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Published on October 28, 2007

For Dominic Scott, 41, the Hong Kong-based director for Cisco's public sector clients in Asia, information and communications technology (ICT) is a boon for the new generation of knowledge workers.

"Yes, you can be more productive," says Scott, who was here recently on a business trip. The Canadian-born former diplomat often travels with his Nokia mobile phone and notebook computer, both of which can quickly connect him to the mobile office with ease.

"I can plug in anywhere at a Starbucks coffee shop or an airport lounge or on the aircraft if I have enough battery power. However, more often I work at my hotel room since I travel almost every week," says the Cisco executive, who specialises in communication solutions for government and business.

He has advised governments on communications, productivity and e-learning in China, India, Taiwan, Korea, Hong Kong, Singapore and other countries in the region.

Prior to joining Cisco, Scott, who earned a bachelor of arts degree in Asian studies from McGill University in Canada, spent eight years in Canada's foreign service with postings in Hong Kong and Taipei and assignments in Beijing and Shanghai.

With the advent of Web 2.0, or the second generation of Web-based activities, brain power has become more important than before, he notes, adding that many organisations have also shifted from a hierarchical or command/control structure to a collaborative, horizontal or flat structure.

This means that more people have been able to adopt a flexible work style as one can work virtually from anywhere and at any time. At Cisco's regional headquarters in Hong Kong, which employs a total of about 150 workers, for example, people may work from their homes as long as they are able to meet the company's deadlines.

According to Scott, the Asia-Pacific head at the company's Hong Kong headquarters does not have a physical office in the building. He mainly works from his comfortable, well-equipped home, from which he is able to communicate and collaborate with others in Hong Kong and elsewhere around the world as effectively and efficiently as he could if he went to the office.

Generally speaking, this new generation of knowledge workers has more of a choice than their predecessors as far as their work style or holidays are concerned. Increasingly, companies do not keep tabs on their employees' working hours or holidays, but measure employees' performance based on the results of their work. For instance, workers at several ICT multinationals may take their holidays anytime they like and for as long as they like if this doesn't affect their work schedule or that of their colleagues. In other words, they only need to coordinate their plans about leave with their colleagues.

For Scott, holidays mean staying home, as he likes to read novels and play jazz music rather than do any more travelling.

But if you were to ask him the number of hours he usually works, Scott wouldn't hesitate to say that it would be more than eight hours a day on average. In addition, he works on some weekends and on a recent Sunday he unintentionally left his ID and office door key-card on a desk before he went out of the office.

Hence, Scott couldn't get back inside as no one was working that Sunday, but the security system was still very helpful.

"In front of the entrance to the office, I just pressed a button and I could get in touch with our security personnel who are based in Australia where they monitor our HK office's security.

"Then, I was asked to stand close to the nearby video camera so that the guys in Australia could verify my identity against the company's database of employees.

"Once, they're sure I'm on the database, the door was automatically opened via a remote control. It took just two minutes and I could get back to work," Scott says with a grin.

Nophakhun Limsamarnphun

nop1122@yahoo.com