Staff expect to be fired for viewing porn

Some 12 per cent of employees have visited a pornography website while at work

Almost half of US employees accept that their employers would be justified in sacking them for viewing adult content using their work internet connection, new research has reported.

The 2006 Web@Work survey by Websense goes on to claim that one-third of workers would expect to be fired if they infected the company with malicious spyware or a virus.

The results show that employees believe that viewing adult content at work or infecting their company with malicious spyware or a virus puts them at greater risk of losing their job than sleeping at their desk, which was rated by only 11 per cent as a sacking offence.

Some 12 per cent of employees have visited a pornography website while at work, either by accident or on purpose. The overwhelming majority of those who have visited pornography sites at work (95 per cent) said that their visit to the site was 'accidental'.

The report also found that 12 per cent of employees admitted that they have received an 'offensive' link in an email from a co-worker, friend or acquaintance at their work email address.

Similarly, 11 per cent of employees admitted that a co-worker, friend or acquaintance has sent a link to their work email address to a website that they thought might contain spyware or lead to some sort of security risk.

Of those workers who said they use the internet at work for personal reasons, half would rather give up their morning coffee than their ability to use the internet at work for personal use.