Airport offices: facilitating nomadic workers

Authors: Breure, Adrianne; Meel, Juriaan van

Source: Facilities, Volume 21, Numbers 7-8, 2003 , pp. 175-179(5)

Publisher: Emerald Group Publishing Limited

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Abstract:

With the globalisation of the economy, more people travel for business purposes, doing much of their work while on the move. Business travellers spend a lot of time at airports and are likely to want to use this time productively. Already, airports have transformed from people processors into places where you can shop, dine, drink and sleep, so why not work there? This article shows that business travellers spend a large part of their waiting time checking their e-mail, making phone calls, reading reports and working on their laptop. The question is whether they need special facilities to perform these activities. Do business travellers need a dedicated workplace with facilities ranging from colour printers and Internet access, to showers and a good cappuccino? Or just a place to sit with a network connection? This article tries to answer this question by studying the activities and needs of business travellers during their stay at an airport. It is based on a survey and in-depth interviews among Dutch business travellers.

Keywords: Airports; Business travel; Mobile communications; Office equipment; Teleworking

Document Type: Research article

DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/02632770310489918

Publication date: 2003-07-01