Opinion: Mobile work force brings management challenges

Percentage of executives who cite effective management of remote employees as their biggest concern in managing a mobile work force, according to a survey by Runzheimer International: 54

Despite this concern, percentage who cited employee satisfaction as one of the top benefits gained with a mobile work force as well as cost savings: 26

Percentage of survey respondents who believe their companies are effectively managing mobile work force programs, but do not necessarily have measurement mechanisms in place: 60

Employee gifts
Percentage of corporations that planned to spend about the same on corporate holiday gifts in 2010 for both employees and prospects or clients, according to a survey from Successful Promotions magazine: 57

Ranks of food, calendars and gift cards on the list of the most commonly cited client or prospect gifts: 1, 2, 3

Ranks of gift cards, cash bonuses and apparel on the list of the most commonly cited gifts for employees: 1, 2, 3

Cause for telecommuting?
Average commute from home to work for Americans, according to a Gallup poll: 23 minutes

Percentage of U.S. workers who spend more than half an hour getting to work: 19

Percentage who commute for more than an hour each way: 3

Percentage of employees with a commute of more than 90 minutes who say they have had a neck or back condition that has caused recurrent pain in the past 12 months: 33

A must-have workplace amenity
Percentage of workers who stated that they need coffee to get through the workday, according to a survey commissioned jointly by Dunkin’ Donuts and CareerBuilder: 32

Percentage of coffee drinkers who reported they are less productive if they don’t drink coffee while on the job: 43

Work at home
Estimated percentage of the 139 million U.S. workers who do their jobs from home, according to the U.S. Census Bureau: 4

Rank of Montana on the list of states with the greatest proportion of people working from home – just more than 7 percent: 1

Drive for the right job
Percentage of American commuters who would be willing to commute as long as necessary to accept a new job they found very interesting, according to The Hartford’s 2010 Drivability Survey: 10

Percentage of drivers who would at least consider a job offer that involves a commute of more than 30 minutes each way: 77

Hooked on work
Percentage of workers who reported they put in more than 40 hours a week, according to a study from CareerBuilder that looks at indicators of being addicted to work and what workers can do to find a happy medium between work and personal time: 52

Percentage who work more than 50 hours: 15

Percentage who bring home work at least once a week, with one in 10 bringing home work at least every other day: 31

Friends as a benefit
Percentage of all working adults who have people at work they would consider friends, according to a Randstad survey: 95

Percentage of respondents who say that having friends at work makes their jobs more enjoyable: 67

Percentage who say it makes their jobs more satisfying: 55

Tenure tracks
Median number of years that full-time workers stay in their jobs, up slightly in 2010, and continuing a slow increase in job tenure that began in 2004, according to a report by the nonpartisan Employee Benefit Research Institute: 5.2

Median job tenure for women in 2010, an increase from 4.2 years in 1983: 5.1 years

Median job tenure for men in 2010, a drop from 5.9 years in 1983: 5.3 years

Lackluster job offers
Percentage of unemployed workers who have received at least one job offer since they have become unemployed, according to a survey from Personified: 17

Of these workers, percentage who rejected the offers: 92

Percentage who reported the pay was more than 25 percent below the salary they earned in their most recent position: 54

Vacation plans
Percentage of Americans who would rather get up early than sleep in while on vacation, according to the relaxation survey conducted by Ipsos Public Affairs on behalf of Princess Cruises: 55

While on their vacations, percentage of respondents who said that they would rather be spontaneous than schedule their days: 60

Ranks of reading (25 percent), having a drink (20 percent) and listening to music (19 percent) on the list of activities that most aid their relaxation while on vacation: 1, 2, 3

Idle Thought
“We judge ourselves by what we feel capable of doing, while others judge us by what we have already done.” — Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

John MacIntyre is a Nova Scotia-based author and former city magazine editor. His “Figuratively Speaking” column, launched in 1989, is published in more than 40 newspapers and magazines.[[In-content Ad]]