Employees rank collaboration and communication, loneliness and not being able to unplug their top struggles when working from home.
What’s the most indispensable tech tool for working at home?
Based on the graph above, I’m going to say it’s a combination of three things:
- A good webcam. Unfortunately, webcams have become hard to find AND it seems resellers are inflating the prices. Information from Logitech, a well-known manufacturer of computer peripherals like their basic C270 cam, which normally retails for around $24.99, has reported seeing the item being sold online for upwards of $130! If you’re working from a laptop, most come factory made with a webcam built right in, but if you’re a desktop PC user like me, you may be left in the dark. Update: we have an affordable webcam option for you.
- A headset. Headphones and earbuds are practically synonymous with technology today, whether you’re listening to music or podcasts and from a smartphone, tablet, or laptop, but to fully participate and experience collaboration using today’s communication modes (wait for number 3) you’ll need a headset that includes a microphone. Again, laptops usually have this feature built in, but on a desktop it’s not as likely and you’ll want to pick up something like this from our ordering site.
- Lastly, to take advantage of these items and connect with your customers, co-workers, and of course family and friends (let’s not pretend all we do is work!) you’ll need software from one of the major players in video conferencing. Zoom is a popular application companies across the globe are utilizing for their meetings and it’s been parodied in insurance commercials as well as a brilliant Saturday Night Live From Home sketch recently:
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There have been questions about the security of Zoom and some people refuse to even upload the application to their devices as a result. (See this article from New York Magazine,) Most of us are probably fine using it, but there are also offerings that work quite well such as Google Hangouts and Microsoft Team.
However you’re managing it, working from home may be the “new normal” for business and it’s made easier by technology.
