Workers in Wales lose the most time to IT problems, new data shows

Abby Neve

A new report shows that IT downtime is costing the UK economy £44 billion each year, and Welsh workers are losing more time to tech issues than anywhere else in Britain.

Employees in Wales reported an average of around 24 minutes every working day lost to technical issues. This is a shift from 2017 when Wales was performing best in the UK.

John Pepper, CEO and Founder at Managed247 who produced the report, said:

“Technology has become the backbone of almost every business, so even small disruptions now have much bigger consequences than they did a few years ago.”

The average UK employee loses 93 working hours a year to IT issues, equivalent to more than 12 working days.

The findings suggest that while businesses across the UK are investing in better technology, the benefits are not being felt equally, with some regions still facing significantly greater disruption than others.

The report shows that confidence in technology has improved, however, and that employees generally believe that the IT they rely on is fit for purpose.

At the same time, despite the confidence in technology, IT downtime is costing the UK economy £9 billion more than it was in 2018. Paradoxically, Britain’s IT is 20% less broken, but 26% more expensive.

Dependence on technology

John Pepper thinks that this can be explained by an increased reliance on technology since 2018. He said:

“What’s striking is that businesses are experiencing fewer traditional IT failures, yet downtime is costing more than ever. That’s because organisations are far more dependent on technology than they were in 2018. If your internet connection goes down or staff lose access to cloud systems, productivity can grind to a halt almost instantly.

The hiring process is one area of business that has moved online. This morning, PM Andy Burnham called on employers to reconsider their reliance on using technology in job interviews.

Burnham said: “One thing I really don’t like is this culture now of interviewing via Zoom or Teams… That just doesn’t seem right to me. I know it’s convenient for the organisations that do it, but how does a young person shine in that situation?”

Training gap

Despite the increased reliance on technology, the report shows that more than three quarters of employees (77%) say they have received no IT or digital training from their employer during the past year.

John Pepper says that employers need to keep up with these changes. He said: “Businesses have invested heavily in digital transformation, AI and cloud technology, but resilience has to keep pace. Reliable connectivity, modern infrastructure and well-trained employees are no longer nice to have. They’re essential for keeping businesses moving.”

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