Even with the first use of the carrier, or homing, pigeon, we have desired a better form of intercommunication. Throughout the years we've progressed through smoke signals, the telegraph, the postal service, messenger, the land-line telephone and now the cell phone and email. But have we had to pay a price for all this convenience?

When cell phones became available it seemed that they would fill a need for instant intercommunication - any time, any place - that would help people be more efficient and as a result save time. You can locate more phone information at .

Then email became a mainstream method of business give-and-take. Good news - now the phone wouldn't ring off the hook, messages would not have to be stored and retrieved as verbal intercommunications, which took time to listen to and respond to. Now the information would be clear and concise and could be retrieved and answered any time, any where - again the promise of additional freedom.

With email, Internet and cell phones, is it really necessary for workers to be restrained to the office? Maybe shorter work days would be the result and then perhaps parents could gather up their children from school or play, become additionally attainable for them and be contacted at their home via either of these methods.

There's no doubt that the wold has changed.

This truth came about as more workers were able to take their jobs with them. The move on from the house to the office and back again was no longer a barrier for actually performing work.

Communication is an integral part of conducting commercialism. With cell phones and email, distance, time and commuting were no longer barriers to conducting the affairs of business in an effective manner.

For some, this means that coming to the office every day is an option - not a stipulation. And to many that means freedom!

Parents have found new freedom to take care of their children while still collecting the paycheck they needed to support them. Work could be done at their residence, at the park, at the grocery store, at night...pretty much wherever and whenever the worker desires.

But is this really advantageous? This new found freedom has a down side. The ability to work anywhere has become a nuisance instead of a luxury for some individuals since the fact that they are able to do business any time, any where, might mean that they actually are working all the time.

Rather than free them, they found that they cannot get far enough away from work to really put it away for the day. Sickness and emergencies do not stop the phone from ringing or the email from piling up - and because you can access it, there is no excuse for not dealing with it.

So for some, the convenience has become a ball and chain - creating longer work hours and constant stress. For these individuals it is essential to commit themselves and their work mates to guidelines such as turning the phone off. Not accessing email regularly. Sticking to these rules and telling work-mates your new practices should help.

Doing this type of work requires discipline. Regimentation to do the work you are being paid to do at the same time as having the regimentation to stop working and enjoy the freedom.

This ability to not have to fight traffic, the politics of the office, dealing with co-worker issues and numerous other advantages is worth the regulation, in my opinion. Do you agree?