It’s official, faulty IT causes workplace rage.
According to a recent survey, a massive 93% of employees admit they have shouted or screamed abuse after suffering IT problems in the workplace, according to a recent survey of UK office workers.[1] Thirty per cent of them also confessed to taking out their frustrations on a customer or colleague after experiencing a technology breakdown, while 11% walked out of the office in a rage.
The poll, conducted by remote IT support specialists, Bomgar, found that 70% claim to have had an experience where poor IT performance affected their happiness and general productivity at work.
Stuart Facey, EMEA general manager at Bomgar said: “We’ve all experienced times when IT has not gone our way when at work. However the fact that this is affecting general productivity and wellbeing at work needs to be addressed. Technology plays a central role in the modern workplace and there is an expectation that it should work at all times.”
The survey also found nearly 70% of respondents have had their email crash and lost an important document when they brought devices into work, despite 60% also admitting that their organisation had support in place for those workers when they brought their own IT devices into the workplace.
Smartphone and tablet meltdown
“This is where the real potential meltdowns can happen”, states Bomgar. “With the increasing use of personal smartphones and tablet devices in the enterprise infrastructure, we’re seeing extra complications when dealing with IT support. If businesses aren’t careful about the IT support they provide, they may need to start paying for anger management courses to deal with these IT meltdowns’.
What the experts said
Back in 2006, Towson University in Pennyslyvania published an academic study on ‘User frustration with technology in the workplace’.[2] Even though this was some years ago with nothing like the bandwidth and product range available now, the experiment, involving analysis of 50 workplace users, yielded some familiar findings:
“From an individual point of view, users waste a large amount of time, which slows their completion of work, limiting their time with family, friends, and co-workers. It also can affect their emotional state. These frustrating experiences also harm organizations by undermining productivity, lowering quality, and raising stress levels.”
But the IT workers that feel twice the pain…
However, it is often the IT workers themselves that face particular workplace stress issues when technology – for which they are responsible – ends up failing through no fault of their own. This is usually the case when the product they are supporting is outsourced. As one IT worker told The People Bulletin: “We understand the users’ frustrations because a lot of the problems they are experiencing we are experiencing as well. And we have the double whammy of not only trying to fix the root of the problem but at the same time helping users get around the workflow interruption while we find a solution. If you have control of the hardware and the software, yes it is your problem but at least you are in control. If you have outsourced your servicing you are responsible for liaising with someone else and dependent on your provider.”
A study conducted in the US at around the same time as the UK one by Diskeeper Corporate found that the top stressors among IT workers including computer stalling, system crashes, help desk calls and other technological failure and errors.[3]
Apart from pointing out the obvious, such as making sure systems are updated and free of unnecessary files, the research suggested these workers would benefit from bespoke employee wellness programmes.
The ultimate revenge
There are of course a number of videos on YouTube of frustrated office workers doing terrible things to computer hardware[4], but most prudent IT departments block access to video during working hours…
[1] Published 7 July and based on an online poll the previous month of 550 office-based UK workers
[2] http://hcil.cs.umd.edu/trs/2004-12/2004-12.pdf
[3] www.heartmath.com/news/improved-computer-systems-may-reduce-workplace-stress-for-it-employees.html
[4] www.youtube.com/watch?v=6_Tz-McTZQ8