Returning to the office isn’t going as smoothly as many companies hoped. According to a global study powered by Logitech in partnership with Workplace Intelligence, 23% of employees say they are seriously considering changing jobs due to outdated technology in their workplace. The figure rises to 30% among Gen Z.
The report, based on surveys of 600 HR leaders and 1,350 employees, reveals a widening gap between management’s perceptions and the actual employee experience. For example, while 68% of HR leaders believe their teams are more productive in the office, only 38% of employees share that view.
Technology That Fails and Time Lost
The study identifies two major barriers dragging down the office employee experience. The first is technology. 63% of workers report technical problems when they come into the office—from connection issues to outdated equipment or unreliable videoconferencing systems. In line with this, more than half of HR leaders acknowledge that their employees lose, on average, at least one hour of daily productivity due to tech incidents.
The second major friction is the time wasted setting up each day. Employees take an average of 25 minutes to find an available desk and configure their workspace. In some offices, depending on the layout, the process can exceed 40 minutes. For those who come in three days a week, that can amount to nearly two full weeks of lost work annually.
From Frustration to Solution
To Logitech, these data illustrate the phenomenon they call Desk Dread—the anticipatory frustration many employees feel at the thought of going into the office. A problem that affects not only productivity but also engagement and talent retention.
To tackle this issue, the tech company has decided to combine reliable technology with smart space-management tools. Solutions such as Logitech Desk Booking give employees the ability to reserve their workspace in advance, filter by equipment or location, locate colleagues, and know what resources will be available before they head in.
In addition to improving employee experience and satisfaction, these tools provide companies with data on actual space usage, facilitating decisions to improve space efficiency and office planning. In fact, HR leaders already using intelligent reservation systems like Logitech Desk Booking report improvements in space optimization and greater organizational flexibility.
One of the report’s key conclusions is that the future of work isn’t about forcing employees back into offices, but about creating environments where they actually want to be. Updated technology, spaces designed to accommodate different ways of working, and faster, more agile onboarding processes are, according to the data, the decisive factors that will ensure the office stops being a source of frustration and returns to being the premier space for collaboration and productivity.
