Worldwide, the most active users of connected devices are younger workers. The hours people use devices like smartphones, computers, and tablets ranks second among either younger adults not employed outside of the home or older adults who are employed, varying by country.
This MetaFAQs reports on the mean weekly hours that adults use connected devices by employment status and age group by country. Report [TUP_doc_2024_0215_ybus] in TUP Lenses: Devices; PCs; Mobile Phones; Tablets; User Profile; Work/Life Balance
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Worldwide, older workers express less likelihood of working remotely within a year’s time. Half or more of workers aged 40 and up in the UK and Germany do not expect to be working remotely in one year. Among younger adults in the UK and Germany, the share is closer to 40%. In all countries surveyed except Japan, younger adults have a lower share that do not expect to be working remotely in one year.
This MetaFAQs reports on the percentage of working online adults– full-time, part-time, or self-employed– who do not expect to be working remotely in one year. These results are based on responses from 7,842 online adult workers in the US, Germany, UK, Japan, and China. Report [TUP_doc_2024_0209_owfh] in TUP Lenses: User Profile; Work/Life Balance
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Most remote workers cover their smartphone costs, even for work use. That is true regardless of whether they use their smartphones for work-related activities. For a fraction of workers whose fees are curtailed by the employer, workers in the UK have the highest share of being supported for their 2nd smartphone, with workers in Germany being a close second. Workers in Japan have the highest share of reimbursement for their primary smartphone. This compares to the related finding that home computers used for work are also primarily paid for by the worker, not the employer.
This MetaFAQs reports on the percentage of online workers– full-time, part-time, or self-employed– who have their 1st, 2nd, and 3rd smartphone’s fees paid for or reimbursed by their employer, for the US, Germany, UK, Japan, and China. Report [TUP_doc_2024_0207_empc] in TUP Lenses: Mobile Phones; Work/Life Balance
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As a chilling trend for the printer industry, one of the fastest growing segments among Americans is the growing percentage of those who do not use a printer at home, at their workplace, in a school or library, or anywhere else. Furthermore, Gen Z adults, often considered a forerunner of market adoption, stand out for their disadoption.
This MetaFAQs reports on the percentages of Americans based on their active printer and home printer usage in two mutually exclusive ways: those using any printer or no printer and those using a home printer or not using a home printer. We have split the results by generation – Gen Z, millennial, Gen X, Boomer, and Silent/Greatest – from 2010 through 2023. Report [TUP_doc_2024_0206_otpr] in TUP Lenses: Printers; User Profile
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Between one-half and six-tenths of online adults in the US, Germany, UK, and Japan are working. Among China’s higher-educated elites, the working rate among online adults is higher. In other words, the US has the broadest use of connected technology beyond working adults.
This broad measure focuses on online adults of any age who are gainfully employed, which contrasts with labor force measures. Governmental measures of the active labor force are generally limited to specific age ranges such as ages 16 to 64 and only includes persons reporting that they are actively looking for work.
This MetaFAQs reports on the percentage of online adults currently working full-time, part-time, or self-employed.
Report [TUP_doc_2024_0205_empl] in TUP Lenses: User Profile; Households
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Dan Ness, Principal Analyst, MetaFacts, February 1, 2024
Summary
Even before the pandemic, working remotely has been a mixed blessing for IT staff. While many employees in the information technology industry are able to work remotely and support geographically dispersed organizations, many have historically needed to work well beyond the confines of a 40-hour workweek or 9 to 5 schedule. Similarly, many workers in real estate and other professions have experienced the benefits that come with pitfalls. With the onset of the pandemic, the gap has become clearer between employees in these industries and the average worker.
This MetaFAQs reports on the percentage of employees in the IT/FIRE/Professional industries who work remotely at least some of the time, and contrasts their share with the national averages in the US, Germany, UK, Japan, and China.
Industries apart when it comes to remote work
Employees in the IT/FIRE/Professional industries have consistently higher rates of working remotely than the national averages
The gap for remote workers in these industries is exceptionally wide across most countries surveyed, except in China which has maintained the highest national remote working rate
In Japan, as remote work dropped to nearly one-third of employed adults, the rate continues to hover around two-thirds within these industries
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Remote workers tend to earn more than their workplace-going counterparts. Various factors, including educational attainment, socioeconomic status, and job type, influence this. We found this positive association in the US, UK, Germany, Japan, and China.
This MetaFAQs focuses on quantifying the income disparity, rather than determining the causal relationship between income levels and remote work. Report [TUP_doc_2024_0131_affl] in TUP Lenses: User Profile; Work/Life Balance
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Dan Ness, Principal Analyst, MetaFacts, January 29, 2024
Summary
Remote workers make up nearly half of online workers in the US, Germany, and the UK. In Japan, remote working rates are lower, and among China’s socioeconomically elite online workers, the rates are higher. Smaller employers generally have the highest percentage of workers working remotely, although the pattern is not significantly different among medium and large employers. Remote working rates in 2023 are slightly lower in 2023 than in 2022, although not substantially so.
This MetaFAQs reports on the number of online adults working remotely in the US, Germany, the UK, Japan, and China, split by the employer’s size.
Remote working trends by country for employers of all sizes
Following the onset of the Covid pandemic, remote working has become the norm for working adults in most countries surveyed
In the US and the UK, the percentage of workers working remotely has dropped slowly to approach the halfway mark
In Germany, remote working peaked in 2021 and has since declined
In Japan, remote work also peaked in 2021, although it has never reached the levels in other countries surveyed
The socioeconomically elite adults surveyed strongly increased remote work to a peak in 2022, which has since subsided slightly
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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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With the onset of the pandemic, remote workers rushed to outfit their homes or remote working locations with technology to help them communicate, work, and otherwise be productive. During this time, not all workers could acquire the technology they wanted since only in some cases did employers provide the desired technology. Following this peak, most interest in tech buying plans has waned and reverted to the mean.
This MetaFAQs reports on the purchase plans for remote workers within the next twelve months. It includes mobile phones (smartphones and feature phones), computers (desktops and laptops), tablets, and printers from 2020 through 2023. Each trend is also compared to workers who never work remotely. Report [TUP_doc_2024_0127_plat] in TUP Lenses: Devices; PCs; Mobile Phones; Tablets; Consumer Electronics; Printers; Work/Life Balance
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.