Indian workers waste 5 business hrs per week from home: Survey

Indian office workers feel stagnant in their roles and waste five business hours per week on mundane tasks, according to a survey by enterprise automation software firm UiPath.

Bengaluru:The 2021 Office Worker Survey showed that 63 percent of office workers in India believe they can't efficiently help customers as they are faced with too many time-consuming tasks to complete. Emails (66 percent), scheduling calls and meetings (62 percent) and inputting data/creating datasets (56 percent) were the top tasks Indian workers prefer to be automated.

More than two-third (67 percent) office workers globally feel they are constantly doing the same tasks over and over again. About 68 percent of people surveyed said they wish they had more time to explore how to incorporate new responsibilities into their day-to-day routines; and 58 percent believe their jobs don't allow them to be as creative as they'd like to be, the survey found.

"It's no surprise that employees are looking for ways to feel more engaged at work. Automation unlocks workers' productivity, and, more importantly, frees them to focus on meaningful work that is creative, collaborative, and strategic," UiPath's Senior Vice President of Learning, Tom Clancy, said in a statement.

"It's critical that companies provide training for and access to automation and other digital technologies to create more fulfilled and energized employees," he added.

The UiPath survey assessed the views of office workers working from home due to the Covid-19 pandemic about how their roles have changed over the past year and how they see their roles evolving in the future.

The survey also found that automation is being more widely adopted by organisations. India and Singapore had the highest rates of companies scaling their existing automation software, totaling 51 percent and 44 percent, respectively.

In India, 65 percent said they received automation training and 94 percent credit it with a boost in job performance.

Further, the survey showed that digital transformation is changing the future of work. About 65 percent of all respondents believe it is possible their jobs will evolve in the next 10 years and thus upskilling is key to keeping pace with digital transformation.

Most workers used their remote work period to enhance their skill sets. Employees also believe their employers should offer training on digital technologies.

The 2021 Office Worker Survey, which polled 4,500 office workers across the US, UK, France, Germany, India, and Singapore, was conducted in March 2021.

(Input from IANS)