By Zoya Gervis // SWNS
NEWS COPY w/ VIDEO + INFOGRAPHIC
Americans have mixed emotions going back to the office. One of the reasons they want to return may be due to struggles with their work-from-home setup.
That’s according to a new study that found over a third of Americans are looking forward to returning to the office.
Although working from home has been a welcome change of pace, more than half say it’s been much more of a struggle than they initially thought it would be.
A poll of 2,005 employed Americans — 1,005 of whom are still currently working from home found that 47% say that being away from the office has caused a dip in their effectiveness to get their work done in a timely manner.
Thirty-eight percent say working remotely has proven to be a huge challenge for finding a good work/life balance while a further 37% say productivity has been a struggle to overcome since March 2020, but that doesn’t mean they’re looking to rush back into offices.
The study conducted by OnePoll in conjunction with Western Digital aimed to discover the trials and tribulations that employed Americans experienced in all the turbulence of the past year.
In 2020, 41% found a dip in their productivity, which is precisely why 56% of employed Americans are hoping to be more productive in 2021.
Unfortunately, 46% of employed Americans who are currently working from home still continue to struggle with tech problems.
Over half (51%) of those still working remotely say their computer has definitely slowed them down and made them less productive.
For those still working from home, 23% struggle with not losing important work information or deleting valuable data as well.
Another 58% constantly worry their computers will abruptly stop working, crash, and lose important data or documents.
Of the 2,005 employed Americans studied, nearly half (48%) rarely, if ever, back up their data.
Since beginning remote work, those still currently working from home, reveal that on average, they’ve only backed up their crucial data five times thus far — despite the average respondent saying it usually takes just 15 minutes to back up all their data.
Working from home can blur the line between work and home. Thirty-seven percent of employed Americans have started using their work computer as their personal computer.
This has also resulted in 66% of respondents saying they are multi-tasking a lot more frequently during work hours than when they were in the office.
“Whether working from home on a desktop or on the road via laptop, remote work has proven to be technologically challenging for many. Now more than ever, ensuring you have the right technology is key to helping get a reliable and more productive set up,” said Sven Rathjen, Vice President, Product Marketing at Western Digital.
“The storage drive in your computer can make a difference, especially if you’re in need of a performance boost. Upgrading your drive can be cost effective and instantly improves your experience. A new NVMe drive can help consumers working from home, particularly those who are creating or running multiple applications, boost their system’s performance so they can continue to do and create more, faster.”
