It's official: Most people use a personal smartphone for work

Woman on a phone call in the office
(Image credit: Pexels: Anna Shvets)

As 2021 draws to a close, TechRadar Pro has commissioned an exclusive poll from OnePulse to dig into smartphone usage at work. 

As the world shifts towards hybrid working – or out-and-out remote working – smartphone usage is a hot topic, especially personal devices being used at work.

Gone are the days when office workers were tied to a desk, and usually an elderly Windows PC, and the impact of the changes are still being widely felt. Industries like social media influencers, which didn't even exist a few years ago, are now entirely dependent on modern smartphones, for example. 

Smartphone usage at work

To find out more, we asked 500 people in the US and UK a few questions whether they used a smartphone outside of work to conduct work-related business (video calls, presentations, meetings, that kind of thing). 

Around three-quarters (73%) confirmed that they use smartphones for work matters, with the most common reason being email and the least common being Wi-Fi hotspotting. And of those who use smartphones for work, a shocking 82% do so with their own personal smartphone, not a work-issued device. 

Most respondents (46%) used their smartphone for less than one hour per day for work, followed by 1-2 hours per day (28.3%), 2-5 hours per day (16.8%), and overfill hours per day (8.9%).

Max Slater-Robins has been writing about technology for nearly a decade at various outlets, covering the rise of the technology giants, trends in enterprise and SaaS companies, and much more besides. Originally from Suffolk, he currently lives in London and likes a good night out and walks in the countryside.

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