Seven in 10 employees use work laptops for personal use – including job hunting

Seven in 10 employees use work laptops for personal use – including job hunting The majority of workers are using their company laptops for personal activities - and many are even sharing their devices with other members of their household Seven out of 10 employees use their work laptop for personal activities – ranging from online shopping and booking holidays, to even hunting for new jobs. A survey of 2,000 workers revealed that 35% use their work device for non-work purposes at least once a week, while 21% admitted to sharing it with other members of their household. Although 26% are concerned about their employer finding out, 54% believe their boss has little idea how they use their company computer outside of working hours. Employees store everything on their work laptops, from confidential company documents (63%) to personal photographs (18%). Nearly a third use their work device to access personal emails, while a quarter use autofill for personal accounts and 26% remain permanently logged into personal accounts. Annika Bizon, a spokesperson for Samsung, which commissioned this research alongside the launch of the Galaxy Book6 Enterprise Edition, said: “For many people, a laptop has become the gateway to both their professional and personal lives. “It provides access to company systems, sensitive documents, financial information and personal accounts, all through a single device. “As laptops continue to play an important role in how we work and live, security has never been more important.” It emerged that 84% claim to be aware of the potential dangers of using a company-owned device for personal use, yet 37% are more worried about breaching company policy than they are about their work (36%) or personal (32%) information being at risk. Two thirds utilise their work laptop to access sensitive client information, with 69% stating that losing it would be more disruptive than losing their work phone. Nearly a fifth (18%) claim they always need to be able to access both their work and personal information in one place. And the shift to hybrid working has blurred the lines between work and personal information (27%). Just over one in 10 (11%) argue their need to use the work laptop for personal activities outweighs their security concerns. With 84% saying it contains more work-related information than any other device they own. And 14% admit they don't know exactly what personal information is stored on their work laptop, while 71% don't know whether their work laptop is encrypted. Annika Bizon added: "Our new product brings together our strongest security offering to date, helping businesses better protect sensitive information whilst supporting flexible ways of working.”