Lose the computer and get back to normal hours

Long hours at the office could become a thing of the past if we got rid of computers, a new report reveals.

Crashes, print jams and slow-running terminals mean the average employee wastes 48 minutes every day.

Added to the time spent in pointless meetings, handling unnecessary phone calls and dealing with annoying colleagues, up to three hours a day are being wasted.

The findings come from a survey by payment service Bacs which showed that, rather than helping us, new technologies make office life an ordeal.

Computers, for some, mean having to deal with countless annoying e-mails.

The drive towards the paperless office also means workers constantly having to update their skills as they try to adapt to new software.

Sign up to our weekly round-up of HR news and guidance

Receive the Personnel Today Direct e-newsletter every Wednesday

Email(Required)

OptOut

From time to time, we will send you emails about selected products, events and services from Personnel Today - but you can choose to opt-out at any time. If you do not wish to receive these emails, please tick this box.

Name

This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

Δ

The mobile phone is fuelling the 24-hour working culture as many staff say they have to take calls outside normal hours, the survey of 1,100 office workers found.

Michael Chambers, managing director of Bacs, said: “No office can ever be 100% efficient but it is ironic that so much time is wasted on devices that we trust to streamline processes.”