Technology overload staff pining for the typewriter

ONE in seven office workers are suffering “technology fatigue” and dream of a return to the age of the typewriter, a survey has found.

A poll of more than 400 office workers found that 15 per cent of employees struggled to keep up with technology-driven changes in the workplace.

The study, by officebroker.com, also revealed that the analogue age is still very much alive in Britain’s offices, with almost three-quarters of workers stating they could not cope without pen and paper.

While 85 per cent of people said they wanted to keep the office luxuries of the digital age, 73 per cent admitted that would struggle to get through the working day without a handy piece of A4.

“I am not surprised that such a large majority of people wanted to work in the 21st century, in fact, our dependency on technology is astonishing,” said a spokesman from Officebroker.com. “We all know how frustrating it is when our internet fails or our emails go down – everything seems to just grind to a halt.”

He added: “I can never see pen and paper going out of fashion; however, I was shocked to see that the majority of people could do without the fax machine, an item which only 20 years ago was an office essential.”

The poll also showed that the two office items the majority of employees could do without were the humble pencil sharpener and the fax machine.