Research: Who's Working at Home?

Research commissioned by Lexmark International, Inc. and carried out by global pollster Ipsos shows differences among respondents in 18 countries regarding their tendencies to work at home. The online survey conducted by Ipsos comprised 9,000 tech-savvy home computer users.

Ninety percent of respondents said they believe wireless networks will be important to everyday life in their homes over the next five years. Forty percent of respondents said they have already installed wireless networks in their homes and said they use their wireless networks to connect numerous devices and to support a broad range of activities.

Of those with wireless networks at home, 47% of respondents worldwide said that the technology enables them to perform work-related activities in the home. Responses by country varied (differences of 5% or more are statistically significant) :

Poland, 76

Mexico, 72%

South Africa, 63%

Austria, 62%

Denmark, 60%

United States, 60%

Germany, 51%

Canada, 50%

Australia, 50%

Brazil, 49%

U.K., 45%

Netherlands, 45%

Spain, 44%

Switzerland, 41%

Belgium, 28%

Italy, 14%

Japan, 14%

France, 9%

Lexmark believes that wireless printing will play a big part in the wireless home office. With the introduction of its 2007 inkjet product line, Lexmark will offer a range of wireless printers with pricing starting at $79.99.

Wireless printing enables users to print with the same freedom and mobility they enjoy when working on a wireless laptop computer. Users can place the printer anywhere within the range of their wireless networks. In addition, multiple computer users can share the same wireless printer.

Ipsos conducted the online survey of its panelists Feb. 16-24, 2007. The survey included 500 respondents in each of 18 countries for a total of 9,000 respondents. Panelists in Mexico, South Africa and Brazil were from the countries’ main cities. Respondents were aligned to match the demographics of home computer owners in each of the countries. Each country was given an equal weight in worldwide results. The survey has a 95% confidence level +/- 5%.