In business travel, a road warrior is a

remote work Remote work, also called work from home (WFH), work from anywhere, telework, remote job, mobile work, and distance work is an employment arrangement in which employees do not commute to a central place of work, such as an office building, ware ...

er that uses mobile devices such as

tablet computer A tablet computer, commonly shortened to tablet, is a mobile device, typically with a mobile operating system and touchscreen display processing circuitry, and a rechargeable battery in a single, thin and flat package. Tablets, being comput ...

laptop A laptop, laptop computer, or notebook computer is a small, portable personal computer (PC) with a screen and alphanumeric keyboard. Laptops typically have a clam shell form factor with the screen mounted on the inside of the upper li ...

smartphone A smartphone is a portable computer device that combines mobile telephone and computing functions into one unit. They are distinguished from feature phones by their stronger hardware capabilities and extensive mobile operating systems, whic ...

s, and

Internet access Internet access is the ability of individuals and organizations to connect to the Internet using computer terminals, computers, and other devices; and to access services such as email and the World Wide Web. Internet access is sold by Internet ...

while traveling to conduct business. The term has often been used with regard to salespeople who travel often and who seldom are in the office. Today it is used for anyone who works outside the office and travels for business. Unlike

digital nomad Digital nomads are people who travel freely while working remotely using technology and the internet. Such people generally have minimal material possessions and work remotely in temporary housing, hotels, cafes, public libraries, co-working spac ...

s, road warriors do not necessarily choose to travel; it is part of their work duties.

History

The term is believed to originate in the Mel Gibson movie Mad Max 2:The Road Warrior (1981). In the pre-mobile technology era, road warriors were people whose jobs required a lot of travel, either by car or plane. The majority of this group were salespeople and professionals that needed to be with clients such as accountants, consultants, etc. They typically would need to come back to their company's office for administrative duties. The office held limited resources (phones, fax machine, computers, etc.) that were best used by centralizing them. As both computer and telecommunication technologies became more portable and less expensive, the need for Road Warriors to come back to offices for use of limited and costly resources began to wane. Major technologies that impacted Road Warriors: * Internet * Text Pager * Portable terminal - Allowed Road Warriors to access work computers for first time. * Personal computer * Email - Allowed information to move and be seen anywhere * Portable computers like Compaq Transportable PC * Portable cell phone * Blackberry phone - Allowed secure message between users * Smartphones * Wireless Access (Wi-Fi)

Culture

The term Road Warrior has been credited to the 1981 movie

Mad Max 2 ''Mad Max 2'' (released as ''The Road Warrior'' in the United States) is a 1981 Australian post-apocalyptic action film directed by George Miller. It is the second installment in the ''Mad Max'' franchise, with Mel Gibson reprising his role a ...

sub-titled "Road Warrior" starring

Mel Gibson Mel Columcille Gerard Gibson (born January 3, 1956) is an American actor, film director, and producer. He is best known for his action hero roles, particularly his breakout role as Max Rockatansky in the first three films of the post-apocaly ...

. Its harsh road life in a post-apocalyptic world was used to symbolize the hardship of modern business travel. The 2009 movie " Up in the Air" starred George Clooney as a person who fully lives the Road Warrior life to the extreme. Road Warriors use mobile devices and laptop computers that connect to companies' information systems. Specialized applications from Software as a Service (SaaS) providers are often used in order to conduct their work duties.

References

Computing and society {{Compu-stub