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Misuse of office technology adds more than two hours to the working day

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The misuse of telephones and email at work is hindering workers from doing their jobs, increasing bad habits at work and lengthening the working day according to a national study released by ntl:Telewest Business this month.

Highlighted in the research was the over-reliance on voicemail when returning or making phone calls, having to wait for people to call you back before you get the answer you require. Similarly, a delay caused by having to wait for emails to be answered with relevant information was another area that increased time wastage each day.

Two hours, 10 minutes was the amount that people wasted each day at work on average, of which one hour 38 minutes was due to communication technologies not being used to good effect.

Men are the biggest timewasters when it comes to non-work activities. When asked to admit what they were really doing while they were working, the key findings were (men first, women second):

• Emailing with friends: 39 per cent compared to 36 per cent
• Following sport online: 19 per cent compared to 4 per cent
• Arranging social life: 29 per cent compared to 21 per cent
• Online shopping: 21 per cent compared to 14 per cent

Out Of 1,468 people questioned, the average time spent each day waiting for or chasing responses to urgent emails and on unnecessary emails was 42 minutes. An average of 27 minutes was wasted responding to voicemails or managing phone calls and 12 minutes was lost trying to locate colleagues.

According to the study, other average times wasted each day were:

• Travel not including to and from work: 14 minutes
• Chasing responses to urgent emails: 42 minutes
• Responding to voicemails or managing phone calls: 27 minutes
• Trying to locate colleagues: 12 minutes
• Meetings that are unnecessarily long: 12 minutes
• Asking others for files or documents (e.g. version control): 9 minutes
• Scheduling and rescheduling meetings: 8 minutes
• Conference calls that could be far shorter: 6 minutes

Posted June 1, 2006