Inadequate Tech and IT Support Hurt Productivity
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Inadequate Tech and IT Support Hurt Productivity
Inadequate technology puts businesses at a competitive disadvantage, lowers employee motivation, and leads to inefficient work practices and higher turnover. -
Good News/Bad News
86% of workers in the survey are happy at their jobs and are motivated to move up in their organization, but more than half feel overworked and/or burnt out. -
Dialed In
75% of happy employees can access mobile phones for work, compared with 51% of unhappy workers who have access. -
App Store
55% of happy workers can take advantage of custom apps for work, but only 33% of unhappy staffers have that ability. -
"Help, Desk!"
70% of workers surveyed said that poorly performing technology hurts productivity, and 60% said that bad IT support does that. -
Different Perspectives: High Heat
69% of staff-level employees said burnout contributes to poor productivity, compared with just 55% of bosses/decision-makers who agree. -
Different Perspectives: Party Affiliation
65% of these workers said office politics contributes to poor productivity, but only 50% of bosses/decision-makers agree. -
Different Perspectives: Conference Call
54% of these employees feel that an excessive number of meetings causes poor productivity, but just 40% of bosses/decision-makers agree. -
Ball and Chain
64% of workers surveyed said that having adequate work breaks contributes to high productivity, but half don't feel that they can ever leave their desk to take a break. -
Engine Drivers
69% said that teamwork contributes to high productivity, while 59% said flexible schedules and 57% said ergonomic/functional furnishings help increase productivity. -
Design Preferences
34% of Gen Y employees prefer to work in an open office space, compared with 26% of Gen Xers and 24% of Boomers who agree.
Even though a majority of employees are happy at work, many are approaching the burnout stage, according to a recent survey from Staples Advantage, the business-to-business division of Staples. The resulting "2015 Workplace Index: A Comprehensive Study of Workplace Trends" reveals that the IT department factors greatly into the equation here, as most professionals said that poorly performing technology, along with insufficient IT support, hurts productivity. And employees are much more likely to consider themselves "happy" if they have access to mobile phones, custom apps and other in-demand tech tools. "Technology plays a key role in improving the competitiveness and productivity of modern business," according to the report. "Much has been written about the operational and commercial benefits of investing in IT and technology, but the impact that poor/inadequate technology can have on staff morale is often overlooked. … Not only does inadequate technology place companies at a competitive disadvantage, it also demotivates staff and contributes to inefficient working and higher staff churn." In addition to technology, findings cover a wide range of workplace productivity and happiness influencers—including office politics and a glut of meetings—and breaks down opposing perspectives of employees and managers, as well as the views of Gen Y, Gen X and Baby Boomers. We've included a sampling of those results as well. More than 2,600 staff-level employees, managers and business decision-makers in the United States and Canada took part in the research, which was conducted by Redshift Research.