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One in three Brits waste 126 working hours gaming each year, study reveals
British employees are wasting hundreds of contracted work hours a year using company computers and phones for personal activities, according to a new survey from ExpressVPN. The survey, conducted by the consumer privacy and security company, found that some people are spending only 32% of annual contracted hours on work tasks.
With a steep rise in hybrid and home working in recent years, many companies have provided employees with work devices to use in the comfort of their own homes, including work laptops, desktops, phones, cameras, and microphones.
ExpressVPN’s study polled 2,000 hybrid and remote workers across the UK and US to find out how they’re using work devices for personal tasks. The research found that over half of UK workers admitted to using their work computer to check personal emails (62%), carry out general personal activities, such as reading the news or looking things up online, (58%), and to shop online (52%).
However, it seems some activities were less innocuous. In fact, 24% of workers admit to having spent 97 working hours per year looking at porn on a work device, and 96 hours accessing the dark web.
Overall, men were more guilty of using work devices for personal tasks than women. Out of all the personal tasks, checking personal emails came out on top, with men spending more time doing this at 189 working hours per year compared to women at 115 hours. Men also spent more time watching porn at 140 working hours per year compared to women at 68 hours.
Employees aren’t getting away with this, though. The survey showed that 78% of employees who had admitted to using their work computer to browse the dark web had been approached by their employer about it. Further, 77% had been approached regarding buying crypto and 73% were approached about online gambling.
The most common consequences for these employees was a verbal warning, with 14% receiving one from their employer. 13% of workers received training on the appropriate use of work devices after being caught out.
“It’s concerning how much time Brits are spending on personal activities during working hours, especially as they are using their work devices for these tasks. This isn’t just about productivity, it can adversely affect your company’s privacy and security risk levels,” commented Lauren Hendry Parsons, Privacy Advocate, ExpressVPN.
“Short of locking down internet access on all work devices or resorting to unwelcome, demoralizing surveillance, it’s unrealistic to stop employees from using work devices for personal activities. Instead, business leaders need to ensure they are equipping employees with a solid security education, helping them to understand the risks they would be introducing and how to avoid things like phishing attacks. Employees must understand that their usage of company devices will be visible in some capacity to the company, so it’s certainly worth thinking twice before spending a little personal time with a work device.”
Looking beyond how employees are using their work devices, the survey also revealed that 74% of senior management working in the UK expect employees to be working outside of their working hours. This pressure to consistently work overtime may be part of the reason why so many employees are using their work equipment for personal activities.
The survey also looked at the privacy and security precautions employers had in place to ensure safety online. 90% of businesses have at least one form of IT security in place for remote workers-with VPNs (33%), virus protection (32%) and firewalls (30%) being the most common. 28% of businesses also provided an IT safety guide to employees.
Methodology
This survey was carried out by CensusWide across the UK and the US in February 2023, with a total of 2000 respondents. In each country, 1000 hybrid or remote employees were surveyed.
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Eagerly anticipated release now confirmed following a highly successful exclusivity period with Rush Street Interactive
Play’n GO has today announced the official US release of its hit title Colt Lightning Firestorm, following a three-week period of exclusivity with Rush Street Interactive brands BetRivers and SugarHouse.
Colt Lightning Firestorm was released in Europe and other jurisdictions in May 2024, and its release in the US comes with much fanfare following the game’s rave reviews in its short exclusivity period. The game is a sequel to the wildly popular Colt Lightning game which was released early last year, and indications at this stage suggest that this sequel may prove even more successful.
This announcement sees Colt Lightning Firestorm available to players in each state and operator with whom Play’n GO is licensed. Play’n GO first entered the online casino market in the US in 2022, and has reiterated its commitment to becoming active in every regulated market around the world.
Magnus Olsson, Chief Commercial Officer at Play’n GO said: “We’re excited to unveil Colt Lightning Firestorm to the wider online casino gaming community in the US, and have been very pleased to see its strong performance during its exclusivity period with Rush Street Interactive. We had high hopes for the game following the success of its predecessor, and we’re confident that these robust results will continue now that the game is available to an even bigger audience.”
Esports entertainment company BLAST has announced plans to host two popular esports events in Singapore in 2024 and 2025.
BLAST will bring both world-class Counter-Strike and Dota 2 tournaments to the heart of Southeast Asia, marking a major step in Singapore’s emergence as an esports and gaming hub. Supported by the Singapore Tourism Board (STB), these high-profile events will bring the world’s best esports teams and players from all across the world to compete in Singapore.
BLAST has teamed up with AEG Presents Asia, one of the world’s largest live entertainment entities to bring these events to Singapore. The partnership forms part of BLAST’s ambition to create the best esports experiences by working closely with premier destinations and the biggest and best live entertainment partners.
More than half of global esports views (57%) are estimated to come from the Asia Pacific region, 47% more than any other region in the world with the global market valued at $1.6 billion.
By bringing the top-tier Counter-Strike and Dota 2 tournaments to Singapore, BLAST aims
to attract global esports talent, foster local growth, and elevate Singapore’s status as a destination for world-class esports entertainment.
James Woollard, Director of Market Development at BLAST, said: “We are incredibly excited to bring two of the biggest esports titles to this vibrant destination. Over the coming 18 months, Singapore will become a major hub for esports in Southeast Asia, and with the support of the Singapore Tourism Board, we look forward to delivering unforgettable experiences for fans while helping to build a thriving esports ecosystem in the region. Bringing the first BLAST arena event to Singapore is an exciting first step in this journey. The World Final will see the world’s best Counter-Strike players and teams fighting for a $1,000,000 total prize pool.”
Ms Ong Ling Lee, Executive Director, Sports and Wellness, Singapore Tourism Board, said, “We are excited to host the BLAST Premier World Final and the BLAST Dota Slam in Singapore. The Counter-Strike event marks the first BLAST-branded event in Southeast Asia and the inaugural Counter-Strike tournament series in the region, solidifying Singapore’s position as a world-class esports destination. We are confident that the international participants and their legions of fans will have a memorable experience in Singapore, immersing themselves in the diverse and dynamic offerings of our city.”
The World Final 2024 will take place from 30th October – 3rd November and will be the first BLAST event to take place in Singapore, followed by the BLAST Dota Slam in 2025. The World Final will be the biggest Counter-Strike event to take place in Singapore, where the world’s best eight Counter-Strike teams will compete for a massive prize pool of $1,000,000 and the chance to claim bragging rights as the best team around.
Qualified World Final teams: NAVI, Team Spirit, Team Vitality, FaZe Clan and G2 Esports.
Fans can sign-up for the pre-sale window by registering with BLAST.tv, where they will also receive updates and information on tickets.
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