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The purpose of this paper is to share findings from a literature review conducted during ongoing scholarly research on the characteristics of knowledge workers. This paper aims to place knowledge workers in the context of twenty‐first century organizations by providing a historical background on the emergence of knowledge work.

The literature presented in this review is drawn from Google and Google Scholar searches along with the following EBSCO databases: Academic Search Premier, Business Source Premier, MasterFILE Premier, MasterFILE Select, Communication & Mass Media Complete, Psychology and Behavioral Sciences Collection, PsycARTICLES, and PsycINFO.

Much of the literature review for this project comes from the management field. A predominant theme is that capitalizing on the talents of knowledge workers entails creating a culture with a specific set of characteristics chosen to create an environment in which knowledge workers flourish. A common perception is that the effective management of knowledge workers is hindered by the lack of a cohesive definition. The literature review suggests that a set of characteristics exists specific to knowledge workers.

The paper posits an increased awareness of twenty‐first century workforce characteristics that need to be taken into consideration as soon as possible by private, public or academic enterprises.

While there is no dispute about the exponential growth of knowledge workers and their critical impact on business, the number of knowledge workers is difficult to gauge due to the lack of a precise definition. Moreover, this workforce is difficult to manage until it is well understood and defined. There is no model to encompass the full spectrum of characteristics that define knowledge workers. A proposed taxonomy of the characteristics of knowledge workers can serve as a springboard for more intensive research into the application of management practices uniquely suited to motivating knowledge workers to superior performance.

Judging from this group of books, the scholarship behind management literature has taken a giant—and welcome—leap forward. For the most part, these highly educated authors are working in the top intellectual planes in terms of vocabulary, references, metaphors, philosophy, and scientific discourse—all to illustrate and explain the complex dynamics behind various aspects of the thinking process, especially knowledge and creativity.

Generic use of the term “knowledge worker” has resulted in a generic approach to designing office environments for this group. The purpose of this paper is to probe the mobility patterns and motivations of knowledge workers in order to provide a classification of different types of knowledge worker.

The study was undertaken using a range of qualitative research methods including semi‐structured interviews with 20 knowledge workers representing different levels of mobility and experience, ethnographic studies in a media company, real estate business and a public relations firm, and a user workshop. A novel drawing exercise was introduced to elicit responses during the interview process.

Four knowledge worker “character types” emerged from the research: the Anchor and the Connector, who are mainly office‐based, and the Gatherer and the Navigator, who work more widely afield.

This is a small study revealing characteristics particular to the participating individuals and organisations. However, it has wider implications in that the more complex set of requirements revealed by the project requires a more responsive and service‐led approach to office design for knowledge workers and the development of new protocols of use within office space.

The originality/value lies in giving designers and facilities managers an insight into the different needs of knowledge workers, who are commonly treated as a homogeneous group. The typologies are an active tool for better brief‐making in design for creative facilities.

Knowledge workers (KWs) in information technology (IT) sector have become one of the key drivers for strategic competitiveness as they contribute toward an organization’s performance. In this context, the role of knowledge workers, who work on deputation to client side, is even more critical as they contribute directly to the revenue inflows. The purpose of this paper is to explore their role efficacy (RE) and organizational role stress dimensions, which have been affecting their performance and organization effectiveness. The study further explored the relationship between RE and role stress dimensions. Two distinct samples were identified, one where Indian KWs working in Indian company and Indian KWs working in foreign firm, where they have been discharging client facing technical roles.

A primary study has been conducted choosing questionnaire survey and telephonic interviews. A questionnaire was designed in such a manner so that the authors can extract the required information from the respondents about various dimensions of RE. This instrument was used to test the conceptual model of RE. Overall 50+ responses were obtained from IT companies in each of the two selected categories.

The results have shown that role expectation conflict and role isolation are the two major dimensions contributing to role stress for the selected sample, while centrality and integration have contributed to overall role efficacy for both the categories. Human resource interventions were suggested to enhance their RE and reduce their role stress.

This study made an attempt to investigate the relationship between RE and role stress dimensions of the KWs which has not been attempted in any previous published literature.

Knowledge work (KW) is a well‐researched topic. However, KW is difficult to measure and little consensus has been reached on elements that affect knowledge work productivity on a team level. The current theories neglect teams working in distributed geographical areas. The purpose of the paper is to integrate recent literature on knowledge work productivity (KWP) in distributed teams and give an overview of the elements affecting it.

The paper presents an overview of research performed in the field of knowledge work productivity. The authors integrate theories of different fields of management theory (knowledge management, intellectual capital and learning), and work and organizational psychology. This paper answers three questions: What is knowledge work? What is knowledge work productivity? Which elements hinder or enable knowledge work productivity in distributed teams of global technology companies?

The authors define the crucial elements that either hinder or enable KWP: team tasks, team structure and processes, the physical, virtual and social workspaces as well as organizational context. The paper presents an integrative model of KWP in distributed teams of global technology companies.

Distributed teams are common in global companies. By understanding the elements that affect KWP, companies can stimulate or decrease specific elements in order to improve productivity of their distributed knowledge workers.

This paper integrates theories from different disciplines in order to create an understanding about knowledge work and its productivity for further research.

Highlight some of the Best Practices for Building Effective Service Management.

This article describes some of the Best Practices for Effective Service Management. Case studies, success stories, and statistical examples are used to highlight some of the Best Practices.

Case studies, success stories, and statistics.

This session highlights some of the Best Practices for building Effective Service Management System.