1. GovLoop Survey Results Report 2011
HP Survey:
Is Work Invading Your Personal Computer?
HP recently partnered with GovLoop to assess the usage of personal computers for work related tasks and give
reason to this growing trend among employees. Is personal space becoming the work space?
GovLoop is the largest social network for members of the government community with nearly 50,000 members.
A survey was distributed on GovLoop during the month of October 2011. We wanted to share the end results
and conclusions from the survey.
1. Do you use your home computer (desktop or laptop) for work activities? What limitations or advantages do
you think this would create?
The majority of respondents stated that they use their home computers for work activities. Respondents who
answered “yes” to this question were also asked to explain what limitations or advantages they have seen by
using their home computer for work activities. Most respondents said that they have seen potential issues with
security and that the need to download additional software to their personal computer is a limitation. On the
other hand, using a home computer for work allows an employee to work from anywhere, and use any
software, websites, or applications that they want in order to do their job.
Yes, I frequently use my home
17% computer for work activities (5
29%
or more times a week)
Yes, I sometimes use my home
computer for work activities
(less than 5 times a week)
54%
No, I never use my home
computer for work-related
activities
2. Has your use of home computer (desktop or laptop) for work activities increased or decreased over the past
two years?
28%
Increased
72% Decreased
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2. GovLoop Survey Results Report 2011
3. What are the main reasons that you're using a home computer (desktop or laptop) for work activities (e.g.,
increased efficiency, convenience, etc.)?
Respondents use a home computer to perform work activities for various reasons. 32% feel that using a
personal desktop or laptop is more convenient and 28% feel more efficient when using their home computer for
work activities. Other reasons included the ability to telework and the ability to use whichever operating system
or software they prefer.
35% 32%
28%
30%
25%
20%
13%
15%
10%
10% 7% 6%
4%
5%
0%
4. Do you think that you could use your home/personal computer full-time at work?
58%
No
42%
Yes
0 10 20 30 40 50 60
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3. GovLoop Survey Results Report 2011
5. Not factoring in cost of ownership, if you could only have one computer for both work and personal use,
which would you choose?
The vast majority of survey respondents reported that if given the option, they would prefer to use their personal
computer for both work and personal use.
30%
Current Work
Computer
70% Current Personal
Computer
6. To the best of your knowledge, what are the differences between the computers you use in your office and
ones that you can buy at stores like Best Buy and Radio Shack?
Survey results show that there are key areas that show differences in work computers and computers that can
be purchased in a store. 82% of those who said that quality is a factor and believes that office computers are
of poorer quality when compared to the computers they can buy at a store. 18% disagree and believe that
their work computers are better in terms of quality.
In terms of software, half of the respondents stated that their work computers contain better software
applications, while the other half found that they can find store-bought computers that are equipped with
better software.
44% of those who discussed the difference in security of work computers believe that their work computers
have better security options, keeping the computer safer and more secure than one that is store-bought.
However, 56% stated that computers in a store offer less hassle for the user in terms of firewalls and slow security
software.
Quality 37%
Support 5%
Software 13%
Security 12%
Other 16%
No Difference 17%
0% 5% 10% 15% 20% 25% 30% 35% 40%
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4. GovLoop Survey Results Report 2011
7. How does your personal computer differ from your work computer in terms of durability, reliability and
security? Rate your perceived impression:
Durability
29%
30% 25%
25% 20%
20%
13% 13%
15%
10%
5%
0%
Personal Personal They are Work Work
Computer Computer the Same Computer Computer
is More is a Little is a Little is More
More More
Reliability
42%
45%
40%
35% 27%
30%
25%
20% 13%
15% 9% 9%
10%
5%
0%
Personal Personal They are Work Work
Computer Computer the Same Computer Computer
is More is a Little is a Little is More
More More
Security
43%
45%
40%
35%
30% 24%
25% 18%
20% 13%
15%
10% 2%
5%
0%
Personal Personal They are Work Work
Computer Computer the Same Computer Computer
is More is a Little is a Little is More
More More
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5. GovLoop Survey Results Report 2011
8. If you are using your home computer for work, is your IT manager aware of that?
55%
Yes
45%
No
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60%
9. Do you store any company data or files on your home computer? What types of organizational/agency data
do you store on your personal computer?
The majority of participants (75%) reported that they do not store company data/files on their home computer.
The 25% who do store company data on their personal computer stated that they store company emails and
documents as well as company member data and analytical information.
25%
Yes
75% No
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6. GovLoop Survey Results Report 2011
10. Have you received any specific direction from office leadership regarding the use of personal computers?
53% of survey participants stated that they have received no direction regarding the usage of their personal
computers. The 47% who reported having received direction were asked to elaborate on this. According to
respondents, their organization/agency’s leadership was most concerned with confidential information being
stored on a personal computer. Most respondents stated that their leadership has given specific directions not
to use home computers in or out of the office. Others are allowed to use their home computers as long as they
are used only at home and/or not storing company data on their home computer.
11. Please select which best describes your place of work:
Federal Government 52%
State Government 15%
Local Government 12%
Government Contractor 10%
Non-Profit 5%
Other 6%
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60%
Conclusion
Work is, in fact, invading the personal computer. How and where employees work is having a major effect on
the technology employees use to do their jobs. 75% of respondents have admitted to using their personal
computer for work related tasks. Many workers prefer to work on a personal computer for various reasons.
Efficiency, convenience, durability, and security are some of the major contributors to the decision of
employees to use their own computer for work. Survey results show that while there is some support from
leadership to use personal computers for work-related activities, there is still quite a bit of resistance.
Survey Partners
GovLoop is the premier online community connecting more than 49,000 government innovators. The
community is a dedicated space for people in and around government to connect with peers, collaborate on
projects and catapult their careers.
HP’s mission is to invent technologies and services that drive business value, create social benefit and improve
the lives of customers — with a focus on affecting the greatest number of people possible. HP is a proud
partner of GovLoop. Check out HP on Twitter and Facebook.
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