Most Office Workers Use Workplace Technology for Personal Reasons; Many May Be Ignoring Employer Policies, New Research Shows

NEW YORK, Jan. 24 /PRNewswire/ -- Big brother may be watching at work, but that's not deterring today's workers.

Despite the fact that nearly one-half (45%) of office workers have been explicitly informed their at-work technology usage is monitored, a majority still use their employers' technology resources for personal reasons, according to a new survey conducted by Harris Interactive(R) and commissioned by Martindale-Hubbell's [http://www.martindale.com]/ lawyers.com [http://www.lawyers.com]/ from LexisNexis, the most comprehensive and trustworthy online resource for finding lawyers.

Seven of ten (69%) U.S. adult office workers access the Internet at work for non-work purposes, and the same proportion (69%) make or receive personal phone calls on their work telephone. More than one-half (55%) send and receive personal messages on their work email accounts.

Moreover, nearly three of four (73%) office workers are either as or more likely to use the Internet at work for personal reasons than they were two years ago; sixty-eight percent are as or more likely to send or receive personal emails on their work accounts.

"It's not a mystery to most employees that their bosses may be reading their work emails or checking out the Web sites they visit on work computers, yet employees apparently are more willing than ever to ignore that potential scrutiny and engage in risky work behavior," said attorney Alan Kopit, legal editor of lawyers.com. "Using employers' technology for non-work purposes can be the same as stealing in some instances, and may be grounds for termination. Employees should have no expectation of privacy at work, and are well-served to learn and abide by their offices' policies on such matters."

Young Workers Vulnerable to Personal Exposure at Work

Today's young office workers are making their private lives available online, leaving themselves vulnerable to unintended exposure to employers.

Seventy-one percent of workers age 18 to 34 maintain some type of personal Web site, the most common of which are personal blogs or networking accounts such as those on MySpace or Facebook maintained by 52% of young workers. Thirteen percent currently have an online dating account.

"We've seen instances where current or potential employers reviewed content of personal Web sites, and held employees accountable in different ways for what they post," said Kopit. "Young people tend to live lives very openly online, which may have unintended repercussions when it comes to their employment."

Young workers are also the most likely to use their employers' technology for personal reasons. Nearly three-in-four (72%) check their personal email accounts during work (compared to 61% of the general population), and 77% use their work Internet personally (compared to 69% of office workers overall).

"Younger employees are generally more comfortable with technology than their older counterparts, and are in the habit of continually using the Internet and email, at work or not," said Kopit. "They may not differentiate between 'work' and 'personal' when it comes to some activity, which can put them in potential hot water with employers."

Secure Your Business

According to Kopit, employee violations of technology usage policies directly affect the bottom line of small businesses. "Diverted employee resources hurt the productivity of the business, and in some cases the installation of certain technologies on employer equipment, such as instant messenger services, could compromise the security of employer communication systems," he said.

"Employers should evaluate current practices in place regarding technology use and, as necessary, implement additional systems to ensure the business is protected," said Kopit.

For more information about the implications of office technology abuse, consult an attorney or visit http://www.lawyers.com/.

About the Survey

This survey was conducted online by Harris Interactive on behalf of Lawyers.com between December 7 and December 11, 2006 among 1,711 U.S. adults 18 years of age or older who are employed full-time and/or part-time and work in an office setting. Figures for region, age within gender, education, household income and race/ethnicity were weighted where necessary to bring them into line with their actual proportions in the population. Propensity score weighting was also used to adjust for respondents' propensity to be online.

With a pure probability sample of 1,711 adults one could say with a ninety-five percent probability that the overall results would have a sampling error of 4 percentage points. Sampling error for data based on sub-samples would be higher and would vary. However, that does not take other sources of error into account. This online survey is not based on a probability sample and therefore no theoretical sampling error can be calculated.

About Lawyers.com

Martindale-Hubbell's lawyers.com(SM) (http://www.lawyers.com/) from LexisNexis is the leading lawyer directory on the Web, providing consumers and small businesses access to a free database of more than 440,000 attorneys and law firms nationwide. Lawyers.com helps site visitors make a fast, informed decision when choosing a lawyer. More than one million searches per month are conducted at lawyers.com by consumers and business people in search of the right lawyer for their needs.

About LexisNexis

LexisNexis(R) (http://www.lexisnexis.com/) is a leading provider of information and services solutions, including its flagship Web-based Lexis(R) and Nexis(R) research services, to a wide range of professionals in the legal, risk management, corporate, government, law enforcement, accounting and academic markets. A member of Reed Elsevier Group plc [NYSE: ENL; NYSE: RUK] (http://www.reedelsevier.com/), LexisNexis serves customers in 100 countries with 13,000 employees worldwide.

About Harris Interactive

Harris Interactive is the 12th largest and fastest-growing market research firm in the world. The company provides research-driven insights and strategic advice to help its clients make more confident decisions which lead to measurable and enduring improvements in performance. Harris Interactive is widely known for The Harris Poll, one of the longest running, independent opinion polls and for pioneering online market research methods. The company has built what it believes to be the world's largest panel of survey respondents, the Harris Poll Online.

Harris Interactive serves clients worldwide through its United States, Europe and Asia offices, its wholly-owned subsidiary Novatris in France and through a global network of independent market research firms. The service bureau, HISB, provides its market research industry clients with mixed-mode data collection, panel development services as well as syndicated and tracking research consultation. More information about Harris Interactive may be obtained at http://www.harrisinteractive.com/. To become a member of the Harris Poll Online and be invited to participate in online surveys, register at http://go.hpolsurveys.com/PR.