• Whereas most smaller businesses reported that their printing at home was staying the same, medium-sized companies in the US most commonly saw their print levels increase.
• In relation to respondents in WE, those in the US were more likely to report purchasing items for their home offices themselves.
• Several of the surveyed companies noted that the COVID-19 lockdown caused them to accelerate the move toward greater digitization of their business processes.

By Mark DiMattei

Introduction

Several months into the pandemic, all of us understand the impact that COVID-19 has had on day-to-day living and the global economy. During the lockdown phase, many businesses had most—if not all—of their employees working from home for safety. Now, even as the economy is reopening, certain countries are recovering faster than others. Furthermore, the threat of a second wave may lead to renewed lockdown initiatives, so the ratio of staff reporting to a physical office location will likely be a changing situation for quite some time. Keypoint Intelligence (KPI) recently published its Future of Office Survey, and one aspect of this study focused on exploring how these newly homebound employees were getting their work done.

Changes for Everyone

The severity of the virus caught some nations off-guard. Even those who were prepared for its effects still struggled to hand out devices to a newly displaced workforce with such short notice. As a result, over half of the respondents to KPI’s study were forced to use whatever personal printing devices they already had at home. At the same time, however, 30% of respondents in the US and 31% of those in Western Europe (WE) reported that their companies reimbursed them for a new device or delivered one to their homes.

Respondents were asked if their printing work changed when they started working from home. Based on the data in the Table below, we can see that most small businesses ( 

Changes in Work-From-Home Printing During COVID-19 Lockdown

During the lockdown, some businesses and individuals chose to purchase non-printing devices and other items to support work-from-home setups. In relation to respondents in WE, those in the US were more likely to report purchasing items for their home offices themselves. Meanwhile, it was more common for respondents in WE to report that their businesses paid for new devices/services.

Devices/Services Acquired to WFH During Lockdown

On average, companies with 250+ employees spent the most on their employees ($696 in the US and $611 in WE). In addition, businesses of all sizes in the US spent more on their employees than their European counterparts.

Let’s Get Digital!

Of course, not everyone is printing more as a result of the pandemic. For the most part, previous initiatives to remain environmentally friendly and “greener” have transferred from the office to the home. Several of the businesses that KPI surveyed noted that the COVID-19 lockdown led their company to accelerate the digitization of business processes. This was especially true for companies in the US with 50+ employees. While we can expect that people will always need to print some documents, many are still seeking ways to reduce paper waste with digital storage.

Changes in Digitization Due to COVID-19

Base: Office employees newly working from home due to COVID-19

Source: Future of Office Survey; Keypoint Intelligence 2020

The Bottom Line

We’re several months into the COVID-19 pandemic, and everyone has their own theory about how it will affect the economies and finances of various industries around the world. Even as businesses are rightly concerned about their bottom lines and how to stay afloat during such trying times, they must never lose sight of their most valuable assets—employees! Companies must ensure that the employees who are attempting to work from home during the pandemic have access to the tools they need to be effective. This is the only way to support continued job satisfaction so these employees can support their businesses as we move into the future.

Mark DiMattei is the Manager of Keypoint Intelligence’s Publishing, Editing, and News department. In this capacity, he oversees the editing, formatting, and publication cycles for many different types of deliverables. He also assists in the production of blogs, analyses, research reports, and multi-client studies.