ABSTRACT
Mobility is a central – some might even say the central – characteristic of modern societies.2 Achieving and maintaining mobility depends on a growing number of “mobility service providers” such as airlines and their employees.3 Without these individuals, who are themselves highly mobile, the generally heightened mobility of modern society would not be possible. But what dierentiates mobile from “normal,” local work? And what special challenges do mobile workers face? In order to answer these questions, two points of view are of central importance. First, mobility needs to be understood as a form of work. Of course, mobility is enabled through work and, like a business trip, can take place in the context of work. However, in order to understand the broader ramications of mobility itself, it is more important to take a closer look at mobility-service providers. These are the individuals whose working environments are mobile and whose mobility is a prerequisite for others’ mobility. Second, mobility also must be understood as creating stress factors that have to be borne or counterbalanced not only by mobile workers but also by their social environment – governments, rms, family, friends, and so on.4
