Much has been written about the many dimensions of today’s modern workforce. From the multi-generational differences with the Veterans, Boomers, Gen X and Gen Y to the pluralities of cultures and variety of global mindsets, the workforce of today is more diverse than ever before. Another important aspect of the multi-dimensional talentforce in the modern digital age is multi-locality, the phenomenon enabling individuals to work anywhere, anytime and anyhow.

The worker of today is no longer bound by space and time, constrained by the nine-to-five work day, confined in rows of cubicles. While offsite work and telecommuting have been a part of our work environment for many years, the increasing numbers of people working remotely and virtually is fundamentally changing the nature of the modern workplace. Now, rather than an exception to be dealt with, remote, virtual workers are the norm, and accommodating schedules and time zones differences and providing appropriate tools are now critical aspects of modern work. And this is not only true for professional staff; blue collar work is also offshored and piece-mealed, leveraging part-time, retired, and lower cost workers, so that the company’s workforce is truly spread across the globe.

One critical implication of the multi-locality aspect of our work environment is the blurring of boundaries between professional and personal lives. Not only can work be done anywhere, but also at any time, creating expectations of 24×7 availability and instant response times. These heightened expectations can place increased levels of stress on the modern worker, as they pursue the ever more elusive quest for work/life balance. What we need are new approaches and tools that companies can adopt to better support the modern, virtual worker and to increase management effectiveness in today’s global, digital age.

Subsequent blog posts will look at these differences in locality what impact they have on our ability to collaborate and work effectively across the modern, global organization.