CYBER ADDICTION OR WORKPLACE PARANOIA?   

Is the UK turning into a nation of workaholics, or just a country full of paranoid workers? This summer many City employees will feel unable to completely relax on holiday worried that their colleagues will try to muscle in on their territory whilst their backs are turned? But at what price? The findings of a survey released today has disclosed that workers will be unable to ‘let go’ whilst relaxing in the sun this summer, as a whopping 83% admit they’ll be taking their mobile phone or blackberry away with them, with 65% confessing that they will make contact with the office, either by phone, text or email whilst on vacation. The survey, conducted by CREDANT Technologies, questioned over 300 city workers in a study to measure “mobile habits, leisure and security”.

Over a quarter of workers revealed that they will check their emails once a day whilst on holiday, with 14% admitting they can’t resist emailing more than once a day, and 18% will view their emails two or three times instead of taking the opportunity to relax and forget about the daily grind. In fact just a meagre 40% of workers are comfortable enough to resist the temptation to email the office whilst away on holiday. 

As if negotiating the family suitcases through hectic UK airports in the height of the summer holiday getaway isn’t challenging enough, more than one in three people will choose to drag their laptops with them too. From a security perspective the survey uncovered that a staggering number of these diligent workers were oblivious to the data security risks their roaming laptops posed as one in five don’t even bother securing the device with a password, making them easy pickings for thieves to get at the information and 68% don’t encrypt the information on their laptops. 

Sixty-six percent of those interviewed acknowledge that if they were unfortunate to lose their blackberry or mobile phone whilst on holiday it would result in unnecessary distress, at a time when they should be relaxing, as it would result in a great deal of time and hassle spent alerting their employer to the situation.

Michael Callahan senior vice president and chief marketing officer for CREDANT Technologies, said: “Whether it’s paranoia on the part of employees, or unrealistic demands from employers, the fact is that this summer numerous workers will be accessing the corporate network from all over the globe. If any of these devices are lost or stolen, and are unsecured, the cost of the holiday will pale in comparison to the cost of losing the data. Employers must face up to the fact that their employees diligence, or paranoia for that matter, could be putting the company at risk and it’s their responsibility to ensure the necessary steps are taken to protect the company’s crown jewels, it’s data, wherever it travels!”

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