Y2K WAS THE BEST THING THAT EVER HAPPENED TO BUSINESS:

Slow, outdated computers and intermittent internet connections demoralize workers, a survey of 6,000 European workers said. Half of U.K. employees said creaking computers were "restrictive and limiting," and 38 percent said modern technology would make them more motivated, according to the survey, commissioned by electronics company Sharp.

Scott's PC runs the relatively up-to-date Windows 8 operating system, but his computer sometimes struggles to handle large spreadsheets and multiple documents open simultaneously, slowing him down.

Others are in a worse spot. One in every eight business laptops and desktops worldwide still run Windows XP, which was introduced in 2001 and abandoned by Microsoft in 2014, according to data collected by Spiceworks, an IT network monitoring firm.

Half of all businesses have at least one PC running the 16-year-old operating system. And in the U.K., thousands of computers used by hospitals are still using XP, according to tech website Motherboard.

"Employers don't realize they are spending thousands of pounds on salaries but-by refusing to update office IT-are wasting money," said Mohammad Ali Khan, managing director of Pacific Infotech, a London-based IT consultancy. "The stuff employees can probably do in half an hour, they're sitting for an hour or more because their equipment is too slow."

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