UK companies are spending more on tech development, but aren't always being more productive

UK and Irish businesses are in the midst of a productivity paradox – companies are spending more on digital technologies, but they’re not seeing the productivity boosts that they’d hoped for, new research has claimed.

A new report by Docusign has revealed four in five (78%) companies have upped their investment in technology over the past year.

Despite this, the average worker still spends nearly 13 hours per week on tasks that add little to no value.

Businesses are struggling to boost worker productivity

Widespread worker inefficiency could be costing UK businesses over £275 million annually, but it’s unclear where the blame is.

Despite companies’ apparent best efforts to upgrade tech, workers are still faced with repetitive tasks and legacy ways of working, which is leading 41% to consider leaving their companies – up from 33% last year.

Ronan Copeland, Group VP and General Manager at Docusign EMEA, explained: “42% want to allocate more time to training on and experimenting with digital tools with AI and other new digital tools that could improve their day-to-day work and save them time, but they can’t find that time while they are still being held back by manual tasks.”

Elsewhere in the report, Docusign revealed the disconnect between AI readiness and AI impact. Leaders recognize the benefits, including cost efficiency and worker productivity enhancements, but nine in 10 are yet to appoint a dedicated individual responsible for AI, with many C-suite leaders burdened with the role.

Looking to the future, Copeland noted companies, “must urgently focus on upskilling and reskilling, particularly in AI."

More from TechRadar Pro

• Here are the best AI writers
• Support your hybrid workforce with the best online collaboration tools
• It's official — nearly all of us are much more productive when we work from home