Time Wasted Looking for Files: The Hidden Cost to UK Businesses

Ask anyone in your office where they spend most of their time and chances are the answer won’t be “doing the job I was hired for.” Between shared drives, inboxes, and file version roulette, a worrying amount of time gets lost to something as basic as trying to find the right document. That’s time wasted looking for files—and it adds up fast.

And it’s not just a small problem. It’s an expensive one—both in hours and pounds.

How much time is wasted looking for files?

• According to Business Matters, UK knowledge workers spend around 44 minutes a day searching for files.
• McKinsey puts that figure even higher—at 1.8 hours per day spent looking for information.
• IDC estimates around 30% of the working day is spent on document-related tasks.

If you’re thinking, “That sounds about right,” you’re not alone. And if you’re wondering what that looks like in cold hard cash, it’s not pretty.

The cost of time lost to file searches

Let’s say someone earns £33,000 a year—that’s around £16 an hour. If they’re spending 1.8 hours a day just looking for stuff, you’re losing nearly £29 a day per employee in unproductive time.

Multiply that by your team, by the number of days in the year, and you’ve got yourself a silent drain on your budget. And that’s before we talk about the knock-on effect on deadlines, client satisfaction, or team morale.

Time wasted affects more than your bottom line

Time lost is one thing, but the impact on headspace is another. Constant interruptions and clunky processes chip away at focus. People get frustrated. Things get missed. Projects slow down.

A 2021 study from Starmind found that nearly half of employees felt they spent too much time searching for documents. Over a third admitted to spending two hours or more each day just looking for answers. That’s not work—it’s admin in disguise.

A smarter way to stop wasting time

Smart document management systems like Docflow give you control over your information. Instead of playing detective with every file, you get one central location, smart tagging, powerful search, and full version control.

• Need that signed contract from last September? Found in seconds.
• Want to check who approved the invoice? It’s logged.
• Tired of people emailing you for a file they “swear was on Teams”? Problem solved.

And when people aren’t wasting hours rummaging through folders, they’re free to do the actual work—without the faff.

Take back control of your time

If you’re tired of watching time (and money) disappear into the void every time someone opens Windows Explorer, maybe it’s time to have a rethink.

Book a Docflow demo and see what life looks like when your team can actually find what they’re looking for.