– including applying for jobs, online shopping, and booking holidays.
A poll of 2,000 workers revealed 35 per cent use their professional device at least once a week for non-work activities, despite 26 per cent worrying about their boss finding out.
However, 54 per cent think their employer has little visibility over how they use their company computer outside of working hours, with 21 per cent even admitting to sharing it with other members of their household.
It emerged 84 per cent claim to be aware of the potential risks of using an employer-owned device for personal activities, but 37 per cent are more concerned about breaking company policy than they are about their work (36 per cent) or personal (32 per cent) information being at risk.
Annika Bizon, a spokesperson for Samsung, which commissioned this research alongside the launch of the Galaxy Book6 Enterprise Edition, 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.”
According to the data by OnePoll.com, 39 per cent agreed that their work laptop contains a detailed picture of both their professional and personal lives.
Additionally, 62 per cent use their work laptop to access sensitive client information, with 69 per cent saying that losing it would be more disruptive than losing their work phone.
Nearly a third access personal emails on their work laptop, and a quarter use autofill for personal accounts.
Work laptops now store everything from confidential company documents (63 per cent) to social media (18 per cent) and personal photos (18 per cent).
In fact, 26 per cent even stay logged into some of their personal accounts on work devices permanently.
Almost a fifth (18 per cent) claim they always need to be able to access both their work and personal information in one place.
And the shift to hybrid working has blurred the lines between work and personal information (27 per cent).
Just over one in 10 (11 per cent) argue their need to use the work laptop for personal activities outweighs their security concerns.
With 84 per cent saying it contains more work-related information than any other device they own.
And 14 per cent admit they don’t know exactly what personal information is stored on their work laptop, while 71 per cent don’t know whether their work laptop is encrypted.
Annika Bizon added: “Our new product brings together our strongest security offering to date, helping businesses better protect sensitive information whilst supporting flexible ways of working.”