There has been plenty written and said about the consumerisation of IT recently, from security companies releasing software that protects personal devices at work, to its productivity benefits and what it means for the IT department.

Now a survey from Yorkshire-based network and security specialist ITogether has revealed a worrying new trend: a ‘mob mentality’ that develops in offices when workers use their own devices, hook them up to IT systems and simply refuse to comply with security measures.

Over half of the respondents (59%) said they used their own mobile devices at work, primarily smartphones and tablets. Of these, 61% confessed to connecting the device to IT systems at the office, which ITogether described as a ‘widespread show of defiance’ by refusing to comply with security policies at work.

Despite this half of the respondents still expect to have full unfettered access to all their personal online accounts and social networking sites when at work.

"What we’re seeing is a widespread ‘mob’ culture that’s building up in the workplace as people’s personal and work lives merge through technology," said Simon Richardson, co-founder and managing partner at ITogether. "Workers expect their employer to foot the bandwidth costs for their personal devices, enabling them to do online banking, or access Facebook, for example, but flatly refuse to conform to their work security measures."

"This behaviour is exasperating business owners and senior management. We all love our devices but, especially given the spate of recent high profile security breaches, everyone, not just IT managers need to take this issue seriously," he added.

So the answer is to ban the use of devices at work, right? Wrong. There are benefits, according to the survey. Workers are likely to feel more motivated and valued and will even feel more loyalty towards their employer if they are allowed to use the latest must-have gadget at work.

The survey also found that 70% of workers use personal devices to keep in touch with work out of office hours, which will improve their productivity.

Describing banning the use of personal device at work as, "an archaic approach", Richardson said: "During the last few years we’ve seen a rapid increase in the number of people using social media, and it is now a fixture of our everyday work and personal lives. Today, social networks connect people to the world around them and employees expect to be able to access their personal online accounts in the workplace."

"What is alarming is that, despite this, few companies have established formal processes for handling social networking tools in the workplace. Even fewer have expanded this to mobile workers, or personal devices, compromising any previous investment that they may have made to secure their network or corporate image," he added.

To help companies tackle this mob mentality, ITogether has revealed its top five Mob Rules:

  • Only block access to offensive or illegal content. Blocking Facebook, Twitter and such like will only result in a disgruntled mob.
  • Be secure.
  • You won’t beat them, so join them. Social networking sites can be used to build bridges with employees, says ITogether.
  • Be clear on the rules and enforce them. Policies are only useful if people know and respect them. ITogether suggests spreading the word via social media sites.
  • Encourage innovation. If employees are showing enthusiasm for mobile devices and social networks, try to harness it.