, we eliminate the distractions of the traditional office setting, but we substitute them with new ones.  They are distractions all the same.  This got me thinking about the game, Red Light / Green Light.

As I was listening to the factory style hum of my coffee shop, I just wanted to yell, Red Light!  Can't you see I'm working!  Being the nice guy that I am, I started to think about alternatives to yelling and general mayhem.  What about noise canceling headsets, I thought?  People use them on planes, they should work perfect in a coffee shop.  I asked on Facebook and around the office and these are what people recommended:

Beats, by Dre

Monster Turbine In-Ear Speakers

Shure SE530 Sound Isolating Earphone 

Soon, one of these earphone, headset, in-ear, noise canceling, high performance, productivity boosting gadgets will be in my workshifting tool bag.  I like to work with and around people in a collaborative environment, but I need to tune out when I have to dig in and get work done without interruption.

I don't think Beats by Dre will discourage my daughters from pouncing on me at full speed, but hey, I never said I didn't want to be pounced on.

How do you tune out distractions at your workshifting spot?


Photo Credit: Andres Rueda

Over the past year I was banished from cubicle-ville, where I more or less worked a 10 a.m to 6 p.m. shift five days a week as a print reporter. After my position evaporated, I spent the past year freelancing, looking for a "real" job, and finally launching a new career as a social media manager for a digital marketing agency. During this time I've come to appreciate five largely unspoken benefits to workshifting.

1. Safety in sickness. Earlier this month I felt miserable for three days. I ended up taking half a  Tuesday off and half a Thursday off. I was sick enough to have to take it easy, but not quite feeling so bad that I had to ignore work completely. What I really appreciated through this sick spell was that - and I'll admit this may sound a bit gross - the toilet was only 20 feet away, and the bed 15 feet. I could visit the bathroom 20 times and no one would notice, and I didn't have to worry that Joe from accounting was hogging the only stall. Then whenever I needed to rest for a little while, I didn't have to sneak outside, or try and relax in the company break room. I say this because the ability to toil away in the place I feel safer and more comfortable in than anywhere else in the world, allows me to be at least partly effective, instead of having to take the entire day off. In a traditional job, you either have to feel nearly fine, or go home. There's not a happy medium. You also have to be worried at work that others are watching, worried they might catch what you have. Had I been at my old post, chances are I would have had to take two or three days off, not so as a workshifter.


2. More windows. Because newspapers are traditionally old institutions, their buildings are often  drab, windowless structures located in cramped downtowns. In the winter it's too cold, and in the summer too hot. My home office is naturally located in a neighborhood I chose to live in, has lots of great windows, and on sunny days I can watch and hear ships slide in and out of the Duluth Minnesota port on Lake Superior. During the winter, I can light a fire in my fireplace and work in front of it. In the summer, I can open or close as many windows as I desire. In other words, the views and temperature controls of my office, are all in my control.  And parking's free!


3. Peer pressure nonexistent. While I have many friends, co-workers, clients and a boss scattered all over the globe, because they aren't sitting next to me I often find myself not spending as much time worrying about what others might say about my ideas. Obviously you always want to be very open to constructive criticism, but I feel much more freedom now, working solo, than I ever did when bosses and co-workers were always meandering about, reading what I was writing. Being physically alone allows me to feel freer to flex my own mental muscles more liberally.


4. Connected with others in ways that works better for me. One of my co-workers is in the Philippians. I'm working with a customer whose team is spread between the Silicon Valley and India. And many of my new colleagues and friends I've only met through Skype, blogs, e-mails and tweets. So while I work solo every day, I feel like I'm virtually surrounded by great people who are never more than a chat or tweet away, yet distant enough to not get irritating, or overbearing. I also have gained lots of input from forums like Third Tribe, with people who know exactly what I'm going through. Often because geography is no barrier, I meet more people whose thoughts and optimism about the world lines up with mine far more than I'd ever found locally.


5. Doesn't feel like work. There's something about working in the place you relax that helps make me feel like I'm not actually working. Most of the time I'm in my upstairs office, with my cats sleeping nearby. If I'm not there, a local Italian restaurant or coffee shop with WiFi, is where I can be found, meeting with clients. I don't worry about deciding what's for lunch. I hit the fridge when I'm hungry. I occasionally run an errand at 11 a.m., and do a couple of hours of work beginning at 11 p.m. I now work for myself, on what I want, when I want. And it feels pretty darn good.

What are some of the unspoken workshifting benefits you've never seen mentioned here?


Photo Credit: Stewf
 

Are you one of those perfect neat and tidy types? The kind that never have a pencil out of place or a double booking in your schedule? If that is the case then you really don't need to read this. However, If you are like the rest of the 99% of us....Read On!

Nope I'm not going to blather on about getting your life in order, and I'm not going to preach the latest five tips on how to keep a clean office. Rather, I'm going to tell you a story that just might hit home for many of you up to your ears in paper and stacked up coffee cups.

Years before I had this illustrious career as a glorified typist and web strategist I worked as a Chef in fine dining establishments. For those of you that have ever worked in the business you know that some chefs are the neat and tidy types while others have a lot to learn about keeping an organized work station. I happened to be in the latter group where the perception of speed and efficiency always seemed to trump organization.

About three years into my career as a chef I was offered a job under a classically trained French Chef at one of the finest Country Clubs in New York. I jumped at the chance assuming I would learn more from this man about cooking in a year than I had learned in all of the previous three combined. Little did I know Lesson One would be my first night on the line.

So you have heard phrases like, "We are throwing you to the wolves" or "You need to learn to swim sometime!" Well, that was my first Friday night at the Country Club. I had been working in this kitchen a total of three hours before the chef had posted me to the grille station for the evening. I would be cooking all grilled seafood and steaks that night! "Piece of cake", I told myself. After all, I had been working the grille in my previous job and it was a very busy place. I was up for this task. Of course, eager to please my new boss and pumped up on adrenaline I began prepping food for that evenings service. About 30-40 minutes into my prep work the Chef came barreling towards me. I was hoping he was coming to give me a pep talk and to wish me good luck my first night as part of his brigade. Unfortunately, it was not.

The Chef in all of his mighty wisdom whispered in my ear and said, "Look at your station.   You have knives and trimmings everywhere.  A cluttered workspace is a cluttered mind." and he walked away.

So my recommendation to YOU is this. If your working in a cluttered office.... get it uncluttered. I don't care how you do it. Wrangle up the kids, hire a decorator or whatever works for you, but don't put it off a second longer. In fact. Take a photo of the office before and take another with the office after. Post it online and share the link here with us in the comments!

Just remember the phrase from the wise old French Chef: "A cluttered workspace is a cluttered mind."


Photo Credit: NAIT

One of the terrific things about workshifting is having the option to play music while you work.  I'm not talking about that elevator music businesses pipe in to "improve the customer experience."  I mean the songs you really enjoy, get you moving, block out distractions and keep you productive.

When I worked in a traditional office, music wasn't really allowed.  Discussions about playing music would involve huge conversations about appropriate work music and people's individual tastes.  Some people like hip-hop, some don't.  Many like country, many don't.  And while there are lots of articles about the Mozart effect, after a few plays, people were always looking for something livelier.  (No offense to Wolfgang.)

The other thing that came up in music conversations was making sure music would not create a distraction.  Especially if you're working with things that could hurt you.  For example, when I worked in hotels, many executive chefs didn't allow music in the kitchen.  Not because they were mean or didn't like music, but they were concerned that employees would be focused on music and possibly injure themselves during mise en place.

So when a while back, one of my fave bloggers - Paul Smith at Welcome to the Occupation - wrote a couple of posts titled "Songs about Work" and "Son of Songs about Work", it reminded me that listening to music while I work is one of the best parts of my work day.  And since I'm working from home, no one can really hear it and I can play whatever I want.

As loud as I want.

This morning, I downloaded "Clubbed to Death" by Rob Dougan and thought it might be fun to create our own Workshifting playlist.  Let us know in the comments...

What kind of music are you listening to while workshifting? 

What's your favorite song right now?


Photo Credit: Orcytes

There has long been a great debate among workshifters.  The magnitude of this debate has people from either camp bitterly divided, fiercely loyal, and ready to do battle to defend their side.  I speak, of course, of the great workshifting debate of coffee shop versus home office.

In order to take a stance on the topic, I'm going to make a good ol' fashioned pros & cons list of the two options, and by the end, hopefully, you'll be able to decide for yourself which of these two options makes the most sense for your workshifting lifestyle.

PROS

Home office

1. Quiet.  There is no question that when you work from a home office, you can generally get as much or as little quiet as you want.  Close the door, take a deep breath and start hammering away at your tasks.  If you need absolute peace to get anything done, there are few other settings that will provide this level of tranquility (unless of course you have kids at home... in which case, this point's moot).

2. Uninterrupted privacy.  Sometimes, workshifters work on sensitive projects.  If you're working on design or copy for a big client who wants to make a big splash, you can't afford to have someone catch a glimpse of your sketches.  In a home office, you can be sure that there is no corporate espionnage going on.  Unless your significant other works for the competition.  In which case, you may want to stay with friends until your assignment wraps up.

3. Work in your pajamas.  The holy grail of frustrated cubicle workers is to be able to work from home in their pajamas (or less, if that's how you roll).  While most successful workshifters have long ago learned that the key to good performance is to treat every day as if they were going into the office, having the option of working on a quarterly report in your boxers is certainly a perk.

4. Minimal expenses.  Sure, you have to get an internet connection, and you have to brew your own coffee, but chances are, even if you were working in an office, you'd still have those expenses.  What you can save on is expensive cafeteria lunches, the cost of a dozen grande lattes, and commuting costs.

5. Making phone calls is easy.  If you work with clients or colleagues, you need to make at least a handful of phone calls a day.  Being able to speak on the phone in a closed door office is a lot more comfortable than making that same call with chattery background noise, or loud colleagues having their own calls.

Coffee Shop

1. Action keeps you awake.  No matter how much you love what you do for a living, there are definitely times when you have to slog through tasks that put you to sleep.  Working in a coffee shop can perk you up not only through the caffeine, but also through the action going on around you.  For better or worse, being around people forces you to keep up certain appearances.  Passing out on your laptop in a Starbucks just wouldn't do.

2. Benefit from someone else's wifi connection.  A lot of coffee houses offer free wifi connections, which make them the ideal place if you're out of town, or if your own home internet connection is down, or if you haven't gotten around to setting up your own home internet connection.

3. Serendipitous encounters.  Chances are, if you're working from home, you're not going to be having too many adventures.  There is no chance to be interrupted, but there is also no chance to have serendipitous encounters with possible business contacts (or other).  Part of the beauty of coffee shop workshifting is that you will run into other workshifters, and while most can offer only their camaraderie - not a terrible thing to have in and of itself - others may surprise you by turning out to be important business contacts.

4. Entertainment.  Sometimes, when working from a coffee shop, I like to point and laugh at all the people running away from the office for 10-15 minute coffee breaks, only to scurry back with their treats.  This behavior should be practiced discretely and only when you're having a rough day.

5. Inspiration.  If you do any kind of remotely creative work, chances are you're always looking for inspiration.  In my experience, there's little more inspirational than people watching, and coffee shops, after parks, are probably the best people watching spots in any city.

CONS

Home Office

1. Loneliness.  As much as it sometimes feels like a relief that you no longer have to hide from Bob from accounting when he stops by "for a quick chat," it is easy to forget that we're social creatures and sooner or later, the water cooler chatting will be missed.  When you work from home, there's no one to chat with (except for maybe the cat).

2. Must have your own internet connection.  It stands to reason that if you're going to workshift in the modern age, you need an internet connection.  For most people this isn't an issue, but for a handful of people who have still been getting by without internet at home, working from home will force you to bite the bullet and shell out for a decent connection.

3. Risk of never changing scenery.  When you work from home, you enter a weird time warp where you lose track of the outside world, and it becomes all too easy to become a complete shut-in.  I've heard tales of workshifters who haven't left their homes for three or more days at a time, because they've fallen into the trap of laziness.  This isn't good for your mental well-being, or for your happiness.

4. Possibility of procrastination is huge.  Every office worker's biggest enemy is procrastination.  Whether it's wasting time surfing the web, checking facebook, twitter, or anything else.  This is easiest to do at home.  Not to mention you could also procrastinate with a myriad of other activities, like television, doing laundry, tidying up the den, re-arranging photo albums, building a birdhouse...  the possibilities are endless.

Coffee Shop

1. Intimidation.  While many coffee shops have gotten used to the idea of workshifters buying an overpriced caffeinated beverage and installing themselves at a small table for a few hours, some still aren't particularly fond of the practice.  Getting dirty stares from a frustrated barrista who is waiting for you to order another $6 cappuccino to replace the one you finished 20 minutes ago is not conducive to productivity.

2. Risk of crappy connections.  In a coffee shop, you have no control over the quality of the internet connection.  You will eventually get to know which shops have good internet service, and which are flaky, but at the beginning, you may find yourself getting your cup of joe, setting yourself up for a day of work, only to be frustrated by constantly dropping wifi signals.

3. The unexpected run-in.  Unless you drive to a coffee shop 100 miles outside of your hometown (maybe more), there is always the risk that you will have an unexpected run-in with acquaintances.  These run-ins are made awkward by the fact that most people you run into don't realize that you're actually working.  It's often difficult to back away from these conversations.  Especially when you're in the middle of a real creative flow, these run-ins can be a serious deflater.

Conclusion

In the end, there is no right answer. Some people will prefer the calm of working from home, while others will prefer the hustle and bustle of working from crowded cafes.  For most people, however, switching between the two common modes of workshifting from time to time is a good idea.  It keeps things interesting.  After all, workshifting is about increasing freedom, so might as well take advantage of that freedom and explore all the possibilities.

What do you think?


Photo Credit: Earl G

Despite the mountain of data to support workshifting, many companies are challenged to get a viable workshifting program in place.  I believe it's because they are looking for a detailed road-map, and it's impractical to provide that level of detail.  

The reason, every business and every business culture are unique.  Yes, there are general similarities: employees, customers, revenue, and all the other obvious attributes of a sustainable business, but that's where much of the similarities end.  The common thread, no matter how diverse the business, is the intense desire from employees to workshift, and the willingness from management to learn how to make it happen.

The basic workshifting framework will help you develop the business case needed to roll out a pilot program.  


First, clearly define the objective and the problem that will be solved by implementing the program.  If you are not clear as to the value of the program, the organization will not be either.  

Next, define success and how it will be measured. Then identify the people and resources you'll need to make this happen.  As you identify people and resources, start to list the obstacles.  In other words, what are your blockers?

Once identified determine if the blockers are perceived or actual.  For example, do you know unequivocally that your organization values butt-in-seat time over all else? Sometimes the obstacle appears to loom large, but may only exist in the mind of a small handful of people.  If my example rings true with you, then you need to demonstrate productivity gains, improved real-estate efficiency, etc.

Next, identify a small group of employees that would like to participate in the program.  Once complete, you're ready to being socializing the pilot with the stakeholders.  Don't stop at socializing; you have to ask for the sale.  Get the thumbs up to green light the pilot.

It all sounds very tactical, but it's very important to remember to humanize the process.  Start the conversation with your peers.  Keep the dialogue moving and ask for honest, actionable feedback.  Ignore the trolls, every company has them.  

Create a groundswell in your organization.  Take responsibility for the outcome and make it happen.  Rolling out a workshifting program will be one of the most powerful statements a company will make to their employees.  It says, "I believe in your ability," above all else.

Nothing screams confidence more than a company's willingness to hand over the reins to the employees, and trust in their ability to achieve great results, irrespective of their physical location.  If you are the person that lead the charge, you are destined to become indispensable.

Quick List:

1.  Objective
2.  Success
3.  Resources
4.  Obstacles
5.  Volunteers
6.  Socialize
7.  Sell

In the spirit of collaboration, I encourage you to take this framework, build upon it, and share it.  My viewpoint is unique to my experience.  To make this meaningful and scalable for the community, add your experience and your voice

During the recent Ash clouds over Europe and the ensuing workplace disruption, we logged a record number of online meetings and remote computer access sessions.

I'm always fascinated by usage stats during a crisis.  Year after year, be it an act of God or that of man, hundreds of thousands of people suddenly scramble to connect remotely.  This speaks to our general lack of preparedness.  I'm not immune to this either.  I've been procrastinating for months to put together a home emergency kit.  At best, I've gathered enough supplies to last about an hour...not good.  

It's not only the headline worthy events that disrupt our lives.  In most cases, it can be something as simple as a car problem or a broken laptop that will cause workplace disruption.  The difference between me, and many of the people caught in the Ash, is that I'm ready for it.  Bring it on!

Let's play out a scenario and you tell me if you'd be ready.  You're alarm clock didn't go off because the power is out.  You wake up because the light coming in from the windows is hitting your square in the face.  You scramble for your cell phone and check the time.  Simply put, you're late.  Then you realize that no power = no computer, no lights, no breakfast, etc.  In this scenario, what do you need to be productive when everything around you is failing?

1. A fully charged Smartphone with email access and backup battery
2. Two designated workshifting locations (in case one is not available)
3. The nearest hotel with wifi and/or a business center
4. A license of a web based remote access service, and one for web conferencing
5. Protein bars
6. A good sense of humor

Did you notice that "laptop" is not on the list?  Many hotels and co-working spaces will let you use their computers for a fee.  All you need to be armed with is access to a web browser and your passwords (memorize your passwords).  

Lets play out this scenario even further.  Your laptop is busted so you decide to workshift at the business center at the local hotel.  While en-route, you drop and break your Smartphone (it's happened to me).  Believe me, this isn't that far-fetched.  Could you still work?

If you remember your passwords, and have the right web based apps, you're good to go.  If your web conferencing service has integrated audio, even better.  Now you can access your important documents, have meetings and make phone calls, all from a computer.

The last couple of tips are equally important.  Leave a couple of protein bars in your backpack or travel bag.  Being hungry is very distracting and will effect your mood.  Lastly, keep your sense of humor intact.  The first few places you try and workshift from may be a bust, so keeping your humor intact will help keep things in perspective.  

Lets reverse engineer this and put things in order of priority:

1.  Access to the web (hotel, co-working space, friend's house, etc.)
2.  Web based remote access and online meeting services with integrated audio
3.  Sense of humor
4.  Food
5.  Designated workshifting locations
6.  Smartphone

My Smartphone is the first thing I grab in the morning, so I was surprised when I put it last on the list.  In a pinch, you could get by without it and in most cases, you'd be just as productive.

So next time you walk out the door, think about your workplace disruption plan.  Think about what you would need, what your family would need, your employees, etc., and then put it to the test.  Walk out the door with your wallet and keys, and see if you could successfully workshift for a day.  

What is your workplace disruption plan?


Photo Credit: BBC World Service

Today's post is from Jennifer Marcus Newton, a freelance writer located in Saint Paul, Minnesota. She routinely works from all the usual workshifting haunts--cafes, park benches, airports--and also maintains a tidy writing studio and messy home office. Her most remote work location was among the yaks in Shangri-La. Work/life balance for her means using both a Mac and fountain pen. Contact her at fidhlear@gmail.com.

Did you know that since 1963, the U.S. President has declared an official National Small Business Week every year? This special designation is a way to "recognize the contributions of small businesses to the economic well-being of America," as stated on the National Small Business Week Web site.

Contributing to the economic well-being of America is a tall order and, quite frankly, an extremely critical task. From Boston to Berkeley, an estimated 27.2 million SMBs in the U.S. conduct business, create products and provide jobs and services every single day. It's difficult to fully appreciate the enormity of a number like 27.2 million.

While we're talking numbers, consider this:
 

• "More than half of Americans either own or work for a small business. They also create 60 - 80 percent of new jobs in the country. Small businesses drive innovation, create 21st century jobs and increase U.S. competitiveness."
  

• "Small businesses are major contributors to the strength of the American economy."

  http://www.nationalsmallbusinessweek.com
  

As the 2010 National Small Business Week kicks off, Citrix Online is abuzz with the topic of SMB mobility and productivity. In a recent survey, Citrix Online polled SMB employees on their work habits. Survey findings paint an intriguing disparity between mobility and access to productivity-enhancing tools. In the last 5 years, the majority (54 percent) of survey respondents have become more mobile. Yet, 60 percent of those surveyed report that their current employers do not provide mobile tools and resources to increase productivity.

That's kind of appalling, especially when you consider IDC's predictions about the mobile workforce: "The U.S. is expected to remain the most highly concentrated market for mobile workers, with 75.5 percent of the workforce mobile by 2013." Mobility has certainly taken root in the U.S. workforce, and the demand for greater mobility will only continue to grow in the near future. So, too, will the demand for productivity-enhancing tools.

This week is an ideal time for SMB organizations to think about how to strategically address the mobility and productivity needs of their current and future employees. There's no denying that the economy is showing signs of recovery. Companies of all sizes - including SMBs - will be looking to hire top talent in the coming months. In the candidate pool, there will be plenty of Gen Y workers, a group increasingly identified by its attraction to workshifting.

Indeed, SMBs (all 27.2 million of them) play a critical role in the economic recovery. And to make the greatest possible contribution to the well-being of America, mobile SMB employees need the right tools to be as productive as possible.

What do you think?


Photo Credit: ThinkPanama