As the line between traditional workplaces and remote workforces continues to blur, with many employees working a flexible schedule or at home at least some of the time, the line between work and personal devices is also getting blurry.
A survey conducted by MSI Research for Intel Security reports that almost 80% of respondents use their work devices for personal use and their personal devices for work. Many employees can work from wherever they happen to be and use whichever device they happen to be using at the time.
In fact, many companies now have Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) policies that encourage the use of personal computers at work. That’s a change from the days when doing anything personal on your work computer was against the rules.
The survey respondents believe it’s up to their company to keep work data safe, even on their personal computers and mobile devices. Over 75% of them are confident that the organization they work for is doing so.
Here’s a recap of the survey data.
Using Personal Devices for Work and Work Devices for Personal Use
• 78% indicated that they use their personal devices for work-related activities
• 79% stated that they conduct personal online activities on company-issued devices
• 40% of employees work from home or “wherever”
• 65% of respondents feel the IT department is responsible for protecting personal data on their work device
• 77% of respondents are confident that their employer is taking the necessary steps to protect all important data
• 61% of activity at work is personal, confidential or private
Read More: Protect Yourself by Protecting Others | Can an Employer Require Me to Use My Own Computer at Work?
The MSI Research survey was conducted online on behalf of Intel Security, with 2,500 respondents ages 18 to 65. The interviews were conducted from November 19 – December 2, 2014, in 12 countries: US, Canada, Spain, UK, Germany, Italy, France, The Netherlands, Japan, India, Brazil, and Mexico.