Research has shown that 63 percent of office workers are negative about their work environment.
Small Business reported that research from Sharp revealed that UK workers were the “most likely to describe their working environment as uninspiring”, and the report said that UK businesses were “in the grip of a negativity epidemic”, with most of the complaints relating to “outdated ways of working” causing lack of motivation and low morale.
6,000 office workers across Europe were surveyed, with the UK coming out top as the most negative, and descriptions used included grim, toxic and oppressive, while 23 percent said the office was boring, and only 17 percent said that their work environment was motivating. A third of the UK’s office workers blamed “outdated and frustrating ways of working”, with 24 percent claiming that admin tasks were too long and boring, and 23 percent complaining that most communication is by email instead of person to person.
Over half of those surveyed said that technology at work was “restrictive and limiting”, and 32 percent said that they had pretended something was broken to avoid using it, while 41 percent said they used their own devices. Frustration was high in the office, with the average UK worker saying they were irritated by technology at least 16 times a week.
43 percent of younger workers or millennials said they would be more “motivated” if the office had up-to-date technology, although 45 percent of the same group said that they had avoided using technology as it was “too complicated”, despite having grown up with computers and the internet.
Stuart Sykes, Managing Director, Sharp UK, commented: “Making sure everyone feels motivated is important for creating a happy workplace, where people want to and can do their best work. Technology only improves motivation if it’s helpful and easy to use; otherwise it becomes a de-motivator, either not being used, or worse, causing frustration. Look at the tools you use, the tools you need and make those improvements that help people enjoy coming to work.
“Within the next 10 years, millennials will make up the majority of our workforce, so it’s important that we learn from the younger workers, welcome new ideas and new insights, and provide smarter technology that is as easy to use as consumer devices.”