Workers globally are putting business privacy at risk when out of the office, according to the findings of the latest Regus survey, which canvassed over 22,000 respondents in over 100 countries.
The most perilous locations are cafés (59%), where the privacy of documents and conversations is most at risk, followed by hotel bars and lounges (50%) and on flights (46%). Campus-style canteens also offer little privacy (29%).
The daily commute can also be risky with public transport, such as trains (42%), posing a threat to the privacy of sensitive work information. Most disheartening is that business travellers say that confidential information is at risk on flights (46%), where neighbouring passengers and anyone sitting behind them can easily read into their open laptop.
The survey also revealed that mobile conversations are the most easily captured (69%), followed by printed documents that can easily be read by people peering over one’s shoulders (62%) and open laptops (59%), which are also easy prey for snoopers.
Commenting on the findings, John Henderson, Chief Financial Officer, Regus Asia-Pacific said, “Privacy remains a huge concern for workers travelling to work on their daily commute, but also for those taking a pit-stop at a café between meetings, or catching up on email in the hotel lounge. The increasing need to remain connected and productive via portable devices and laptops means that workers can easily find somewhere to quickly catch up on tasks. But each time they do so, they can be putting their sensitive business information at risk of prying eyes and ears. For this reason, workers need a professional workspace environment where they can work flexibly, popping in from time to time while on-the-go, but be assured that their private business will not be exposed.”
Paul Arkwright
Publisher
