Workers lose 11 days through computer errors

British workers are being let down by their IT hardware, as new research reveals how many working hours are lost each year to technical faults. A survey of 2,000 UK workers commissioned by IT provider Probrand.co.uk revealed that 262 hours and 43 minutes are lost every year due to technology faults and failures, the equivalent to almost 11 working days each year.

76% of workers said that the technical faults they experienced directly impacted their productivity in work, while more than half said most of the faults they endure are due to their computers crashing or running slowly. The research also found that 48% of respondents blame poor internet speeds and connectivity problems for working hours lost.

Interestingly, when faced with a technical issue, more than a third of workers would turn to a colleague first instead of an IT support provider, while 32% would search for solutions to technology related issues before contacting their technical support team.

Those working in professional services suffer the most technology faults, losing 13 days each year to system failures. This was closely followed by media, marketing and design workers, who lost 12 days, while healthcare workers lose 11.5 days.

“It’s shocking how many days are lost to technical faults and failures,” said Matt Royle, marketing director at Probrand, who expressed concerns for smaller businesses. “It is in business owners’ interest to ensure their company has a reliable and fast internet connection to help employees work efficiently, provide quality customer service (if applicable) and support growth.

“However, the responsibility not only sits with employees but also employers,” he continued. “Some simple things staff can do to reduce the likelihood of experiencing these faults include making sure they shut down machines at the end of each working day, keep systems updated rather than delaying them and ensure firewalls are still licensed to protect from viruses.”