How Repetitive Tasks Waste $1.8 Trillion
How Repetitive Tasks Waste $1.8 Trillion
Businesses waste billions of dollars annually on ordinary tasks that could be automated, according to their workers.
Why U.S. Businesses Waste $1.8 Trillion Annually
Workers spend on average 520 hours a year (over one day of work each week) on mundane tasks that could easily be automated. Based on the average national hourly wage of $25.39, this translates to businesses losing $13,202.88 a year per employee on unproductive tasks.
Use of Technology at Work
43.8% use technology and devices at work. That means roughly one in three employees do not use technology or devices for work.
Generation X and Millennials
Technology and device use for work breaks out as follows: Generation X (35-54): 49.6%, Millennials (25-34): 46%, Baby Boomers (55-64): 42.6%, Younger Millennials (18-24): 39.8%, Older Baby Boomers (65 and older): 28.5%
Technology That’s Most Helpful for Productivity
Asked which work-related technology helps them be most productive, 51.7% of respondents named computers. Email followed at 13.7%, mobile smartphones at 11.6%, company applications or software was 10.5% and tablets trailed at 5.2%.
Biggest Recurring Technology Problem
31.2% of respondents say Internet speed or network outages are the greatest technology hindrance at work. Remembering passwords followed at 22.5%. Next came restricted access to sites, files and software, at 14.4%. Email software performance was only 6.2%.
Collaboration Technology
Email remains the most frequently used technology at 63.4%, whereas chat, at 7.2%, is the least frequently used. Only 11% of respondents use filesharing sites.
Manual Tasks That Could Be Automated
33.9% of respondents spend less than an hour daily doing tasks manually that could be automated. 34.1% spend 1-2 hours daily completing work that could be automated. That means employees lose 10 hours a week this way.
Does Your Company’s Technology Hurt Productivity?
One in four workers think their company’s technology and policies hurt their productivity, with 30.9% of young Millennials the most dissatisfied and young Baby Boomers (ages 54 to 64) following at 29.1%.
Outdated Technology
36.8% of respondents believe their company’s technology is outdated. Young Millennials (18-24) are most dissatisfied at 40%.
How to Increase Productivity
Although 40.8% of respondents say they did not know how productivity could be increased, 20.2% said automating non-essential tasks would help. 12.2% suggest more mobile-friendly devices and 9.5% think cloud-based apps to access information would help.
