Although there has been a consistent increase in the number of remote workers over the last few years, recent global events have significantly accelerated the transition. This change in the workforce doesn’t appear to be temporary either. Reports from many companies indicate plans to shift some of their previously on-site workforce to permanent remote-work positions, with others given the option to work from home for the foreseeable future.

Maximizing productivity while working remotely can be a challenge for some users who are not accustomed to completing work-related tasks on a less than optimal home office setups. It is common for on-site workers to have access to powerful, full-sized desktop systems and multiple monitors, but when working from home these same users are often relegated to a laptop alone. When users are forced to be productive on relatively small, single laptop displays, with relatively cramped laptop keyboards and touchpads, they often have to make unfortunate trade-offs in their workflow that may hinder productivity. For example, users may have to bounce between open applications and windows, or shrink down application windows to fit alongside each other on a smaller laptop display, which often necessitates additional scrolling, resulting in sub-optimal viewing and ergonomics which can lead to a higher rate of fatigue and errors.

These trade-offs, however, can be mitigated or eliminated altogether by leveraging docks and connected peripherals, such as larger external monitors and dedicated input devices. With accessories and peripherals like these connected to a laptop, users are able to more easily view and navigate multiple applications, simultaneously.

For this study, we set out to measure the potential productivity gains that can be realized by leveraging a Dell dock attached to full-sized input devices, such as a keyboard and mouse kit, dual monitors, and various peripherals, attached to an assortment of laptops of various configurations.