Coffee WiFi and 2 Ply - Part II

Everyone agrees that our working world is evolving. Recently I explored the increased demand for laptops, (as for whisky if you read that one) We’ve seen the out-of-stock signs and the crazy shipping estimates. In Part I we established that the #newnormal basically means that we are now spending more on coffee, Wi-Fi, and 2-ply toilet paper because we’re no longer getting it free at the office. So, is this shortage of laptops justified? Can we not, just like back in the old days at the office, use desktops. Which is best for remote work (please NOTE I said “remote work” and not “mobile work”)

People are no longer office-bound, but that doesn’t mean they are mobile, it just means they are remote. During recent months I’ve heard so many debates around which computer (laptop or desktop), should we choose for the new working world? Why are most people in the new working world, demanding laptop computers? Let me share a couple of thoughts with you, and I promise I’m not going to conclude with “it is finally up to you, to decide which is best for you …blah blah blah”

Portability - The company can easily stuff a laptop in your hands and say go home and work. Yes, you can go home, open it and it works, well most of the time. However, was the laptop not originally intended to provide #mobility rather than just portability? In other words, the laptop was supposed to enable me to work anywhere, when I travel for business (which I no longer do in the #newnormal); OR when I do presentations to customers on-site (which I now do via Teams, Zoom, or Skype in the #newnormal); OR while I wait in coffee shops between meetings (both coffee shops and face-to-face meetings are not so popular in the #newnormal). So, the bottom-line question is whether we really need that originally intended #mobility (or even portability) when we are going to be stationary at home. Pretty good question I would argue.

This actually leads to 2 more aspects regarding the decision between laptop and desktop. Wait, before I get there, just a quick side-note on why many individuals want the laptop, and I might be causing a bit of a stir when I say this. Laptops are status symbols to some. There, I’ve said it.

Status Symbol - Originally, only top management and some salespeople had laptops. Then it sort of filtered down to all salespeople, and middle management, and then finally first-line management. Maybe because “managers” in many companies had laptops, it became a status symbol, and it certainly remains a status symbol for many people who work on desktop computers at the office. I won’t be discussing the “status symbol” topic, but I want to say to those people who do have a desktop at work, “Keep the desktop, you are better off! You can switch it off at the end of the day and go home, that laptop follows you around everywhere, you really don’t want it” Now that you’re working from home, please insist on the desktop, forget the status symbol, and you can still switch it off at the end of the day, even if the end of the day is 9pm…. 

So, where was I, the additional 2 aspects regarding the laptop vs desktop decision. I think at this point we can agree that working from home is in fact, merely changing your place of work. Your work has not changed, your workplace moved from the office to the home, and therefore we can agree that both portability and #mobility should not be the deciding factor between laptop and desktop. I know what you’re going to say (1) it’s easier to set-up a laptop, and (2) a laptop doesn’t take up as much space. 

Set-up/Installation and Space - With a laptop it’s easy, you take it out of the bag, open it up and switch it on. It’s small and you can work on your lap anywhere in your home. You can easily do the Garden Route (i.e. sitting on the patio) or even the Wine-Route (i.e. working after-hours while having a drink) On the other hand, setting up a desktop might be slightly more challenging, and it also needs a dedicated place in your home. Well, I probably can’t argue that one, although I do wonder how many people actually do work on their laps… Most online meetings I have attended, I only saw people at fixed desks…. Strange but true. Secondly, we’ve had hundreds, if not thousands of large screen monitors rented out during the past few months. Clients told us they need larger screens to work on the laptops…. Well hahaha, that’s funny, I bet those are not on people’s laps! OK, hopefully, you’re leaning towards conceding the space argument, and agreeing that space is probably not really an issue. The difficult or challenging “setting-up”, however, remains, and I fully understand that for some people it’s a daunting thought. Let me just say this, for the price difference between renting (and definitely purchasing) a laptop vs a desktop, we could probably get someone every week, to come and set-up the desktop, in a different spot each time. There we just got back portability also ;-)

Cost - Even before the increased worldwide demand in laptops, there was already around a 40% difference in purchase price (sometimes more). At the moment that price difference is growing rapidly, and that is IF you can find a laptop. I’m not saying go out and buy desktops, but perhaps it’s a good idea to rent desktops for the #newnormal workplace. At least for the next 6 months or so, while the laptop supply chain is resolving itself. A note for those financial fundi’s. When I say cost, I do include purchase price, but any good financial person (working from home these days) will tell you that you should look at the total cost. Anybody who has tried will know how expensive it is to get a laptop repaired, or upgraded, or insured. Most people know that everything around a laptop is just more expensive, and with the increase in personal costs for coffee, Wi-Fi, and 2-ply, you don’t need the added laptop costs.  

Permanently Remote - Having said all of that, Gartner predicts that 48% of employees will work from home after the pandemic, compared to around 30% pre-pandemic, that’s an almost 20% increase. So perhaps, work from home is what every business should plan for as a #newnormal permanent arrangement. But let’s leave this discussion for Part III….

Bottom line: If you’re not into status symbols, but into saving money, reducing Total Cost of Ownership or converting CapEx to OpEx, we @Qrent can help. On top of this cost-saving, we now offer a 6 month payment holiday on desktop purchases and long term desktop rentals!