Techspectations study shows growing technology divide between businesses and employees

The UK is set to lose up to 348 million working days next year because of poor IT investment – and employees now have a more sophisticated suite of technology at home than at work, a new study by Chelsea Apps Factory has found.

64% of people in Plymouth said their office IT was preventing them doing their job properly, with computers crashing and slow internet speeds the most significant problems.

The Chelsea Apps Factory ‘Techspectations’ study surveyed of over 1,000 office workers, asking them about their home technology and the technology that their employer provides them with.

It’s shows a dramatic shift over the last few decades, as technology costs have fallen, and once-complex systems have become easier to use – but companies appear to have been slow in capitalising on the trend.

The study overall shows that, of all the technologies examined – aside from the humble printer – home equipment and services were over twice as good as the kit provided at work. The key findings from Plymouth showed:

-       39% of people said that their personal mobile phone was better than the one work gave them to use. Just 21% said that their work phone was better.
-       50% of people in Plymouth have better mobile phone coverage at home compared to their workplace (18%)
-       Four times as many people said their home tablet computer was better than the one work gives them to use (50% v 11%)
-       With your computer, it was closer, but still 54% of people said their home computer was better than their work computer. 25% said their work computer was better than the one they had at home.
-       54% of workers said their broadband was better at home than at work (21%).
-       And with wifi, over 61% said theirs was better at home than in the office (14%).
-       In fact, the only piece of technology that people said was better in the office than at home was their printer, with 68% of respondents saying that their office printer was better than the one they had at home (11%)

Mike Anderson, CEO of Chelsea Apps Factory, said: “ It’s clear that the ‘techspectations’ of the modern employee far outweigh what companies can deliver – and employees are literally taking matters into their own hands.

“Businesses are still investing unnecessary millions on clunky, highly-complex systems, services and software that leave employees stumped, unproductive and in some cases so unhappy they would consider leaving their job.

“Businesses of all shapes and sizes need to embrace mobilization, harness technology and encourage their people’s power in this new tech-driven world. The rewards in doing so are huge – as are the dangers for those that don’t.”

The research found that the average worker wastes 22 minutes a day on IT issues, which equates to 11.3 days a year. With over 30 million people in employment in the UK that is over 348 million lost days of work. Some people (6%) even reported up to an hour of their day lost every day because of poor technology.

Not only are IT issues affecting the productivity of the UK workforce, 17% of people would consider moving job because the tech in their workplace was so poor. The most common issues include:

-       Slow internet connection (39%) and computers crashing (25%) and were the two most common complaints

-       Email inboxes not having enough space (7%) was the next most frustrating issue