Remote workers just won't stop destroying their business laptops and smartphones, and with gear getting more expensive, and people traveling more in the post-Covid era, the costs are quickly mounting up.

This is according to a new report from Direct Line, based on a surveying of 2,000 UK adults, which states that almost a quarter (22%) of those who travel with business-owned technology manage to damage it.

What's more, a further fifth (19%) have previously lost their work hardware, while 14% have had it stolen from them.

Breaking expensive gear

Most of the time, employees break or lose their business smartphones (50%), followed by laptops (34%) and tablets (24%).

Dropping or knocking an item (27%) is the usual way people damage corporate gear, while 18% just leave it somewhere and forget where they placed it. A tenth poured a drink on the device, while some (7%) managed to get their gear cracked by another colleague.

The gear is getting more expensive, as well. The average worker now carries more than $1,400 worth of equipment, while a tenth (9%) carries with them technology that can cost as much as $3,800.

With the transition to hybrid working, Direct Line expects workers to travel more in the coming months. Almost a third (30%) said they’d be using more shared workspaces now, while a fifth (19%) said they will be traveling to a work event or conference in the near future.

For Alison Traboulsi, Marketing Manager at Direct Line, insuring company-owned technology has never been as important as it is today. A fifth of businesses now insure technology for employees that travel to different locations.

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