A worrying proportion of UK office workers are unable to use the technology at their disposal to its full potential, according to a survey carried out by TechSmith.

The research found that 45% are unable to merge a Word document while 6% have no understanding of any basic Word functions.

Over half (55%) will not seek help online if they are unsure of how to complete tasks, with 40% preferring instead to use internal expertise and 23% asking the person sitting next to them for advice.

"We know that businesses today dedicate increasing amounts of time, money effort and energy researching and investing in sophisticated technologies and productivity tools, but it seems that many do not provide regular basic training to ensure the tools are used for the benefit of individuals and companies," said Matt Pierce, training manager at TechSmith.