It is no secret that in recent years business leaders have become increasingly dependent on tech to enhance productivity, connectivity and communication among their employees. Yet, despite a global shift to hybrid working igniting the biggest surge in technology investment in history, employees are still grappling with daily IT frustrations, with 94% of UK employees reporting that they are frustrated by workplace tech.

These findings are revealed in the latest global survey “Workplace Tech: The new battleground for the war on talent, productivity & reputation”*, which shows that businesses across the country face a potential workplace crisis due to inadequate workplace technology. At a time when almost half (49%) of UK employees are considering changing jobs, easy-to-use technology is making a surprising impact on employee satisfaction, with poor workplace technology (31%) ranking only behind salary (45%) and career progression (32%) as the major causes of job dissatisfaction.

With a fierce war for talent raging across Europe, and showing no signs of slowing down, business leaders are expected to deliver consumer-grade technology experiences, or face losing out to competitors in the battle for talent. But it’s not enough to have any old technology, businesses need to have the right technology. It has to be fit for purpose.

Expectation vs Reality
Despite the pandemic igniting the biggest surge in tech investment in history according to KPMG, the findings reveal a stark reality of a disconnect between employee expectations and their technology experiences at work.

Addressing this gap is now business critical, as over seven in ten (76%) UK business leaders acknowledge that employees will consider looking for a new employer if their current job does not provide access to the tools, technology or information they need to do their jobs well. With the battle for talent heating up, organisations must ensure that all employees, including those working remotely, have the modern tools and technologies required to do their jobs seamlessly and without friction.

This means addressing the most common tech issues cited by employees, whilst keeping in mind the experience of the end-user i.e. the employee at all times.

Familiar frustrations
Whether hampered by connection speeds, response times from helpdesks, ineffective communication or not having the right technology tools to do our jobs well, poor workplace tech can be incredibly irritating, and significantly impact our job satisfaction and overall mental wellbeing.

In today’s workplace, the top complaints felt by employees are slow speeds (60%), slow response from IT teams (43%), lack of collaboration between departments (29%), missing important features/capabilities (22%) and lack of automation (19%).

Not only can all of these shortcomings impact business reputation and thus have an impact on retention and recruitment, but they also hamper employees’ ability to do their jobs effectively, consequently having a knock-on effect on employee productivity.

In fact, new findings reveal that legacy tech is restraining business productivity, as almost two thirds (65%) of unsatisfied UK employees say their current software makes them less productive. During a time when many businesses are recovering from the pandemic, business productivity can not be put at risk.

Communication Crisis:
The next biggest culprit of job dissatisfaction after poor workplace tech is poor communication with an employee’s team, with almost a third (30%) attributing communication woes as a major reason for job dissatisfaction.

A lack of collaboration between departments caused by current software solutions was also a major reason for a lack of productivity.

This shows the range of effects that poor workplace technology can have on a business, not only frustrating employees, but also isolating them from their colleagues, making the workplace less efficient as a result.

With communications in mind, business leaders must prioritise tech solutions that connect teams together, breaking down barriers between employees and allowing the business to flow.

Mental health impact
Business productivity is not the only thing being destroyed by inadequate workplace tech. Even more worryingly, tech frustrations are being seen to have a serious effect on employee stress levels, which are soaring due to inadequate workplace technology. For example, almost half of employees (47%) say technology issues at work are having a negative impact on their mental health, whilst over half (56%) report that poor tech causes them to feel stressed.

Business leaders also agree, with almost half (47%) saying stress from hybrid working makes them want to leave the tech industry. Sadly, 52% of UK line of business leaders claim their Boards are failing to listen or respond to new hybrid demands, leaving them stuck with inefficient and ineffective technology.

Looking ahead:
It is therefore evident that despite businesses making rapid changes to the way we work, employees are still facing widespread failures from the workplace technology they use every day. This technological inertia couldn’t come at a worse time, as organisations all over Europe are battling to keep a handle on both talent shortages and economic uncertainty, creating threats on two fronts.

Technology must, and has the ability to, make the lives of their employees easier, through automation, collaboration, speed, analytics and insights. Without this, businesses risk putting their employees’ – and their own – mental wellbeing at risk, not to mention business productivity and reputation.

In an increasingly hybrid world, the new age workforce has very little tolerance for archaic tools and at a time when employees are considering moving jobs without hesitation, there’s never been a more critical moment for companies to take another look at their technology set-up, or risk losing the war for talent and tangible competitive advantage and business success.

The good news is that there are modern solutions that can cater for both a business and employees’ needs. These solutions are built with the end-user in mind, empowering employees to accelerate themselves, with enhanced self-service experience allowing for issues to be resolved quickly and efficiently – without overburdening IT support or frustrating the employee.

Ultimately, whilst the war for worker retention may wage on, workplace technology is a battleground that can be decisively won by reassessing existing solutions and employee needs.

*Survey conducted by Freshworks