Despite the majority of UK workers wanting the option to work remotely all the time, half of full-time workers believe that employees below mid-manager level should not be granted remote access to the corporate network.
In fact, 27% believe remote access should only be granted to senior management and above, according to research by OneLogin. This highlights a potential trust issue, and highlights that employers need to ensure they are attracting this talent with their remote offerings.
Despite this apparent distrust, the reality is that these remote employees really do care about protecting work data. Over 90% state they wouldn’t share passwords for work-owned devices, compared to over a third (37%) of respondents who would readily share passwords to personally-owned devices. The majority (77%) admitted they are the only ones who have access to the device they use to access the corporate network.
Additionally, if those surveyed lost their phone, 38% would be concerned about people accessing work data, coming before their social media accounts and personal photos.
“The UK has fast become a nation of remote workers, who are constantly connected to the corporate network no matter where they are,” comments Per Stritich, VP of EMEA at OneLogin. “Whilst it is clear there is a misplaced trust deficit in the UK, the reality is employers need to overcome their concerns and start building trust with their increasingly security savvy workforce.”
Catering to the needs of a remote workforce is not only important to facilitate flexible working for a dispersed workforce, but the apparent distrust of these workers highlights that uniting those who work remotely and those who don’t needs to be a priority for businesses. See tips for managing a remote workforce.
