Y
ou arrive at work a few minutes early. You have just enough time to either go get coffee, or check out last nights sports scores on the Net. Thereis not enough time to do both, however. Which do you choose?
Well, according to the results of a poll recently released by Websense, most people would prefer to surf than to slurp at work. In fact, the poll reveals that 49% of those polled would give up morning coffee if they could surf the Internet for personal reasons.
Websense also says that the poll revealed a huge difference in the amount of time workers think they spend surfing, versus the amount of time IT managers think workers are spending. From the Websense press release:
Websense, Inc., the worldis leading provider of employee Internet management (EIM) software, today announced the results of its 2004 Web@Work study, the companyis annual survey conducted by Harris Interactive?. Last month 500 employees and 350 IT managers of organizations with at least 100 employees were polled on their Web and software application usage in the workplace.
According to the Web@Work 2004 survey, employees polled indicated that surfing the Internet at work is as important as their morning coffee. However, as the line between personal and business-related usage of the Web is increasingly blurred, the survey also reveals a startling discrepancy between what employees actually admit to doing at work versus IT managersi perception of what is actually occurring in their corporate networks. For example, employees only admit to spending two hours per week surfing the Web for personal reasons, but IT managers believe that number to be more than six hours a week. Similarly, while only two percent of employees admitted to accessing online hacking tools at work, one third of IT managers said they have had an employee launch a hacking tool within their network.
In addition, the survey also exposed the fact that many IT managers are either not aware of, or do not fully understand the risks presented by new emerging Internet threats such as spyware, unsanctioned instant messaging, peer-to-peer file sharing and Web-based viruses such as MyDoom. For example, nearly 95 percent of IT managers said they are confident that their companyis current antivirus software is able to stop viruses from attacking their companyis network, yet two-thirds reported that their organizations were infected by a Web-based virus.
Check out the full press release, including the survey results, at Websense.