Do U.K. Workers Kiss their Cell Phones Good Night?

May 19, 2009 (PLANSPONSOR.com) - A U.K. survey by a data-protection company found more than a quarter of employees surveyed use a laptop or some other mobile device in bed before falling asleep.

A CREDANT Technologies news release about the poll said, among the computer-in-bed types, 57% do so for between two and six hours every week and 8% said they talk on their cell phones more than they do directly to their partners. “Little wonder,” CREDANT observed in the news release, “that the majority of their bed companions found their partners’ obsession with their mobiles ‘a very annoying habit.'”

According to the poll, the most favored way to connect to the Internet, and subsequently back to the office, whilst lying in bed is via a wireless network (87%). When staying in hotels, people are happy to connect to the hotel’s wireless network, expecting the hotel to ensure its secure. Some 47% admit that they do so without even considering the security implications.

Forty-four percent admit they are holding important work documents on their mobile devices of which 54% were not adequately secured with encryption. Also, a fifth of people are not using a secure wireless network “as they busily tap away under their duvets,” the news release declared.

When asked “What is the last thing you do before going to sleep?”, 96% said they kissed their partners goodnight. The other 4%, (71% of which are male), confess to completing work and checking their e-mails.

“This survey confirms that there is a growing population that is no longer restricted by working hours or confined to the office building itself,” Michael Callahan, Vice President at CREDANT Technologies, said in the news release. “People are mobile and will work anywhere – even in bed. Therefore, when sensitive and valuable data is being held on these devices and they get lost, it can have pretty detrimental and far-reaching consequences to both the worker and their employer. “

This survey was conducted in London’s Canary Wharf, among 300 city workers during April 2009.

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