Working from home may be hugely popular now and was transformed from a minority pursuit into a commonplace activity by the pandemic. Research has shown that 40 per cent of British workers either work exclusively from home, or sometimes do so on a hybrid basis.

However, for those using the benefits of IT to maintain connectivity from home or anywhere else, there can be problems too.

Often, the biggest concern is about security, whether that is the physical security of laptops and other devices that are taken from place to place (or at risk from burglaries) or the dangers of taking personal responsibility for passwords and other security measures without the back up of in-house office IT support staff.

However, there are many other potential IT problems to consider if you work from home. Tech website Makeuseof has listed just some of them and what needs to be done. These are problems that will often need the help of IT support services to resolve.

Poor internet connections are one example. The site lists possible solutions including updating the router and modem or updating the router’s firmware. But what if you cannot be sure what the root of the problem is? That is where an expert may help.

The computer itself may have issues such as viruses, crashes and slow running. Apart from the classic ‘turn it off and on again’ response, solutions could include scanning for viruses or uninstalling unnecessary programmes, but again it cannot always be clear what the cause is, or the solution.

Video and audio problems can also be a problem, especially if you do a lot of Zoom calls. This may be down to problems like a lack of bandwidth, but once again, without an expert, it is not possible to be sure.

It can be very easy to offer simple-sounding answers, but in practice, most workers will benefit from having It support on hand to answer questions they may not be able to resolve themselves.