Working From Home Demands Better Docking Devices

While working from home is nothing new to many people, this year we saw the biggest and fastest shift to new workforce arrangements in human history. According to Statistics NZ, 40% of people workers in New Zealand performed at least a portion of their work remotely during Alert Levels 4 and 3. 

Yet we know from a recent survey of CFOs by PwC that the biggest concern over the next 12 months will be potential productivity loss due to 41% of remote workers lacking the technology to work effectively from home.  

Ergonomics and physical functionality are essential for setting up any home office environment. We can’t just expect our people to sit at the dining room table or on the couch, as they’ll be less productive and potentially injure themselves. 

This is why IT leaders need to find the right docking devices for powering their remote workforce – to ensure they’re healthy, productive and engaged. Here is some advice on the devices and technology you should consider for your remote workforce. 

Monitors 

Unless you want your employees to be dealing with strained eyes and necks, extra monitors are essential kit for any home office. A dual monitor configuration is what we’d suggest at a minimum, and some other factors to consider include:  

Some factors to avoid here are: 

• ​Mismatched monitors  
• Older display technology 
  
• Lack of adjustable height and angle 
  
• Poor resolution and size 
  
• Lack of compatibility 

To learn more about choose the right display, read our Monitor Guide here. 

Docking Stations 

The right docking station is essential for connecting each users’ computers and monitors. Without the right choice here, we see incompatibilities that range from wake-from-sleep issues to incorrect monitor resolutions, or a complete lack of connection. There are a variety to choose from that include: 

• Thunderbolt 3 docks 
  
• USB-C docks 
  
• USB-A or USB- 3.0 docks 
  
• Port replicators 
  
• USB Hubs 
  
• Docking Monitors 

To learn more about these options, please visit our Docking Station Guide. 

Docking Monitors 

We are seeing the increasing popularity of monitors that provide docking capability.  These are devices where peripherals such as keyboard, mouse and sometimes LAN are connected to the monitor. These are all then connected to the user’s laptop or tablet with a single cable through the following options: 

• USB-C  
  
• Thunderbolt 3  
  
• ​USB-A or USB 3.0  

Our pick for the best Docking Monitor on the market right now is the HP E27d G4 QHD Advanced Docking Monitor.  This will inspire joy on any home office desk, with clean connectivity for adding everyday accessories at the display and the ability to add a PC with just one USB-C™ cable. This docking monitor also empowers IT to remotely manage HP devices from anywhere on the network through RJ-45. 

To learn more about these options, visit our Docking Monitor Guide. 

The Laptop Company is proud to be helping NZ organisations to prepare for future disruption through reliable and flexible technology, hardware and services. Through our partnership with HP, we can deliver powerful and secure HP devices powered by Intel® processors to your team – no matter where they are.   

Need help? 

Get in touch with us today to begin optimising your device fleet with HP and The Laptop Company’s complete solution. It combines hardware, support, proactive management, and services for every stage of your users’ device lifecycles. 

If you’re looking for deal pricing or government prices for your team, please get in touch with us here.