Unfit devices impact productivity in remote work: Dell study

The new work-from-home reality has meant not just a change in physical location, employees are grappling with changes in ways of working, modes of communication, and the workstation equipment.

A new study has found out that employees generally do not have the right kind of monitors at home. Up to 37 per cent of respondents reported a downgrade in the specifications of the monitors they use, such as moving from a larger monitor to a smaller one or laptop screen, which has an impact on their productivity. Key findings also showed that as many as 38 per cent of knowledge workers have switched from their usual computing devices while working from home — e.g., from a desktop PC to a laptop.

The survey conducted by Forrester Consulting for Dell Technologies sought to ascertain the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the employee experience.

The survey also noted that employees are missing out on several advantages of having a secondary or external monitor. As many of them are spending more time on video calls, an external monitor can help them multitask and collaborate easily, with employees reporting being able to view more information simultaneously (50 per cent), use multiple programs simultaneously without having to switch windows (46 per cent), and complete tasks quickly (35 per cent) and more accurately (30 per cent).

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However, despite the challenges, many employees are still not ready to return to the office, with a third citing health and safety as a reason, and almost half saying that they would like to continue working from home post-pandemic.

In response, two-thirds (67 per cent) of decision-makers said their organisations are extending remote working arrangements for some employees even after the pandemic, while 57 per cent said they are introducing more flexible work-from-home policies for all of their employees, new research reveals.

“Rolling out a robust work-from-home environment will require employers to invest not only in the right devices but in the full ecosystem, starting from the right monitor and peripherals, which will increase the productivity and create a seamless remote work experience hence secure employees’ satisfaction,” said Haidi Nossair, senior director, Client Solutions Group for Middle East, Russia, Africa and Turkey at Dell Technologies.

“The remote workforce is here to stay, it is now up to organisations to shift their approach in response to the pandemic from ‘do it light’ to ‘do it right’ with an end to end lifecycle management strategy to foster innovation, retain and attract talents while optimising the total cost of ownership, (TCO)” Nossair added.