Working from home requires more communication than ever, both a broad range of devices (smartphones, computers, tablets), and types (calls, messages, meetings with and without video). Employees working from home use computers for different communication activities than they do with smartphones. This TUPdate compares a detailed list of communication activities among those working from home and those not working from home, and also identifies which devices – PCs, smartphones, or others – are used the most for communication by work from home status.
Great expectations – of still working from home [MetaFAQs]
Employees expect to return to pre-pandemic levels. In one year (in August 2022), 13% of employees globally expect to be working from home always or the majority of the time. Among American employees, this share is 25%. In one year (in August 2022), 70% of employees globally expect to be working from home at least occasionally. Among American employees, this share is nearer to two-thirds (63%).
Penetration of key devices among remote workers [TUPdate]
Many employees working from home need connected devices to work or to communicate. This TUPdate reports on the collection of actively used connected devices, comparing what is being used by employees working from home, employees not working from home, and adults not employed outside the home. These are split by form factor as well as operating system family.
Work from home experience & plans [TUPdate]
Employees who have had prior experience working from home have different and more intense technology purchase plans than those who are new to working from home or that have never worked from home. This TUPdate identifies purchase plans for a selection of home office products among employees comparing their previous experience working from home.
Working from home – size of segments
Working from home is wholly new to some people, old hat to others, and not experienced by yet others. Seasoned workers – those who ever worked from home before the pandemic and do so now – make up the largest segment of online adults. The second-largest group is diametrically opposed – having never worked from home and not currently doing so. This MetaFAQs reports on the size of four segments by their prior and current experience of working from home.
Usage hours rise and subside slightly [MetaFAQs]
Globally, smartphone hours increased in 2020 and returned to prior levels in 2021. In the US, average weekly hours subsided with PCs while slightly increasing with smartphones and tablets.
Dominant tech device brands [MetaFAQs]
Apple dominates most users around the world and especially in the US. However, its expansion has flattened while computer leaders Dell and HP have had their market penetration contract. Number two Samsung, having experienced modest gains in the first year of the pandemic, has since declined in part due to withering user demand, supply chain issues, and competitive pressures.
This TUPdate reports on the percentage of online Americans who are using at least one of a market leader’s products: Apple, Samsung, Dell, HP, Sony, Lenovo, Acer, ASUS, and Huawei.
PCs for work before and through the pandemic [TUPdate]
Working remotely from a personal computer is not a new phenomenon—and it took hold long before the pandemic. Most home PCs have already been allocated to work-related activities, but the type of work differs, and has been shifting since the pandemic caused a larger variety of workers to stay at home.
This TUPdate reports on the penetration of home PCs among employees, which activities employees use their home PCs for, the prominence of work-provided PCs, the age of the home PC-using employee, and work-from-home status. It measures online adults in the US, Germany, UK, and Japan in 2019 and 2020.