Technology stress has serious negative implications for both employees and the businessResearch by global technology company, Barco, has shown that 9 in 10 office workers experience seriously elevated stress levels when dealing with troublesome technology during meetings. Increased heart rates of up to 179bpm were found when employees struggled with their technology during a meeting , compared to resting heart rates of around 60-100 bpm – a clear indicator of stress.
The study also showed that two thirds of business people who are forced to take time away from their work to grapple with meeting room technology do so on a regular basis. This has serious negative implications for themselves, and for the business.
Productivity falters when meeting room technology which does not work seamlessly, with one of the biggest challenges being sharing content and screens. Significant amounts of valuable time is also wasted when trying to deal with tech problems: 66 percent try to fix problems themselves, 50 percent call IT/tech support, 29 percent end up giving up with the tech and going to their plan B. 15 percent even postpone meetings until technology problems can be fixed. The vast majority of us (88 percent) actually pre-prepare for technology failures: 50 percent prepare hand-outs as alternatives, and 47 percent coordinate with IT in advance, and 42 percent even do a tech rehearsal.
As a result of struggling with technology in meeting rooms, nearly a quarter (24 percent) of office workers have missed important deadlines, and some have even missed out on personal opportunities like promotions (13 percent). Worryingly, 12 percent reported that their meeting room technology struggles actually lost the company business. This implies that poorly performing meeting technology has a potential knock on effect of damaging both personal and corporate reputations. In this environment, 74 percent of respondents believe that meeting technology should be taken more seriously.
Neuropsychologist and Director of Mind Labs International, Dr David Lewis, said, “People show a clear stress response when faced with difficulties in getting meeting room technology to work. Stress in the workplace does not have a positive impact. People miss deadlines, and some even report that they have missed out on promotions as a result. This should not be happening! Removing these stresses from workers should be a top priority for businesses.”
Head of Product Management at ClickShare, Lieven Bertier, said, “Investing in meeting room technology which works at the click of a button will significantly help in reducing complexity and stress from office workers lives. When office staff can share screens more easily and collaborate more easily, businesses benefit by becoming more efficient. Having a more productive and efficient business has a positive outcome for businesses growth, and the bottom line.”
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