IT can deliver up to seven times as much return on investment as other capital expenditure - but many businesses are still not obtaining the most from the UK's £50bn IT spend.

Unskilled users, uninformed managers and disconnected IT staff mean that companies are squandering IT productivity gains and demotivating employees, according to a new study by think-tank The Work Foundation.

'The lesson is that new technology is not transformational on its own. It requires complementary investment in people, processes, culture and support,' says the 'Getting By, Not Getting On: Technology in UK Workplaces' report.

The research from iSociety, the Work Foundation's technology programme, was based on a year-long project to observe how people use technology in the workplace in a variety of UK companies from small businesses to multinationals.

The study found technically unskilled managers who do not understand IT because they did not grow up immersed in technology, with technologists sidelined in decision-making and detached from the management mainstream.

The research, sponsored by Microsoft and PricewaterhouseCoopers, says IT departments are often 'disconnected from the organisations they serve, structurally, culturally and even spatially.'

Email is a problem because workers spam each other with unwanted communication, although information overload is not a huge issue as most people receive less than 30 emails a day and prefer phone and face-to-face contact.

Vendors are often guilty of making the situation worse by over-hyping technology, according to the report.

'Overselling and uninformed purchasing must end, because there is ample proof that IT does matter and that it can make a substantial difference. If the UK is to avoid being trapped in a low-tech equilibrium, government, businesses and the technology industry must drive change, transforming workplaces from a mood of stoicism to one of optimism,' it says.

The report's recommendations include compulsory IT literacy tests for chief executives and the introduction of mandatory 'technology driving licenses' for all school leavers.