Many business leaders have resisted remote work for years, 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.2 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 fast, reliable, and high-performing tech. 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.

3. 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.

4. 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.

When your IT is at its best, so are your people.

HP and Now Micro offer the world’s most secure and manageable PCs. HP Elite Notebooks are made for today’s challenges—with hardware-enforced security features and layers of protection below, inside, and above the OS to proactively prevent threats and quickly recover in the event of a breach. Sleek and light, Elite Notebooks offer advanced features like secure, wide-angle webcams, hardened security features like self-healing BIOS, 5G, and 4G LTE connectivity, Audio by Bang & Olufsen, HP Noise Cancellation, and the power and performance for smooth virtual collaboration. Now Micro’s collection of software and hardware solutions is perfectly suited to easily solve unique technical problems. Our solutions are used by over 60,000 users and have helped customers streamline their deployment process. With HP, Now Micro, Windows 10 Pro, and the Intel® vPro® platform, you get the latest software and out-of-the-box hardware security features to help defend your devices and your business.

Learn more about Now Micro’s partnership with HP, Intel, and Microsoft at https://www.nowmicro.com/hp.

Some people love in-person meetings; others prefer the remote kind. However you feel about them, here’s an interesting discovery: A recent study found 86% of participants reported “as high or higher” levels of engagement in virtual meetings compared to face-to-face. That’s great news for the future of remote work—because if there’s anything we know for sure, there will be a lot more of them in our future. Here’s how to make them better for everyone.

Equip workers with the knowledge and tech they need to stay safe.

More than 50% of workers report not receiving any new security policies on working securely from home.

 A huge increase in virtual meetings hasn’t gone unnoticed by cyber attackers. New attack types are on the rise, and most meeting platforms have reported issues. Keep meetings secure by first ensuring that hardware and OSes are up-to-date. PCs more than four years old may not be able to take advantage of the latest patches, putting individuals and businesses at risk.

Equip teams for real work—not just talk.

Truly collaborative organizations are 5x more likely to be high-performing.

Setting a clear agenda and objectives for each meeting is key; you need the tech to support those intentions. Start with a high-definition webcam. Then think bigger—including wider mic arrays, enhanced audio, touchscreens, pen support, and tools like Windows Ink—to help teams collaborate through whiteboarding, marking diagrams and images, or sketching ideas. Tools that auto-generate meeting transcripts can help make note-taking faster and more accurate.

Manage bandwidth and eliminate lag time.

70% of network traffic is video

A big spike in videoconferencing has made lags more common. Help users test to ensure they have a solid Wi-Fi setup with enough bandwidth—using apps like Google Wifi. Some workers may need guidance on setting up routers or repeaters or using their phones as hot spots when the internet goes down. Here’s an easy win: Intel vPro-equipped devices with integrated Wi-Fi 6 offer up to 3x faster file-transfer speeds than Wi-Fi 5.5

Help employees make the most of virtual meetings.

As much as 93% of communication is nonverbal.

“Video on” has become a hallmark of the remote-work culture. Provide employees with tips on how to improve their virtual meeting experience—how to arrange lighting, troubleshoot audio, and upload professional headshots. Make a balanced plan that helps employees reduce stress by understanding when to have video on and when to have it off.

Utilize remote management tools to improve support.

According to ITDMs, after 2020, 49% of workers will be WFH at least part of the time.

Executives expect an increase in employees working remotely for at least three days per week—even 12 months after the global health crisis subsides. As this trend is here to stay, a modern approach to device management makes it easier for IT to support ongoing virtual meetings and work. With self-service features, windows 10 Pro simplifies device deployment, personalization, and user reset.

Collaborate better to move your business faster.

HP and Now Micro offer the world’s most secure and manageable PCs. HP Elite Notebooks are made for today’s challenges—with hardware-enforced security features and layers of protection below, inside, and above the OS to proactively prevent threats and quickly recover in the event of a breach. Sleek and light, Elite Notebooks offer advanced features like secure, wide-angle webcams, hardened security features like self-healing BIOS, 5G, and 4G LTE connectivity, Audio by Bang & Olufsen, HP Noise Cancellation, and the power and performance for smooth virtual collaboration. Now Micro’s collection of software and hardware solutions is perfectly suited to easily solve unique technical problems. Our solutions are used by over 60,000 users and have helped customers streamline their deployment process. With HP, Now Micro, Windows 10 Pro, and the Intel® vPro® platform, you get the latest software and out-of-the-box hardware security features to help defend your devices and your business.

Learn more about Now Micro’s partnership with HP, Intel, and Microsoft at https://www.nowmicro.com/hp.