IT technology has become so important to workers in the UK that a third say that they would not be able to live without things like their computer and access to the internet, a new report suggests.

Research from swiftcover.com found that 35 per cent of workers thought that IT systems were so vital that they would not be able to work without them.

Just seven per cent of young office workers said that they would be happy working with modern IT technology - and 20 per cent of all people said their lives would be more stressful if they could not access the internet.

Craig Staniland, of swiftcover.com, explained that "technology has revolutionised the way we work".

He added: "It is fascinating to see how it is benefiting and changing our whole lifestyles.

"From being able to shop around for the best deals to giving us to more free time, technology has brought many benefits to the way we live and work."

However, a recent report suggested that as many as two-thirds of small businesses in the UK were operating without any web access.

A recent Connect survey found that the two major concerns about outsourcing services like IT support were ‘loss of control’ (56 per cent) and ‘budget over-runs’ (43 per cent).