10 May 2018 | Herpreet Kaur Grewal
Finding a free meeting room tops the list of office bugbears for UK workers.
Over three-quarters (77 per cent) think booking a meeting room is the most frustrating aspect of working in an office.
A study conducted by RedstoneConnect found that having to ask colleagues to leave a room they had booked was the most annoying thing about office-based meetings - followed by actually booking the meeting room and getting the phone or computer in the room to work.
The cause of meeting room woes stems from the difficultly in booking free rooms. A third (33 per cent) of UK workers report that they spend more than 30 minutes every week trying to book meeting room space during the average week.
The study found the most common way to book free rooms is through email Outlook, yet an overwhelming 70 per cent of office workers feel this system is woefully inadequate.
Contrary to our perception of being a conflict-averse bunch, less than a third (23 per cent) of Brits feel embarrassed or awkward about kicking out colleagues who have stolen their pre-booked meeting room - with more than two-thirds (71 per cent) having to ask cheeky colleagues to leave rooms more than three times a week.
The time wasted trying to book meeting rooms is frustrating many across the country - nearly half (43 per cent) reveal that it significantly hinders their productivity at work.
Mark Braund, CEO of RedstoneConnect, said: "Booking meeting rooms is clearly one of the most stressful parts of working in a UK office. People tend to book spaces and then not use them, blocking others from taking advantage of the facilities. This leads to the inaccurate perception there is insufficient capacity.
"We need to provide the technological infrastructure that supports agile working where individuals are able to work wherever suits at that time. With new platforms that help visualise what space and assets are available at any time, staff can make the most of their environment, rather than not using a room because it has been 'booked'."