Technology and work: how much can an old computer make you lose?
How much does obsolete technology affect the amount of time wasted at work? The results of recent surveys show that slow and outdated devices, as well as still being very common in both Italian and other companies, constitute one of the principal sources of stress for the workers and associates who are obliged to use them: infernal machines which slow down productivity, lower performance and generate the undeniable waste of time and money.
Whether it be a desktop or laptop pc, a printer, software components or any other device featuring out of date technology, the workers who use them waste on average 19 days a year on fixing a range of problems. That’s not all: considering that many professionals have a low level of IT knowledge, their colleagues are obliged to spend an average of 13 minutes a day helping them.
Support can be provided both for the use of hardware, and for the use of apparently straightforward programs such as Word and Power Point. On reflection, such a situation should not come as a surprise, considering that in America for example, staff at the Pentagon still use computers from the Seventies complete with floppy disks, with technologies which are now considered completely outdated.
As far as Italy is concerned however, at the present time, almost 60% of companies are unable to keep up with the latest developments in digitalisation. An inquiry published by Fujitsu explains that this trend stems from a question of priorities: only 17% of these companies in fact, consider technological advancement to be a primary consideration, while for the rest, economic and financial matters are seen as higher priority.
Be careful though, because the trend caused by obsolete technology leading to wasted time at work is beginning to create different needs. In fact, according to Cedefop, by 2025, we will see a rise in the need for medium to highly qualified workers in technological areas. When this happens it will not be sufficient to be able to get by as best we can with commonly used software, instead we will have to demonstrate much more specific skills.
In order to succeed in this, we will be duty-bound to update our skills and continue to learn new things in order to keep up with the market’s requirements.
Translated by Joanne Beckwith