Remote workers outnumber onsite workers in the US, UK, and among China’s highly-educated elite. Japan favors on-site employees due to its manufacturing focus, labor policies, and traditional work culture. Germany has similar factors to Japan’s, although has a near-equal blend of remote and onsite workers, in part a reflection of the country’s growing openness and eagerness to compete more strongly in the world economy. In the US, aspirations towards being technologically advanced, expense of commercial operations, service-oriented industries, and openness to change have combined such that more Americans work remotely than in person. Report [TUP_doc_2023_1201_remo] in TUP Lenses: User Profile; Work/Life Balance
Employees in IT/FIRE/Professional use computers for the most hours
Knowledge workers are employed by nearly every industry, although concentrated in certain industries. Computers are used for the most hours among employees in the IT/FIRE/Professional industries: Information technology, finance, insurance, and real estate, and other professional trades.
This MetaFAQs details the average number of hours workers use computers across five countries by industry group: Basic/Manufacturing, Services, IT/FIRE/Professional, and Education/Government.
More employees in large companies use a work printer
More employees in large companies use a work printer – Employees in larger companies are more likely to be actively using a work printer than employees with smaller employers. Somebody, somewhere, needs that paper printed. That the percentage would be higher among larger employers may seem at first to be a matter of company size. However, these TUP penetration statistics are based on responses per employee, not per employer. Active printing rates are also because larger companies tend to find it harder to change. Many are set in their ways, especially those adhering to defined procedures and practices. That’s not to suggest that printing on paper is a regressive practice. But, among many circles, it’s considered passé. Especially as digital transformation continues and a growing number of employees are using collaboration tools, paper forms and reports are facing downdrafts in usage.
This MetaFAQs reports on the percent of employees regularly using an employer-provided printer by the size of the employer. Report [TUP_doc_2023_1001_wpri] in TUP Lenses: Printers; User Profile
Employers finally updating home technology as employees move on
There’s a discernible trend in American workplaces: while many employees need to rely on personal devices for work, there’s an increasing tilt towards employer-provided technology. From 2021 to 2023, the percentage of employees using their home computer for work declined from 52% to 40%. This shift can foster enhanced protection of digital assets and boost collaboration. Furthermore, when employers provide the tools, it solidifies trust, as employees aren’t shouldering costs that effectively reduce compensation.
By 2023, 40% of American workers were using company-issued computers, a growth from 37% in 2021. However, there’s an emerging trend of employees not using computers at all for work, which increased from 29% to 35% in two years, while smartphone usage has risen. This shift holds implications for tech enterprises basing projections on dominant computer usage.
Lastly, employer-provided computers are becoming increasingly, if belatedly, updated. By 2023, 46% of employees using both personal and work computers found their work PC to be the more recent device, up from 42% in 2021. This progression indicates a commitment to providing current tech tools in professional settings.
This MetaFAQs reports on the percentage of American full-time and part-time employees who actively use a home computer for work-related activities, an employer-provided work computer, or the combination. It also compares the age of the employee’s home computer used for work with the age of the one supplied by the employer.
Shift in employee device hours and devices
Since the start of the pandemic, employees have needed to make tremendous changes. Employees in information-focused occupations and those needing to shift how they communicate relied on their connected devices to get work done. A growing number of employees lost access to an employer-provided computer. Many turned to using home computers for work, while yet others turned more often to their smartphones. Despite the challenges and changes, employees worldwide have managed to use their collection of devices for as many total hours while simultaneously using fewer devices.
This MetaFAQs reports on the usage levels of connected devices – smartphones, work computers, home computers, and tablets among employees in the US, Germany, UK, Japan, and China. Trending data spans from 2019 through 2022.
Work/Life Balance TUP Lens [Highlights]
With the pandemic, many more employees are working from home. This TUP Highlights Report profiles employees by how often they work from home and their expectations of the near future. It profiles them demographically, by their type of employer, their connected devices, and their work-related activities.
Tablets – Highlights
Tablets continue to seek a solid home, major use cases, and most vital segments. Currently, the largest groups of users are passive, older, or entrenched in the Apple or Google ecosystem. While Apple continues to lead and increase its share, other makers like Samsung are seeing withering penetration. Incidental and passive activities from web browsing, shopping, movie-watching, and checking email haven’t been unique enough on tablets to entice users away from their smartphones or computers.
This TUP Highlights report includes the following sections: the profile of tablet users, trends in tablets, top tablet brands, top tablet activities, unique tablet activities, and trends in technology ecosystems.
Platforms for employees using professional creative software for work purposes
Employees have a wide range of devices they regularly use for many work-related activities. Professional creative software is often the most demanding. However, the response to the pandemic has led to many employees working from home and using different devices than they typically use.
This MetaFAQs reports on the number of US, Germany, UK, and Japanese employees who regularly use professional creative software. It details how many use it on their primary computer, home computer, work computer, smartphone, or tablet.
Devices used for work phone calls
Employees have more ways than ever before to communicate with each other and with customers – email, text, and platforms like Zoom, Slack, and Microsoft Teams. However, work-related voice phone calls remain a solid staple among the majority of employees. Nearly 60% of American and almost half of Japanese employees regularly use one of their connected devices to make or receive work-related phone calls. This MetaFAQs reports on the number of employees regularly using their connected devices for work-related phone calls, detailing each device type used – smartphone, home PC, work PC, or tablet – by the size of their employer: <20 employees, 20-499 employees, or 500+ employees.
Devices used for work video meetings
Work-related video conferences had been growing in use even before the pandemic. Platforms such as Microsoft Teams, Zoom, and Webex solidified their prominence, even while employees have many other ways to communicate – email, text, and collaboration platforms like Slack and Microsoft Teams. Nearly between 33% and 43% of employees in the US, UK, Germany, and Japan regularly use one of their connected devices to participate in work-related video group meetings. This MetaFAQs reports on the number of employees regularly using their connected devices for work-related video group meetings, detailing each device type used – smartphone, home PC, work PC, or tablet – by the size of their employer: <20 employees, 20-499 employees, or 500+ employees.