IT malfunctions are costing UK companies £3.4 billion in lost productivity every year, according to new research.

A survey of 1,137 UK workers carried out by technology services firm Probrand found that a third (33 per cent) of said their workplace IT systems were hindering their productivity.

In addition, the average British worker spends over one working day a month fixing their own IT issues, the study suggested.

The surveyed workers, who all use IT systems in their workplace, said they waste an average of 5 per cent- or 21 minutes- of their working day due to connection or technology related issues, coming in at a cost of £3.4 billion to UK employers annually.

The top five workplace IT issues were slow running equipment (34 per cent), internet connectivity issues (27 per cent), cyber breaches (19 per cent), additional equipment such as printers and scanners not working (11 per cent), and outdated hardware (9 per cent).

On average, most technical issues take 6.2 hours to be resolved after being reported, the study found.

Commenting on the findings, Matt Royle, marketing director at Probrand, said: “A productive workforce is integral to the success of a business, as is ICT in enabling that. It’s clear from our findings that businesses are not helping themselves when it comes to resolving IT related issues.

“Naturally, issues arise from the IT itself as well as end user error. Employee training can help here on basic use of IT systems, processes and company policies – particularly when it comes to cyber and data security.”

He added: “With companies wasting an eye watering £3.4 billion in lost productivity each year, it’s clearly time for those with and without internal IT teams to take a new look at how to tackle end user issues.”

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