7 Billion Office Inefficiency Bill

UK offices lose 6.85 billion a year as more than 72 million hours are lost each week due to inefficient time management. Thatís enough to pay for nine Wembley Stadiums being built every year.

The survey of 1,000 office workers, conducted by Office Angels, the UKís secretarial and office support recruitment consultancy, looked into the efficiency of the nationís offices and employees. While environmental efficiency is of increasing importance to two thirds (70%), when it comes to our time, it seems weíre not as savvy.

Considering the UK has the longest working week in Europe, itís staggering to see that the majority of office workers are wasting 13 working days of their time every year ñ the equivalent of almost three working weeks. While some of the reasons stated were out of employeesí control such as IT glitches or fire drills, the bulk of lost hours are due to human inefficiencies in the workplace including lateness, time wasting and gossiping.

David Clubb, Managing Director of Office Angels comments, ìTime is money, and whilst itís natural that a small amount may be wasted each week, this research demonstrates that we need consider how it all adds up. By being conscious of how we spend our time, we can work more efficiently and productively as a team. This will of course, mean putting more back into the business but also ensuring we have a healthy work life balance by getting our work completed during the allotted working day.î

Green Fingered:
The good news is that when it comes to the environment, nearly three quarters (70%) of offices are actively making the workplace greener. Over one third (39%) are encouraged to recycle documents; 12% use glass rather than plastic cups at the watercooler and 35% make sure PCs are turned off at the end of the day - saving 83 million worth of electricity each night alone.

Getting The Most From
The research was conducted to complement the Office Angels ëGetting The Most Fromí library ñ a series of monthly fact sheets available from June, on www.office-angels.com, designed to help employers and employees maximise their working life i.e. developing a CV, how to succeed at an interview and understanding the appraisal process. With the survey results in mind, the fact sheets aim to help office workers save one of their most precious resources; time.