Working at the wheel, but not while driving

George Clooney's road warrior in "Up in the Air" may be off the road, but as the recession drags on more companies are sending employees into the field in a push to improve customer service.

Many workers now spend most of their day in the car, winding up with food stains on their clothes after snacking at the wheel and a trashed front seat full of unorganized files, wayward pens and scribbled sticky notes. Enter the Wheelmate Laptop Steering Wheel Desk.

The thin tray, which slides onto the bottom of the steering wheel, is popping up in more places as a way to take the messiness out of driving. With its newfound popularity -- the item's been on the market for several years -- has some controversy about whether the 15-by-9-inch laminate tray takes working on the road to a new extreme.