Gary Laroy, a Michigan-based client delivery executive at Electronic Data Systems Corp., hasn't worked in the same state as his boss for many years. In fact, at any given time, he may have two or three different bosses under EDS's matrixed management structure. He hasn't ever received an official career road map from the company, nor has he ever expected one.
Laroy is among the millions of U.S. professionals who toil far away from managers, mentors and others whose approval and influence can make or break a career. As many as nine out of 10 employees now work at locations other than company headquarters, according to Nemertes Research LLC in Mokena, Ill. Moreover, 83 percent of executives--up from 57 percent last year--surveyed by Nemertes consider their companies to be virtual workplaces--defined as having employees who work away from their supervisors or work groups full or part time.But judging from a spot check of career experts, business executives, human resources managers and IT professionals, very few companies have updated career paths and management plans to reflect the increasingly decentralized nature of work, especially in IT. For the most part, IT professionals working in the wild are pretty much on their own when it comes to managing their careers.
Source: Computerworld, http://computerworld.com