A Thunderbolt 3 dock works, but it's overkill.

Yes, it will work. The M1 MacBook Air supports Thunderbolt 3 and USB4, so plugging a Thunderbolt 3 dock in gives you all the ports it offers.

But if all you need is a few USB-A ports and an HDMI output, you don’t need Thunderbolt 3. A simple USB-C hub for $20-40 does the same job. Thunderbolt docks can cost $200+ and the extra speed won’t matter for keyboards, mice, or a 4K monitor.

The only reason to go Thunderbolt is if you’re daisy-chaining high-speed storage, running multiple high-resolution displays, or need 40Gbps bandwidth. For USB-A and HDMI? Save your money.

Save the Thunderbolt for someone with a need for speed.