Telecommuters continue to destroy their work laptops and smartphones, and with the rising price of equipment and the movement of people in the post-Covid era, costs are rising fast.
That's according to a new report from Direct Line, based on a survey of 2000 UK adults, which says almost a quarter (22%) of those traveling with company-owned technology manage to cause harm.
In addition, another fifth (19%) have already lost their work equipment, while 14% have had it stolen.
Break expensive equipment
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% just leave it somewhere and forget where they put it. A tenth poured a drink into the device, while a few (7%) had another colleague break their equipment.
Equipment is also getting more expensive. The average worker now carries more than €1,400 worth of equipment, while a tenth (9%) carry technology that can cost up to €3,800.
With the transition to hybrid work, Direct Line expects workers to travel more in the coming months. Nearly a third (30%) said they would use more co-working spaces now, while a fifth (19%) said they would attend a business event or conference in the near future.
For Alison Traboulsi, director of marketing for Direct Line, securing company-owned technology has never been more important than it is today. A fifth of companies now provide technology to employees who travel to different locations.