Will your employees be working from home in 2021?

By Kenobi Technology Solutions Ltd

16 Dec 2020

In March, we were asked to ‘work from home’ if possible. With the future of reopening seeming unclear at the time, many viewed the ‘Working From Home’ (WFH) situation as temporary. Some employees took tech from their office whilst others were literally left to their own devices, and ‘made do’ with what they had at home.

But as time went on, many companies decided to make WFH a permanent thing. Some decided that alternating between WFH and the office was a good solution and others just want office life to return as soon as it’s safe to do so.

In every scenario, the need for good quality and reliable IT hardware is constantly essential. With employees potentially spanning across multiple locations, now more than ever businesses need to ensure that their employees are able to seamlessly keep in contact with each other and customers or clients.

As an employer, it is a legal requirement to protect your workers from the health risks of working with display screen equipment (DSE), if your employees use DSE daily for an hour or more at a time.Ultimately employers have a responsibility for employees’ health and safety, whether that be at home or in an office. More details on the legal requirements for home working can be found here.

What tech suits your WFH plan best?

WFH for the foreseeable future

Unlike the office, IT managers don’t know what kind of space employees are working with in their own homes. As time has gone on, most people have settled into their WFH routine and created mini ‘work spaces’ somewhere within their house. Employees are likely to now have more an idea of what kind of tech and set up will work for them long-term, rather than trying to ‘make do’ with what they have.

Firstly, if up until now employees have been using their personal computers, you may need to think about providing work equipment if you choose to WFH permanently. Consider speed and storage – newer, faster tech will help with efficiency and you may see an increase in productivity if the files, emails and pictures saved on the laptop are all solely work related.

Secondly, size does matter. Some employees working from personal or work laptops may report that they need a desktop, or require extra monitors for their laptops. If they took their office tech, some may prefer to downsize and a laptop may be more suitable.

If you really want to make permanent WFH beneficial for both your business and your employees, listen to and consider employee preferences. Would your video editor work better having two screens? Does your HR manager find a laptop trackpad way too fiddly and would benefit from a mouse?

Alternating between WFH and office working

When it comes to tech for this scenario, there are two likely options for smooth and successful transitions.

Employees have two sets of tech

If your business has an internal server or utilises storage services such as One Drive, then employees may be able to log in and access everything they need without having to haul tech from home to office or vice versa. This would also be beneficial if for whatever reason employees can’t make it into the office when they are supposed to.

Laptops

If your employees are constantly alternating between WFH and office working, it may be beneficial for them to work on laptops full time. Laptops are easy to transport between locations and using the one piece of tech may be beneficial, as everything will be stored in one place. Also, laptops can be connected to larger monitors, taking away the issue of working from a small screen full time. If monitors were available to those who wanted them at both home and work, transporting the laptop between the two shouldn’t cause any issues.

Back to office working

If you’re keen to get back to office life, likelihood is you want all of your tech to be there permanently. However, it is difficult to predict what’s around the corner, so having a WFH plan will help to keep your business running efficiently if you ever need to be ‘out of office’ once more.

The pandemic has changed a lot of things about working life, and it is not just employees who might be working from home. Customers, clients and stakeholders may not visit your office anymore, meaning that good quality tech is still essential for keeping in contact and getting the job done.

Now more than ever, it is important to appear digitally confident and advanced. Freezing, low storage and inability to install updates caused by slow and old tech doesn’t send a good message to your customers and instead might portray that your business is behind the times. Upgrading your old tech every few years is a good way to ensure that everyone has everything they need to stay connected.

No matter your situation or size of your business, Kenobi can source and deliver the best IT hardware for incredibly discounted prices.

Has your business got a WFH plan?

Latest news

1

Construction begins on new Civil Service office building in Talbot Gateway Alan McBride Muse Will Town Defence Infrastructure Organisation Jennifer Chard Defence Business Services Cllr Lynn Williams Blackpool Council Garry Bowker Vinci

Construction begins on new Civil Service office building in Talbot Gateway

20 May 2025

2

Skiddle raises over £750,000 for charities Skiddle cheque presentation to Alder Hey Hospital

Skiddle raises over £750,000 for charities

20 May 2025

3

Former Victorian Hotel approved for residential conversion The site

Former Victorian Hotel approved for residential conversion

19 May 2025

4

REVOLUTION PARK: Work starts on Darwen’s new home of advanced manufacturing Oliver Webber, Tracy Clavell-Bate and Tim Webber from Barnfield Group with Cllr Phil Riley, second from right, Leader of Blackburn with Darwen Council

REVOLUTION PARK: Work starts on Darwen’s new home of advanced manufacturing

19 May 2025

5

Two Cuckoo Gins named winners in The Gin Guide Awards 2025 Mark Long

Two Cuckoo Gins named winners in The Gin Guide Awards 2025

19 May 2025

Background image for hub sign up block

LBV Hub

Leverage Lancashire Business View platforms

Post your news
Post your events
Post your offers
Build your network
Improve your SEO
Gain coverage in the magazine
Sign-up
Events
LBV122 May/June Launch Event
121 Lancashire Business View Magazine Launch
Networking
21 May 2025

LBV122 May/June Launch Event

Lancaster and Morecambe College, Lancaster, LA1 2TY

08:30 - 10:30

Sub36 Networking
Networking
11 Jun 2025

Sub36 Networking

British Jewellery School, Scorton, PR3 1BA

15:00 - 17:00

Lancashire Net Zero Carbon Conference
Net Zero Carbon Social 1200pxtrident 2
Networking
18 Jun 2025

Lancashire Net Zero Carbon Conference

Crow Wood Hotel & Spa Resort, Burnley, BB12 0RT

08:30 - 13:00

Lancashire Built Environment Conference 2025
BEC 315 X 315 Px
Networking
25 Sep 2025

Lancashire Built Environment Conference 2025

Blackpool Football Club, Blackpool, FY1 6HX

08:30 - 13:00

CMI Level 5 Management and Leadership Course
UCLanAerialCampus.jpg.jpg
LBV Hub Seminars
21 Feb 2025 - 21 Feb 2026

CMI Level 5 Management and Leadership Course

Preston Campus, Preston , PR1 2HE

09:00 - 17:00

CMI Level 5 Project Management Course
UCLanAerialCampus.jpg.jpg
LBV Hub Seminars
21 Feb 2025 - 21 Feb 2026

CMI Level 5 Project Management Course

Preston Campus, Preston, PR1 2HE

08:00 - 17:00

RISE - The Academy for Female Leaders and Managers
WENDY BOWERS RISE Illustrstion copy.jpg.jpg
LBV Hub Seminars
02 Apr 2025 - 08 Oct 2025

RISE - The Academy for Female Leaders and Managers

East Lancashire Chamber of Commerce, Clayton le Moors, BB5 5JR

09:00 - 15:30

Amber River True Bearing quarterly investment seminar
LBV Hub Seminars
22 May 2025 - 22 May 2025

Amber River True Bearing quarterly investment seminar

Cottons Hotel & Spa , Knutsford, WA16 0SU

16:00 - 18:00

The Business Network Central & East Lancashire
LBV Hub Networking
22 May 2025 - 22 May 2025

The Business Network Central & East Lancashire

Mytton Fold, Langho, BB6 8AB

11:30 - 14:15

Preston Freelancer Meet-Up: May
Freelancer Meet-Up May.png.png
LBV Hub Networking
22 May 2025 - 22 May 2025

Preston Freelancer Meet-Up: May

society1, Coworking Space, Preston, PR1 3LT

10:00 - 11:30

Liverpool Business Expo 2025
https---cdn.evbuc.com-images-881365363-4862066883-1-original.20241023-085714.jpeg.jpg
LBV Hub Awards
23 May 2025 - 23 May 2025

Liverpool Business Expo 2025

Aintree Racecourse , Liverpool , L9 5AS

09:00 - 15:00

Advantage: AI – A Workshop for Business Leaders – May 29
Artboard 15.png.png
LBV Hub Seminars
29 May 2025 - 29 May 2025

Advantage: AI – A Workshop for Business Leaders – May 29

Door4 Office, Burnley Wharf, Manchester Road, Burnley, BB11 1JG

09:00 - 11:00

Advertise with us

Reaching 50,000 members, our print, digital and event platforms offer a fantastic way to raise your business profile and help you grow.

Find out more LBV122 Online Graphic
Subscribe now

Weekly news bulletin