Collaboration – MetaFacts TUP Client Portal

February 4, 2024April 22, 2024

Most digital work collaboration progress is supported by Gen Z and Millennials

Dan Ness, Principal Analyst, MetaFacts, February 4, 2024

Summary

The practice of working across the web using collaborative platforms such as Google Docs has remained largely unchanged since 2018. Among millennials in China and the US, the activity has even decreased. Gen Z adults across most countries surveyed have the highest or second-highest penetration rates.

This MetaFAQs reports on the percentage of online adults who regularly collaborate on work files in the US, Germany, the UK, Japan, and China split by age generation.

Collaborating on work files has only crept into later generations

There’s a corporate motivational statement: Teamwork makes the dream work. Gen Z adults in the UK and Germany appear to be taking this more to heart than earlier generations
The regular use of collaborative platforms has not substantially changed since 2018, except for nominal growth in Germany and China’s Gen Z and Gen X adults
In the US, Japan, and China, Gen Z adults are just as likely or less likely than millennials to have the highest shares of those regularly using collaborative platforms for work-related files
Across all countries surveyed, the Boomer/Silent generations have the lowest levels of work file collaboration

Usage guidelines: This document may be freely shared within and outside your organization in its entirety and unaltered. It may not be used with a generative AI system without separate licensing and express written permission. To share or quote excerpts, please contact MetaFacts.

January 29, 2024December 5, 2023

Employers lag in home computer provisioning

More workers use a home computer for work than use an employer-provided computer. With the onset of the pandemic, employees and employers alike suddenly scrambled for ways to get their work done. For many employees, especially knowledge workers, having access to a computer is vital. However, not all employers have supported remote workers by providing a computer, and instead have relied on employees using their home computers. Currently, in all countries surveyed except for the UK, more workers use a home PC for work-related activities than use a work computer.

This MetaFAQs reports on the percentage of remote workers and non-remote workers who use a home computer for work-related activities or use an employer-provided PC, across the US, Germany, UK, Japan, and China. Report [TUP_doc_2024_0129_hwpc] in TUP Lenses: PCs; Activities; Work/Life Balance

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January 26, 2024April 15, 2024

Productivity is increasingly lead by smartphones and younger adults

Dan Ness, Principal Analyst, MetaFacts, January 26, 2024

Summary

People use connected devices to be productive, actively engaging in a broad set of activities spread among their various devices. The use of smartphones for productivity is growing while the use of computers has flattened or is even in decline. Younger adults have embraced productivity activities, although Gen X and millennials use different types of devices to get things done.

This MetaFAQs reports on the number and percentage of online adults who regularly perform a set of productivity activities, from work file collaboration to appointment scheduling. These results are further split by mean age and generation and trended by age and device type for Americans from 2020 through 2023.

Smartphones are the leading productivity tool

More online adults use smartphones for productivity than either home computers or those provided by employers
Only one productivity activity – collaborating on work files – is done by more adults with work PCs than with smartphones, and in this specific case, the difference is nominal
Across home PCs, regularly collaborating on personal files stands out as a top productivity activity
The most robust productivity activities using smartphones are oriented toward communication, allowing adults to stay in touch with coworkers

December 9, 2023November 15, 2023

Gen Z’s lead in online teamwork may transform the workplace

Digital collaboration has expanded over a decade, with newer generations adopting online teamwork swiftly. Gen Z, especially in the US and UK, actively collaborates on personal files, more so than for work. Current workplace practices limit their broader collaboration. Yet, they might pave the way for enhanced collaborative tool usage in the future.

This MetaFAQs reports on the use of connected device to collaborate on files, splitting the activity by work-related and personal files, and splitting further into generational age groups and countries. Report [TUP_doc_2023_1209_coll] in TUP Lenses: User Profile; Activities; Work/Life Balance

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September 19, 2023October 17, 2023

Growing shift to online collaboration – for some

Collaboration tools are seeing a steady increase in adoption among users. This trend was significantly influenced by the global shift to remote working due to the COVID-19 pandemic. As workers transitioned to home-based environments, there was a pressing need for efficient tools to maintain productivity. This change paved the way for embracing non-conventional methods, prompting many to utilize consumer-focused solutions for professional tasks. Larger organizations’ IT/IS departments often found it challenging to swiftly modify their existing systems. As a result, employees took the initiative, driving the momentum to ensure their effectiveness wasn’t hampered. This has amplified the use of collaborative tools, allowing multiple users to work on files or documents simultaneously. It’s noteworthy that employees in the largest and smallest American corporations have adopted these collaborative practices at a distinct pace compared to their counterparts in medium-sized enterprises. In other countries, employees with the largest employers are leading the way. This information is crucial for technology marketers, researchers, and analysts to understand and strategize accordingly.

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September 9, 2022March 8, 2024

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.

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September 6, 2022October 2, 2022

Work follows employees home, although less so than last year

Home computers – those acquired with personal funds – are used by most employees for work-related activities. Americans and employees in Germany, the UK, Japan, and China peaked in 2021 and subsided in 2022. This MetaFAQs reports on employees using a home computer for work-related activities. It details the work activities with home computers, from communication to collaboration and productivity. As a historical contrast, it includes comparable results from the 1987 TUP/Technology User Profile wave.

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September 4, 2022September 30, 2022

Hybrid work from home arrangement likely to continue

Employees and employers have made some of the most substantial changes since the pandemic, with many quickly shifting to working from home. The most significant expansion has been in hybrid working arrangements, unlikely to change within a year. This MetaFAQs reports on online employees, their frequency of working from home before the pandemic, and their expectations in a year.

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June 2, 2022February 26, 2024

Highlights: Technology Ecosystems

While some device makers focus on speeds, feeds, and features, others are playing the long game to build long-term customer loyalty through ecosystems. This TUP Technology Ecosystems Highlights report reports on the size of leading technology ecosystems, which types of devices are dominating (or not), and their longer-term trends. It details the unique activities users focus on within certain ecosystems, and profiles each ecosystem’s users.

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May 27, 2022February 26, 2024

Highlights: PCs

PCs continue to hold a central role among online adults, especially as a substantial number work from home or find ways to stay connected. However, PC users are not all the same in the type of PC they use nor how they use them. This TUP Highlights report details the shifting market penetration of PCs, how ownership has changed, and which brands are leading. It details how often PCs are being used as well as how they are being used for everything from remote work to communication, shopping, and entertainment.

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