Paperjams in the copier, or hours spent locating a single frustrating file – the numbers don’t lie. A total of 156 hours are wasted every year suffering at the hands of slow technology in every office. That’s roughly a year’s worth of vacation days. What consequences do these have on the day-to-day? And which defunct processes are the worst culprits?
The Worst Culprits: Lazy Printers and Disappearing Documents
The time that European office workers spend every day, sitting in front of slow devices and working with defective technology, could be much better spent on a quick coffee break with their favorite colleagues. At this rate, they’d even have time to catch up at a cafe across the street – and enjoy a croissaint too, while they’re at it.
According to a study from Sharp Business systems, employees spend an average of 37 minutes every day, waiting around for slow technology. Public Enemy #1? The printer. It takes an average of 6 minutes to wam up, and another 9 minutes for the queue of employees to wait to have their documents spat out.
Another terrible timewaster is the labyrinthine folder system to which we’ve all fallen victim. Employees spend 22 minutes every day sifting their way through a complex folder structure, looking for disappearing documents.
Slow Technology Leads to Dissatisfaction
It’s not surprising to anyone that standing in front of sluggish office equipment isn’t overly efficient. But slow technology in the office slows down productivity, and also decreases our motivation. 42 percent of survey respondents believe that their motivation would increase if they were provided with functioning technology.
14 percent are so irritated by these time wasters, that they’re looking for other jobs.
Nonetheless, slow technology is a blessing when it comes to team building. 25 percent of employees help their colleagues to operate their technology. And in video conferences, 23 percent of the employees present are required to coach their colleagues in how to properly use the system. Talk about a silver lining.
