Some 64% of key decision makers in UK companies with
more than 1,000 employees have huge piles of unfiled paper on their
desk, according a survey by research house Vanson
Bourne.
The research, commissioned by
Toshiba as part of a campaign for more
responsible printing and intelligent filing in the workplace,
found that more than half of respondents said they would eventually
file important documents, and 40% admitted they would rather throw
printed paper away than worry about filing it.
The worst culprits for paper hoarding were professionals in the
retail, distribution and transport industries (68%). Manufacturing
office workers appear to be the UK's tidiest, with 70% saying they
file their paper documents regularly.
According to Craig Knight, a professor from the University of
Exeter, UK office workers have lost the skill of filing. As many as
41% of respondents admitted to not tidying their desk on a regular
basis.
Steve Hewson at Toshiba said, "There seems to be a tendency to
print documents for one-time use, but by scanning documents and
filing them electronically, these would become much more available
to the rest of the organisation, free up desk space, and reduce the
amount of paper being wasted."