Survey Reveals Bad Habits of Office Computer Use, Consequences for IT Admin

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pie chart Provider of remote control and online meetings software, TeamViewer®, recently released the findings of its IT Admin Behavioral Study. The survey of 300 IT administrators was designed to determine IT workers’ experiences with some of the common behaviors of office workers and how this has affected both the IT admin and the company’s bottom line. The survey revealed that a whopping 92 percent of IT admins admit to seeing troublesome habits among office workers using company computers. And at 82 percent, browsing social media websites took the no. 1 spot.

Other bad habits with workplace technology included:

  • Opening inappropriate email attachments – 57%
  • Downloading games – 52%
  • Plugging in unauthorized USB devices – 51%
  • Plugging in unauthorized personal devices – 50%
  • Illegal downloads (e.g. pirating movies, music or software) – 45%
  • Looking for other jobs – 39%

And the TeamViewer survey also showed that these bad habits have their share of repercussions. Ninety percent of IT administrators say that they’ve witnessed problems to company equipment because of these actions, including:

  • Viruses – 77%
  • Slow computers – 74%
  • Crashed computers – 55%
  • Mass popups – 48%
  • Inability to open email – 33%

The consequences of poor office computer habits also affect IT workers with 23 percent now putting in between 10-20 extra hours in a given week. Another 4 percent said the issues have caused them to work more than 40 extra hours in a week. Another 41 percent of IT administrators even estimate that they walk between 1 – 9 miles in a given month traveling from desk-to-desk and floor-to-floor during their daily tasks.

“While most companies are okay with their employees using company equipment for activities such as browsing social media sites the results of our study reveal that these actions can cause problems down the line,” Kornelius Brunner, head of Product Management at TeamViewer, said. “Businesses should be prepared to handle such situations especially with valuable company data on the line. At TeamViewer, we’re dedicated to the development and further improvement of great tools that help IT departments neutralize these incidents and keep the business running.”

By Shala Marks