New research from Dropbox, in partnership with YouGov, reveals a surprising reality: UK office workers could be spending an estimated 11.3 billion hours a year on administrative tasks like emails and scheduling.
The findings shine a light on a hidden time drain in modern workplaces – and underscore the opportunity to reclaim focus, flow and more meaningful work through smarter tools and processes.
The survey of full and part-time office workers across Germany, UK, France, and the US uncovers the biggest pain points of modern work and what employees truly need to feel productive beyond checking off their to-do lists. The findings reveal a pressing need for change, particularly as AI offers unprecedented capabilities to drive these much-needed efficiencies.
Employees inundated with Administrative Tasks
Almost a quarter of UK office workers (24%) report spending 6-10 hours per week just on administrative tasks, such as emails, scheduling, and document processing and non-core activities.
Beyond general admin, 17% of UK office workers dedicate 6 or more hours a week to strategic meetings and decision-making.
Additionally, many workers still don’t feel fully equipped to do their jobs. Only half (51%) of UK workers say they have the resources/tools and time to perform their job effectively. This is a better outlook than France (45%), and the US (where only 26% strongly agree they have the resources and 32% strongly agree they have enough time). This gap between needs and resources is more than a productivity issue – it’s a wellbeing issue that affects morale, retention, and performance.
More space for Creative Work Needed
Creative time is a scarce commodity for UK office workers, with less than half:
- 42% finding enough time in their day for creative work
- UK – 46%
- France – 41%
The consequence of this limited creative time can result in reduced productivity and diminished employee wellbeing. Additionally, only one-tenth (11%) of UK office workers propose creative ideas a few times per week, while over a third (35%) indicate they feel less creative at work, a figure higher than Germany (28%) and the US (30%).
When looking at time spent on meaningful or impactful work more generally, almost half (45%) of UK office workers spend just 0 to 5 hours per week developing new ideas or solutions. This stark reality, where office workers have little time for creative thought and even less for developing new ideas, not only stifles innovation but also limits opportunities for personal and professional growth.
Looking to relieve Workload Stress
When asked what they’d do with an extra hour in their workday, 45% of UK workers would use it to
- catch up on existing tasks (27%) or
- reduce their workload to relieve stress (18%)
- 15% of UK office workers would invest in professional development, and
- 8% would use it for brainstorming or developing new ideas.
This is a common desire across Europe, with German office workers (47%) and French office workers (38%) also prioritising stress reduction (22%/21%) and catching up (25%/17%).
The overwhelming preference among workers to use extra time for managing existing burdens or alleviating stress, rather than for growth or innovation, reveals a vicious cycle where relentless workloads and mundane tasks erode the capacity and desire for self-development and creative thought.
Empowering individuals to make a real impact requires both adequate time and, critically, having the right tools in place.
While approximately a third (32%) of UK workers express openness to AI tools for a modest saving of 0–4 hours weekly, the true potential for efficiency gains appears far greater. A recent internal survey at Dropbox, for instance, revealed that 96% of its employees leverage AI weekly for tasks like information retrieval, brainstorming, coding, documentation, and drafting, resulting in an impressive average saving of 7.9 hours per week.
The data unequivocally points to a need for systemic transformation. Whether it’s adopting new AI tools or embracing flexible working models to empower employees with greater autonomy over their schedules, making space for creativity and strategic thinking starts with understanding how people actually spend their time.
