Five Ways IT Can Support Productivity When Work Can Happen Anywhere When people aren't coming to the office every day, technology plays a bigger role in helping them feel supported and cared for.

This article has been built in collaboration with HP Middle East.

For years, many business leaders have resisted remote work, thinking it would lead to lower productivity. But here's a surprise: a mid-2020 study showed that knowledge workers, software developers, and IT professionals are all more productive when they work from home. The study defined workplace productivity as spending more time on the right work- not merely being busy.

Data from the study showed that compared to people working in the office, remote workers had a 4% increase in average daily time spent on their core work, and an 18% decrease in time spent on emails, chats, calls, and meetings- adding up to an annual total per person of 58 more hours spent on core work, and 256 fewer hours spent on communication. That's a huge difference!

Here's how to support workers in delivering their best- wherever they are:

1. Help people feel valued, even when they're far away. When people aren't coming to the office every day, technology plays a bigger role in helping them feel supported and cared for. Give employees PCs and accessories that are not only efficient, but also a pleasure to use. Pay attention to things that make work more enjoyable like design details, ergonomics, vivid displays, and crisp sound.

2. Champion the ongoing quest for work-life balance. According to a study by NordVPN, the recent pivot to remote work meant more time at the desk for many people; at-home workers put in an average of two extra hours each workday. People need help maintaining a healthy work-life balance to avoid burnout. When you introduce new apps, devices, or other tech that helps them do more -such as changing collaboration apps to "away" at a certain time each day- be sure to connect it with benefits at the human level.

3. Invest in technologies that make work flow faster. Worker productivity depends a lot on tech that is fast, reliable, and high-performing- and the last thing your IT team needs is to be deluged by support requests from slow, unresponsive devices. Look for PCs that deliver blazing-fast speed, high-quality graphics, and long battery life. Choose accessories that last a long time. That way, people don't have to stop to recharge, close out extra tabs to free up memory, or fill up IT help desks with reports on broken tech.

4. Offload mundane maintenance tasks that gobble up IT time. Remote management capabilities can help you handle things from afar -like upgrades and security patches- without needing your end users to do anything. They get back time to focus on their work, and you don't have to wonder if they've made critical updates. The right solutions automate these processes so they don't burden IT teams.

5. Work closely with HR to understand employee needs better. Your colleagues in HR have a direct line to employees. They know how they're feeling about their work and what's slowing them down. Schedule regular check-ins with HR to get these insights- which can help you find tech-driven solutions that help employees succeed.

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Related: Made For Today's Challenges: HP Elitebook 840 G7 Notebook, Powered By Intel® Core™ i7 Processor