Less than half of office workers now use desktop computers at work, with many instead using laptops and tablets, according to research by LaptopsDirect.co.uk.

The desktop is rapidly moving out of fashion, joining fax machines and landline telephones as relics of the past.

LaptopsDirect.co.uk, a gadgets and technology “e-tailer”, has completed a survey of over 1,000 adults in the UK, showing the scale of the desktop’s demise.

No space for dated desktop computers

The desktop was everywhere at one time, across office desks, with its bulky monitor that has now slimmed down, and whirring hard drive.

Now 77% of British adults believe desktops make offices look dated and could put potential clients off.

84% of workers using a laptop say they have increased workplace productivity because of having a portable device.

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“The desktop PC has had its day”

LaptopsDirect.co.uk marketing manager Mark Kelly said: “More and more we’re hearing from our business customers that not only do clients expect workers to be able to work on the go, but increasingly the generation Z and millennial-aged workforces climbing today’s career ladder expect a degree of flex on working hours and patterns. Which requires devices that enable them to work remotely or on the move.

“Combined with the findings that workers feel more productive in the office, and more motivated to do their best work, when upgraded to a laptop or tech gadget, it really is a no-brainer to picture what offices today should comprise of. It feels like the desktop PC has had its day. They don’t lend well to the open-plan, flexible working offices of today or the need for businesses to respond to today’s fast pace of working and ‘always on’ approach to business.”

More and more are updating to laptop

38% of workers use laptops and 22% are using tablets, 26% of all British adults are expecting to make a laptop upgrade before the end of the year.

The desktop has become particularly less popular in retail, hospitality and leisure, marketing and creative, construction and professional services.