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November 4, 2026

Tradespeople lose up to two hours a day to everyday “faffs”, survey reveals 

Tradespeople across the UK are losing the equivalent of 21 days a year to everyday “faffs”, with 77% of tradies polled saying they waste up to two hours per working day on unnecessary frustrations.

A new survey commissioned by Leyland Trade Paints reveals the top 10 faffs faced by UK tradespeople.

While many of the biggest culprits are familiar annoyances, such as scam phone calls (64%), pop-up adverts (50%) and complex password requirements (20%), the findings reveal that several technologies designed to save time are actually doing the opposite.

Time costs money so even minor disruptions can be detrimental for small businesses and the self-employed. With parking apps, AI-powered customer service chatbots and cash-free shops also featuring among the top 10.

Deleting apps was the most popular way for tradespeople to battle the faff (39%), followed by speaking to a human (38%) and turning off unnecessary notifications (35%).

Despite innovation speeding up quotes and invoicing, for some tradespeople it has made daily activities more difficult. With eight in 10 (78%) tradespeople say that new technology has even made them want to go back to basics.

Amongst the most popular retro items tradespeople said they want to bring back into the mainstream are Yellow Pages, paper maps and physical phonebooks.

Leyland Trade’s marketing manager, Emily Clarkson said:

“For tradespeople, time really is money. Losing up to two hours a day to everyday faffs soon adds up, whether it’s dealing with spam calls, forgotten passwords or technology that’s supposed to make life easier. The best solutions are often the simplest ones. If something doesn’t save time or make the job easier, it’s not doing its job.”

The Top 10 Faffs:

  1. Scam phone calls
  2. Pop-up ads on websites
  3. Adverts while streaming
  4. Parking apps
  5. Two-factor authentication
  6. AI chatbots
  7. Cash-free shops
  8. Password requirements
  9. Subscription cancellations
  10. Different chargers needed for different devices

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