As Brits say the boundaries between work and personal life continue to blur thanks to hybrid working (27%), new research suggests work laptops are increasingly being used for far more than just work, creating new security challenges for large enterprises and SMEs as sensitive business information and personal data increasingly coexist on the same device.

Almost a fifth say they need to access both work and personal information in one place. Over time, this means work laptops are quietly becoming repositories of employees’ entire digital lives.

Research to support the launch of the Galaxy Book 6 Enterprise Edition reveals work laptops now store everything from confidential company documents (63%) to social media accounts (18%) and personal photos (18%), all on a single device.

Despite 84% saying they are aware of the potential risks of using a work laptop for personal activities, 70% admit they do regularly do so outside of working hours for online shopping (37%), holiday planning (24%) and online banking (25%).

In fact, 35% say they use their laptop for non-work activities at least once a week, despite 26% having concerns their boss might find out.

Research also found that 62% use their work laptop to access sensitive client information, meaning a single device often acts as the gateway to valuable business data. Meanwhile, 69% say losing their laptop would be more disruptive than losing their work phone.

Despite this, nearly a third say they save personal emails on their work laptop, while a quarter use autofill for personal accounts. Meanwhile, 71% admit they don’t know whether their work laptop is encrypted.

These habits are creating growing security challenges for employers and employees alike. More than one in five (21%) have shared their work laptop with another member of their household, even though 14% admit they don’t know exactly what personal information is stored on their work laptop.

Samsung Galaxy Book6 Enterprise Edition offers the most comprehensive security offering on a Galaxy Book to date. Featuring Samsung Knox security, a dedicated Secured Embedded Processor (SecEP), optional Intel vPro technology and biometric authentication through Windows Hello and fingerprint recognition, it helps businesses protect sensitive information stored across devices while supporting flexible ways of working.

Annika Bizon, Mobile Experience Vice President of Product and Marketing, Samsung UK & Ireland, said: “For many people, a laptop has become the gateway to both their professional and personal lives. It provides access to company systems, sensitive documents, financial information and personal accounts, all through a single device.

“As laptops continue to play an important role in how we work and live, security has never been more important. Galaxy Book6 Enterprise Edition brings together our strongest security offering on a Galaxy Book to date, helping businesses better protect sensitive information whilst supporting flexible ways of working.”

More than a quarter of Brits admit they have personal accounts permanently logged in on their work laptop, while 54% say their employer would have little visibility over how the device is used outside working hours, highlighting the growing challenge businesses face in understanding where work use ends and personal use begins.

The survey of British businesses^[1] was commissioned to mark the launch of the Samsung A Series Enterprise Edition which comes with a Next Business Day Replacement service^[2]

Samsung has brought to life the dramatic impact of tech fails highlighted by the results by creating a series of posters inspired by action, drama and sci-fi genres. Disconnected: The Silent Office plays into sci-fi film tropes and highlights the expansive silence and suspension of business when tech fails to support SMEs. Inspired by action films, Business Phone Down aims to sensationalise the issues that ensues due to misfiring tech with The Day the Calls Stopped paying homage to drama tropes. The designs were curated to highlight the effects of dysfunctional phones and tech on small businesses as the research found that they would lose £226,808 per Annum if just their work phones were inaccessible as 74% admit their work phone is integral to their job.

The survey of 1,000 SME owners found one in six admitted that their workplace tech always seems to fail when they need it the most (59%) as they bemoaned having to cancel important meetings (66%), missing deadlines (52%) and losing business opportunities (41%) because of tech issues. While 56% typically replace outdated devices every two to five years, 47% admit they’ve tried to cut corners on tech quality — only to spend over £3,200 each year on repairs and updates which equals to £17.3 billion across the UK’s 5.5 million strong SME network.

SME owners also lamented outdated laptops (27%), incompatible software (27%) and worn-out smartphones (20%) as the biggest culprits for holding back productivity in the workplace. On average, UK SME owners collectively spend 286 million hours a year contacting IT to resolve hardware and software issues as 59% reveal they sometimes must work overtime as a result.

When it comes to productivity, SME owners estimate productivity levels would increase by 40% and almost two-thirds (64%) believe morale within their business would even improve with better-functioning technology.

In an aim to tackle the issues currently plaguing SME owners and announce the launch of its new A Series Enterprise Edition phone range, Samsung is offering a Next Day Business Replacement service^[1]. The service will provide SMEs with guaranteed replacement Galaxy A Series devices arriving the following business day in the hope of reducing the impact on business-as-usual operations. They come fit with defence-grade Knox Vault security and powerful battery capabilities. Dealing with security concerns when it comes to protecting business data on work phones (14%), managing the cost of mobile devices without sacrificing functionality (10%) and managing the use of multiple devices by employees (10%) were revealed to be some of the most frustrating parts of their job.

Tech-related frustrations are widespread, with nearly six in 10 saying these issues prevent them from working properly, and 42% reported increased stress as result as half (52%) admit to resorting to using their personal devices more than once a week to get the work done.

Annika Bizon, Mobile Experience VP of Product and Marketing said: “Having issues with your work devices can cause a mountain of problems for business, even leading to a loss in revenue. We want to have SME owners back by offering Next Business Day Replacement with our Galaxy A Series Enterprise Edition range – ensuring all the productivity with none of the setbacks.”

The Samsung Galaxy A Series Enterprise Edition includes extended security updates with defence grade Knox Vault and Theft Protection, powerful battery life and enhanced device management tools critical for business continuity. 

For more information, please visit: Samsung Galaxy A56 5G Enterprise Edition | Samsung Business UK

[1] The survey of 1,000 SME owners was conducted via Onepoll

[2] Doorstop exchange with Samsung Gold Stock