When I Was Young

From My Money

MY PAPER THURSDAY JUNE 26, 2008

EXECUTIVES who often work on the move or in public places had better be more discreet about their business conversations and documents.

A survey in Britain and the United States, released last week, found that eavesdropping in public places was common.

Information exchanged during supposedly private business conversations were also used by others for their own advantage, according to survey findings.

Conducted by flexible work solutions provider Regus, the survey found that 67 per cent of Britons had listened in on someone else’s business conversation while they were in public places.

Americans were also guilty of this act – 59 per cent of those polled did just that. Besides eavesdropping, the habit of sneaking a peek at other people’s business documents in public places, such as while on the train, was also not unheard of.

Nearly two out of five British professionals (35 per cent) and 34 per cent of Americans surveyed said they had caught sight of other people’s sensitive company documents.

And the shocking thing was that 13 per cent of Britons and 19 per cent of Americans said they were able to use the information overheard for their own business purposes.

The study of 1,000 respondents also revealed that remote working had led to a growing culture where business was conducted in strange and, sometimes, inappropriate places.

Almost half of travelling British executives spent at least half a day per week working in a public place.

They also faced the dilemma of needing a private place to make phone calls or work from their laptops.

One in six had resorted to working from public toilets, while slightly more than half did so in pubs and bars.

A large number of them (65 per cent) used busy restaurants as their mobile offices.

Said Mr Kurt Mroncz, the UK sales and marketing director of Regus: “From a dangerous lack of privacy to difficult and absurd working environments, business travellers are often put in impossible positions as they try to carry out their professional role.”

The survey findings also reflected a significant vulnerability in British corporate security, said Mr David Porter, head of security and risk at Detica, a business and technology specialist.

“The growing tide of professionals expected to work ‘on the hoof’ is putting the UK’s prized corporate intellectual property, trade secrets and deals at risk,” he said.