Hardware, including laptops, as well as video conferencing and email are among the common forms of technology causing the biggest barriers to people getting on with their work, the report from IT managed service provider Atlas Cloud highlighted.

It asked respondents whether they would agree or disagree with the statement: "At work, my productivity is often [affected] by issues with..." – and then listed seven common types of tech and tech-related activities.

Some 77.2% of respondents agreed with the statement when it came to their computer hardware, while 77.1% said video conferencing software often affected their ability to work. For email software the figure was 76.3%.

By saying the various technologies affected the respondents’ productivity, the statement did not necessarily mean time was completely lost, but it did mean that a person’s productivity was negatively affected, the report said. That might include a laptop slowing down, a video conference buffering, a web browser grinding to a halt or email crashing.

Overall, respondents said that, on an average working day, 204 minutes – or nearly three and a half hours – were affected by technical issues. “That adds up to 17 hours per week of sub-optimal working and frustration,” the survey report said.

The survey was conducted as part of Atlas Cloud’s launch of a new IT Effectiveness Index to measure how much productivity is being reduced by issues with technology.

The effectiveness score combines metrics for value, user satisfaction, competency and time efficiency for key applications and processes involving IT.

The survey took place online between 26 November and 7 December 2021, and involved 1,000 randomly-selected, agency-based recruitment consultants (ie. not in-house or self-employed recruiters). Respondents came from 31 countries across the globe, with almost 20% based in the UK.

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