If you think your day's going badly, read on and think again…
From mistakenly deleting $25,000 worth of sensitive company data to getting caught bad-mouthing the boss - a new poll explored 2,000 full-time working Americans’ ‘worst day ever at work.’
The research into workplace malfunctions, conducted by market researchers OnePoll on behalf of Identity Guard - experts in identity theft and privacy protection- found over a fifth of (22 percent) American survey respondents have lost or deleted important work files, while over a quarter risk sending sensitive work information through personal email accounts.
Spilling a beverage, getting caught gossiping about a boss or coworker, and getting into a blood-boiling argument were the most commonly experienced bad moments at work.
As many as 18 percent of workers have experienced a dreaded wardrobe malfunction, while four percent of Americans have been caught accessing inappropriate NSFW websites.
Copying the wrong person in an email is a mistake that has been committed by 11 percent of respondents.
And approximately 15 percent (three days) of a typical working month is ruined with bad news and humiliating experiences at work.
Research commissioned by Identity Guard found that there can be wider implications to mistakes or things going wrong than simply having your day ruined – one in eight has unintentionally downloaded a virus onto a work computer, and seven percent have risked their company’s cyber security by disabling their work computer’s security features.
“As organizations bring more systems online and obtain access to larger amounts of data than ever before, it’s not surprising when a simple mistake can have severe consequences,” said Johan Roets, CEO of Identity Guard. “One wrong click on an email link or pop-up ad can lead to entire systems being vulnerable to theft and viruses.”
Results showed that mistakes are inevitable – in fact the typical employee will commit an average of 118 mistakes at work per year with factors like multitasking, stress, and distractions named as the biggest contributors to a day going wrong.
Nearly a quarter (22 percent) have been warned or disciplined at work due to negligence or making a mistake.
But sometimes the average worker is simply unaware of how their everyday decisions could put the company in harm's way.
Seventy percent are not very confident in their knowledge of online safety practices including how to protect their devices against malware, spyware, and viruses.
While an overwhelming 90 percent of the respondents are required to use a computer or laptop at work, 64 percent don’t understand the term VPN and about half could not confidently explain encryption.
Over a third admit to not being able to describe malware or spyware - and 15 percent aren’t familiar with the definition of a tech virus.
In fact, one in ten are not sure if their virus protection is currently up to date, and nine percent admit to installing unauthorized software on their work laptop or computer.
Identity Guard CEO added:
"A relaxed attitude towards cybersecurity can be detrimental not only for organizations but also employee data protection. Employers must evolve to help protect their organization’s data from being overly affected by human error, and employees need to learn more about cybersecurity. Identity Guard is dedicated to educating both companies and consumers about identity theft, privacy and data protection,” Johan Roets, Identity Guard.
TOP TEN THINGS THAT LEAD TO A BAD WORK DAY
Spill a beverage
Get caught gossiping about the boss or coworker
Get into an argument
Lose/delete files
Get yelled at
Mistakenly send/forward an email to the wrong person
Wardrobe malfunction
Be reprimanded
Arrive late for a big meeting
Make an inappropriate joke
END