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The new Trusted Connections 2024 study surveyed 425 enterprise AV ( audiovisual ) professionals working in the UK , Germany , Nordics and the Netherlands . It revealed that 65 % of enterprises are encouraging staff to install Internet of Things ( IoT ) devices into their homes , while a third ( 33 %) are also investing in analytics platforms to monitor remote workers .

For many enterprises , at-home tracking systems are helping meet their obligations to protect employee wellbeing – something which has become much harder since workers left the office environment . In fact , a third of those surveyed ( 32 %) said their organisations are now collecting wellbeing data such as ‘ tiredness indicators ’ from remote staff . A further 37 % plan to track this sort of data in future .

More than a quarter ( 28 %) said their organisations are also collecting environmental data from people ’ s homes – such as lighting and air quality , while 36 % have plans to collect this data in the future .

Tom Martin , CEO of Kinly , said : “ For years enterprises have been able to maximise both the productivity and wellbeing of staff within the office environment . From providing natural lighting , to monitoring screen time , worker analytics have been a big part of the AV industry . Now , that ’ s all changing . With so many employees working from home , businesses can no longer guarantee a high-quality work environment . The result is people working longer hours , in conditions that wouldn ’ t have been acceptable at the office .

“ IoT technology is becoming an increasingly popular way to address this , using at-home AV equipment to monitor everything from air quality , to working hours and screen time . Of course , adopting this tech means being transparent with employees . It cannot be used without their express consent .”

According to Kinly ’ s research , employee wellbeing is not the only challenge posed by the rise of hybrid working . More than half of those surveyed ( 57 %) said poor hybrid workflows are damaging staff productivity , while 27 % face issues with decentralised or siloed data . Fifty-eight percent said that outdated AV tech is also damaging the overall productivity of remote employees .

Martin added : “ While remote worker tracking will definitely be the hot topic of 2024 , there ’ s a lot to be said about getting the basics of AV right . Many enterprises have still not developed effective strategies for hybrid working , with efficiency and productivity slumping due to badly designed workflows and outdated tech . As our research report shows , effective hybrid working is essential to business growth , staff retention and even recruitment . Simply giving employees a laptop and saying ‘ work from home ’ isn ’ t enough . Enterprises need bespoke , intelligent and increasingly data-driven solutions for hybrid working , built around their specific business goals and their employee ’ s individual needs .” x

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