South Africa’s office workers spend nearly an hour a day working on their mobile devices despite having access to more powerful computers, according to a new research report.

The results of the survey, which polled 12 000 office workers nationwide, showed that most people prefer to bring their own mobile device to work rather than use a work-issued one. And they see smartphones as preferable to tablets when it comes to doing work on a mobile device.

The survey was conducted by Inspiration Office, an office space and furniture consultancy, and quizzed office workers on their technology preferences in the workplace.

When asked which mobile device was most needed for work, 52% said a smartphone while 38% said a tablet.

The survey also asked about workers’ preferred operating system. When it came to desktop computers, 80% said they preferred Microsoft Windows, with 11% choosing Apple’s macOS. When asked the same question about laptops, 79% said they prefer Windows while 15% preferred Apple’s operating system.

On smartphones, however, 41% prefer Apple’s iOS to Google’s Android at 50%. For tablets, Apple comes top at 49% compared to Android’s 37%.

“Interestingly the survey also showed that when people work on smartphones or tablets, 77% prefer to do it away from their desks, even if they are still in the office,” said Inspiration Office MD Richard Andrews. “It’s a habit — people think of smartphones and tablets as mobile tools so they often use them elsewhere.”

This is especially true for millennials, who tend to be less inclined to sit at their desks all day and love using mobile devices,” Andrews said.

When asked which were the “most important IT features”, 73% said remote access, 50% said high-performance machines, 44% said an ability to access applications offline and 32% said some sort of protection for their devices against weather or dirt.