Videoconferencing's virtual leap forward (original) (raw)

Technology|Videoconferencing's virtual leap forward

https://www.nytimes.com/2007/08/29/technology/29iht-ptend30.1.7299576.html

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Aug. 29, 2007

PARIS — If I narrowed my eyes a little bit, I could convince myself that the people on the other side of the office table were in the same room. But they weren't: I was seated at a conference table near Paris, and they were in an office outside of London.

The visual trickery, created by several hundred thousand euros' worth of high-end videoconferencing equipment, could make a telecommuting believer out of anyone. It was at once slightly disconcerting - and inspiring.

With a setup like this - two identical rooms whose lighting, color scheme and audiovisual systems are designed to give the appearance of a single workspace - even the most Luddite of office workers could be convinced to confer remotely.

But Cisco Systems, the company that built and sells the TelePresence system, also realizes that mobile work has its downside. A study it released last month showed it takes a certain kind of personality to withstand a work life away from the power center of company headquarters.

The necessary traits include resilience, extroversion, openness to new experiences, self-confidence and self-motivation.

"Mobile workers are at risk of stress, isolation and alienation from their employers," concluded the report, which was compiled for Cisco by Pearn Kandola, a business psychology firm in Oxford, England. "Managing mobile workers effectively demands high levels of trust, respect for individual autonomy, and close attention to communication styles and content."

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