Telecommuters keep destroying their work laptops and smartphones, and with the rising price of equipment and the movement of people in the post-Covid era, the costs are rising rapidly.
That’s according to a new report from Direct Line, based on a survey of 2,000 UK adults, which says nearly a quarter (22%) of those who travel with company-owned technology manage to cause damage.
In addition, another fifth (19%) have already lost their work equipment, while 14% have had it stolen.
Break expensive hardware
Most of the time, employees break or lose their work smartphones (50%), followed by laptops (34%) and tablets (24%).
Dropping or bumping into something (27%) is the usual way people damage company equipment, while 18% simply leave it somewhere and forget where they put it. A tenth poured a drink on the device, while some (7%) managed to have their gear cracked by another colleague.
Equipment is also becoming more expensive. The average worker now carries more than $1,400 worth of equipment, while a tenth (9%) carries technology that can cost up to $3,800.
With the transition to hybrid working, Direct Line expects workers to travel more in the coming months. Nearly a third (30%) said they would use more shared workspaces now, while a fifth (19%) said they would go to a business event or conference in a near future.
For Alison Traboulsi, Marketing Manager at Direct Line, securing company-owned technology has never been more important than it is today. A fifth of companies now provide technology for employees who travel to different locations.