Work PC activities – MetaFacts TUP Client Portal

January 26, 2024September 25, 2024

Productivity is increasingly lead by smartphones and younger adults

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. Report [TUP_doc_2024_0126_prod] in TUP Lenses: Activities, Mobile Phones, PCs, User Profile, Devices, Communication

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January 25, 2024September 25, 2024

Printer market highlights and trends

The printer market enjoyed an early pandemic bump, but the long-term decline in printer use has returned, following the decline in computer use and the increase in smartphone, cloud, and social network usage. The latest generation – Gen Z – has not embraced printing, and when they do print, it’s often with a borrowed printer or printing service. A focus on certain groups of productivity and classic printing activities may renew attention to printing.

This TUPdate presentation highlights trends in the market demand for printers and printing, drawing on results from TUP in 2010 to the present, which are based on surveys of over 105,000 American online adults. In addition to printer-specific brands and printing activities, it includes the long-term trends affecting printers. These trends include: the growing shift to smartphone use, the declining use of personal computers, and the habits and preferences of later generations (Gen Z) versus those of earlier generations (Boomers and Silent Generation). It provides a review of printers in the market, who’s using them, why they’re using them (or not), and how forces in the economy and long-term trends in technology usage have an impact on the printer market. Report [TUP_doc_2024_0125_prtr] in TUP Lenses: Printers; Activities; User Profile

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January 23, 2024September 25, 2024

Half of Americans use a smartphone for work

During the pandemic, the rapid flight to health, safety, and remote work caught many employers’ IT departments unprepared. Many workers did not have employer-provided computers or even home-owned ones, although the majority had smartphones. At the same time, much of the online population was already migrating many of their everyday activities away from computers to smartphones. Consequently, roughly half of online adults in the US and UK, and over 40% of those in Germany and Japan, regularly use their smartphones for work-related activities.
This MetaFAQ reports on the percentage of online adults that use a smartphone for a range of work-related activities, from checking email and participating in online meetings to phone and video calls. Report [TUP_doc_2024_0123_spwt] in TUP Lenses: Mobile Phones; Activities; Communication; Work/Life Balance

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January 13, 2024February 1, 2024

Home PCs shine again for remote work

The rapid spread of the pandemic caught many employers and employees by surprise. Most were unprepared to work remotely and many were uncertain how long they might be working remotely. Consequently, many workers simply used their personally-owned home computers to get work done. Although 2020 saw high levels of home PC use for work which then shrunk markedly in 2021, we’re now seeing a return to broad home PC use for work. Using a home PC for work activities is a widespread practice, even among workers who may have an employer-provided PC available to them when they are in the workplace. Although work email is a major activity for home PCs, there is a long list of work activities regularly done by many remote workers.

This MetaFAQ reports on the percentage of remote workers and workers who never work remotely that use a home computer for work-related activities. This is split by country. Further, this report details the list of work-related activities that remote workers regularly do with their home PC. Report [TUP_doc_2024_0113_hwrt] in TUP Lenses: PCs; User Profile; Households; Activities; Work/Life Balance

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January 12, 2024March 1, 2024

Employee PC hours sag, although IT/FIRE/Professional industries still lead

Employees in IT/FIRE/Professional use computers for the most hours – Many employees rely on PCs to get their work done, whether it’s using intensive software tailored to their profession or generic software used across many industries. The most intensive use of PCs among employees is within the IT/FIRE/Professional industries, those jobs that include Information Technology, Finance, Insurance, Real Estate, or professions such as legal, medical, or others. Other industries, such as the Service industries, account for the largest total PC hours mostly due to the many employees within their ranks. Across nearly all industries and countries surveyed, PC hours among employees has been declining.

This MetaFAQ reports on the mean and total number of weekly hours employees use PCs, split by industry group and country, detailing the trend from 2020 through 2023. Report [TUP_doc_2024_0104_firt] in TUP Lenses: Devices; User Profile

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November 25, 2023November 2, 2023

Half of Americans use a smartphone for work

Half of Americans use a smartphone for work – Over half of online American adults utilize smartphones for various work tasks, from emails to videoconferencing. One in six American workers relies solely on a smartphone. Another quarter have all three: a smartphone, computer and tablet, and 80% of these rely on smartphones for work activities. Interestingly, half lack employer-provided computers.

This MetaFAQs reports on the percentage of online adults regularly using a smartphone for work-related activities. Report [TUP_doc_2023_1125_spwr] in TUP Lenses: Mobile Phones; Activities; Communication; Work/Life Balance

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November 11, 2023October 26, 2023

Home PCs: the unsung heroes of remote work

Home PCs: the unsung heroes of remote work – Getting things done for work from home often demands using a computer. Activities from Webex or Zoom group meetings to creating presentations or reports benefit from using the larger screens of most computers. However, employers have been slow in providing PCs to remote employees. Just as they wavered in their commitment to supporting workers working from home, they’ve vacillated in their policies around providing technology to remote workers.

This MetaFAQs reports on the percentage of workers who use a home computer for work-related activities. Report [TUP_doc_2023_1111_hwrk] in TUP Lenses: PCs; User Profile; Households; Activities; Work/Life Balance

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October 23, 2023October 26, 2023

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.

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August 31, 2023October 26, 2023

Simplicity coalesces with smartphones

The long-term trend towards actively juggling many connected devices has reversed. It has even slid as users consolidate their activities on a smartphone. Furthermore, people use their devices for a narrower range of activities, simplifying their device collection and what they do with them.

Many users shifted to using a notebook and smartphone only to continue their shift using their notebooks less than before. Tablets offered to combine the best of computers and smartphones but instead have fallen into a gap between them. Meanwhile, the majority of people have migrated their activities onto their smartphones. Some of the motivation has been a quest for simplicity, although, in fact, convenience has driven more people. Economics have also played a part, spurred by the many shifts in work in response to the pandemic.

Only ten years ago, the average online adult regularly used as many as four types of devices, most frequently using a home computer, work computer, smartphone, and tablet. Although computers are still in active use, when they are being used, many have been relegated to specific tasks, such as shopping, watching videos, or intensive games.

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August 20, 2022October 5, 2022

Trends in webcam and video calls/meetings usage

Are video calls and meetings as widespread as tech media implies? How much have webcams and video calls and meetings reached into the everyday experience of the average online adult? This MetaFAQs reports on the usage trend since before the pandemic for online adults in the US, the UK, Germany, and Japan. It further splits video calling/conferencing by smartphone, home PC, or work PC. Furthermore, because change has not affected everyone the same, it details the trend among life stage segments – employment status, age group, and presence of children.

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