The growing trend of Bring-Your-Own-Device (BYOD) often implies that employees welcome the move and are taking advantage of the blurring lifestyles between work and home. However, research suggests that many people feel overwhelmed or unprepared to deal with this changing landscape, and there is still some way to go before employees and business owners can fully reap the benefits of BYOD. 

According to independent research by OnePoll carried out across 1,500 business users and consumers in France, Germany, Italy, Spain and the UK, more than six out of ten (62 per cent) respondents have some level of crossover between their work and personal devices. Nearly three out of ten (28 per cent) are unable to differentiate between the technology they use in their work and home lives.

Half of respondents now use their personal smartphones at work and nearly the same number (45 per cent) use personal laptops at work too. This also extends to tablets (21 per cent) and other personal devices. Less than a third don't use any personal portable devices at work.

“BYOD is not a new concept but there are still challenges to overcome before businesses can get the maximum benefit from it,” said Kevin Wen, President of D-Link Europe Ltd. “A lot of the barriers faced by home workers and businesses today can be easily resolved by having the right technology installed.”

Blurring use of technology creates tension in the workplace

Many people feel overwhelmed or unprepared to deal with the challenges from the blurring of work and home lives, according to the research. 

Nearly half (44 per cent) of respondents admitted that they find the impact of the work-life merge to be stressful and would prefer to keep clear lines. Similarly, 15 per cent complained that they have much less personal time. Another 12 per cent said they don't mind the merge, but don't have the technology to cope with it.

Surprisingly, it is the younger generation – often seen to be leading the charge – that seem to be the most ill-prepared to handle the merging of personal and work life.

The youngest age range (18-24) deems the merge 'stressful' (52 per cent), while the 35-44 year olds seem least phased (38 per cent). Similarly, a quarter of 18-24 year olds complain about having much less personal time, compared to just 14 per cent of 35-44 year olds.

Security and connectivity are barriers to BYOD

Attitudes and user behaviour aside, security and seamless connectivity are also barriers that prevent employees from truly embracing BYOD in the workplace.

Security concerns (40 per cent) and general permission (37 per cent) are the top ranked challenges when using home devices at work. These are followed by more practical issues such as accessing work servers (32 per cent) and compatibility issues (26 per cent).

The BYOD debate extends beyond the office building. Many businesses today encourage employees to take up flexible working, but find that staff are unable to work remotely due to outdated technologies.

Just over half of respondents (52 per cent) said that they regularly work from home, with a third (32 per cent) using a personal computer when doing so.

However, nearly a quarter (24 per cent) have been unable to access work documents from home and 17 per cent say that there is such a disparity in the capabilities of their home versus work network that they are unable to effectively work from home. Furthermore, 14 per cent say they worry about others using their home network being able to access confidential work information.

Despite a range of technological developments, the biggest problem cited about home broadband was its speed (38 per cent), followed by slower network speeds when a number of devices are being used simultaneously (27 per cent).

Build a business fit for BYOD, and reap benefits with increased productivity 

“Investing in secure access and storage devices, and setting up a home network that enables faster, more stable wireless connection, will easily help employees eliminate a lot of the stress caused by outdated technology and the merge between home and work lives. In turn, businesses will benefit from employees who can work more effectively, improving overall business productivity,” added Wen.

D-Link offers a broad range of Wireless AC routers that are easy to set-up and secure, ideal for home and remote workers. They provide a high performance network which, combined with features such as beamforming, can provide a more reliable, high-speed connection to a wider range of devices.

For businesses, as well as the latest security features for those who work on sensitive material, easy network partitioning can be used to create one network for employees and another for visitors to access. All together, this means everyone can work without fear of network performance or security problems.