Employees working from home have unique challenges in getting work done while often using personal and employer-provided devices. While seeking to balance their work and personal lives, they are also finding new ways to use their devices. A substantial share regularly does TikTok-type work – creating videos for work and personal purposes. This MetaFAQs reports on the top 10 activities employees that work from home do with their connected devices: smartphones, computers, and tablets. It also identifies which activities are done more often than the average online adult.
Declining use of home computers for work
The share of adults using home computers for work activities has declined sharply from a mid-pandemic peak. Current levels are below pre-pandemic levels. Some of the decline is due to many employees returning to their workplaces. Another factor is the long decline in the use of home computers as online adults embrace their smartphones for an increasing set of activities. This MetaFAQs reports on the percent of online adults using a home computer for any work-related activities from 2019 through 2022, both in the US as well as globally – US, Germany, UK, Japan, and China.
Which activities are primarily done using smartphones, computers, or game consoles?
Smartphones have continued to expand in their use as Americans’ primary connected devices, displacing home and work computers. However, some activities are done primarily with home computers, work computers, and game consoles. Most computer-focused activities are being done by somewhat older Americans, while immersive gaming is done by younger Americans using game consoles.
This TUPdate looks at the primary types of devices used for a wide range of activities: shopping, entertainment, work-related activities, productivity, social networking, cloud storage, communication, and many others. These have been split by age group.
Most employees work from home and expect to be in one year
Only a fraction of worldwide online employed adults always works from home. A larger group never worked from home and never expect to. The largest segment includes those who occasionally work from home, and most expect to be working from home in one year. With the COVID pandemic and ensuing economic changes, many employees worked from home for the first time. As the pandemic continues, there is a wide variation across regions and employers in their policies and support of working from home.
This MetaFAQs reports on how many employees worked from home before the pandemic, how many are currently working from home, and how many expect to be working from home in one year.
Home printers declining among Americans
With each passing year since 2017, fewer Americans are using home printers. Also, the average number of home printers per person is declining. This MetaFAQs reports on the percentage of American adults regularly using a home printer and the average (mean) number of home printers they regularly use.
The abundance of technology among workers working from home
The majority of workers working from home have a range of connected devices available to use for work-related activities, although not all are employer-provided devices. The collection of devices among workers working from home is larger and more varied than those being used by workers not working from home.
This MetaFAQs details those key technology devices that are used more often by American and global (US, Germany, UK, Japan, China) workers working from home than those not working from home.
Which is winning consumer interest – iPhone or Android smartphones?
Forward-looking interest is stronger for Apple iPhones than for Android smartphones across most countries surveyed. Apple is strongest among younger adults and adults of all ages currently working from home. This MetaFAQs reports the smartphone purchase plans for the next 12 months among online adults in the US, Germany, UK, Japan, and China.
College students aged 18-24 are uniquely creative
Young college students have long been a favorite for technology companies, mainly due to their eagerness to use technology, openness to experimentation, and a quest to establish brand dominance early. Younger adults are widely appreciated for their creativity, such as being exhibited on sites such as TikTok. However, the pandemic and economic shifts have impacted young adults, college students, and especially young college students. This MetaFAQs reports on the top 10 activities college students aged 18 to 24 use regularly with a smartphone, computer, or tablet, as well as those being done at a substantially higher rate among students than the average online adult. Comparisons include Americans and a global view of adults in the US, Germany, the UK, Japan, and China.
Working from home – size of segments
How many workers work from home? How many already had experience working from home before the pandemic, and for how many is it a new experience?
This TUP analysis reports on the total number of full-time, part-time, and self-employed workers – and their work-from-home experience before and through the pandemic. The topline sizing details workers in the US, Germany, UK, and Japan. The analysis dives deeper into Americans by industry, employee role, employer size, and educational attainment.
Smartphone saturation among most age groups
This MetaFAQs reports on the penetration of smartphones among online adults in the US and globally – US, Germany, the UK, Japan, and China. It drills down into several factors to investigate if there are any differences in market penetration with respect to employment status, age group, and work-from-home status.