iPhone hotspot is not working on company laptop

I have 2 computers, one is my personal laptop, and the other is my company laptop.

If I enable hotspot and connect to my personal laptop via USB cable, the hotspot works right away. However, it rarely works with my work computer (not sure if due to all security settings on that computer, which runs on a VPN when it's connected). But it has worked a few times, though I have no idea how to make it happen.

Wifi hotspot is also a mystery, most of the times it doesn't show under the list of available networks, and that is in either the personal or work laptop.

The easiest option is Bluetooth, which always works after you pair up your devices, but the speeds are horrible on Bluetooth, so that is not an option.

Can somebody give me some tips on what's at play here? I'm wondering if the reason why the hotspot doesn't work on my company laptop is because when I tether via USB cable, there's already a Wifi (non-hotspot) connection. But that shouldn't be the case, since on my personal laptop, the hotspot overtakes the Wifi connection, if I am already connected.

I really appreciate any help on this. I have an iPhone 7 with the latest iOS version. I need the hotspot as a plan B for when my very unstable Wifi connection fails/drops.

[Re-Titled by Moderator]