More than an hour a day wasted due to poor internet connection 

The average SME worker could be wasting 72 minutes a day, equivalent to two and a half working weeks a year, because of unreliable internet connection and technology issues.

Research commissioned by Zen Internet, which surveyed more than 1000 SME employees in the UK, found that more than 80% are annoyed by unreliable internet connections, with 85% of these saying it impacts productivity.

Unreliable internet connection could also be having an adverse impact on business success. Half of the annoyed workers believe it can lead to unhappy customers, with two-thirds (67%) saying it also creates frustrated colleagues.

Georgina Lord, Zen Retail managing director, said: “The UK has long sought ways to improve its productivity, but this research shows it’s a near impossible task if it doesn’t solve its connectivity issue too.

“Businesses need a reliable internet connection that delivers the capabilities they require to do their job and doesn’t leave employees twiddling their thumbs for hours each week.”

SME owners that are unable to solve their connectivity issues could also face losing good talent with more than one in 10 (15%) SME workers revealing they have left a job because of irritations with either slow or unreliable internet connectivity and/or technology issues.

“Productivity isn’t just impacted by a person’s physical ability to do the job, but their emotional state as well.

“An irritated and technologically-stunted workforce isn’t going to be good for anybody and business leaders in the UK need to give workers tools that are reliable in order to help them get the job done in peace. Without a productive SME community, the UK will continue to struggle to improve its productivity output for years to come.”