The Benefits of Protection – Why Employees Place a High Value on Digital Wellness

McAfee

Nov 08, 2023

5 MIN READ

In workplaces around the world, employees agree — they feel strongly about online protection.

Our joint research with Statista puts a figure to that feeling. Worldwide, 80% or more of employees said that online protection was important or very important to them. Based on what we saw in our previous article in the series, that comes as little surprise.

There, we covered how much time they spend online. Nearly seven hours a day on average. What’s more, they’re spending more time doing more important things. They’re managing their finances, doing their shopping, tracking their health, and even visiting their doctors online. And at historically high rates that only continue to climb.

Yet with that increased activity has come increased risk. Our research found that 27% of employees worldwide said they were a victim of cybercrime. A mix of data theft, malware, phishing, and targeted spearphishing attacks led the way. Strikingly, more than half of employees in the U.S. reported the theft of sensitive info (54%).

Of note for organizations, our research found that 1 in 2 employees use one or more personal devices for work as well. Most often that was an Android (60%) or Windows (55%) device. iOS devices featured prominently as well at 33%.

This makes a strong case for offering comprehensive online protection as part of a digital wellness program. Employers gain the confidence that their employees are protected regardless of which device they use. Employees gain the protection they want, and need, to stay safe online in the workplace and across their daily lives. Both benefit.

Everyone benefits from online protection.

Just as organizations have protection measures in place to protect employees on business devices, comprehensive online protection does the same for their personal devices. In this way, organizations gain the assurance that their employees are protected across practically every device they use, wherever they use them.

So, what does comprehensive protection look like? Comprehensive online protection like ours goes beyond antivirus. It protects the whole employee, by protecting their devices, their privacy, and their personal info. Within that, it covers the top online protection measures that employees want most. As found in our research with Statista, the top five measures they want include:

Identity theft protection.
Password protection.
Device security.
Protection from malicious sites.
Online privacy protection.

It further includes more features that they might not be aware of yet that can benefit them greatly. A few examples:

Transaction Monitoring keeps tabs on transactions in connected bank, credit card, and 401(k) accounts. This helps employees quickly identify fraudulent transactions and protect their wealth and investments.
Text Scam Detector uses artificial intelligence (AI) to combat phishing attacks. It automatically detects text scams and can block risky links in emails, social media, and more.
Our industry-first McAfee Protection Score helps them improve their security overall. It checks the health of your employees’ online protection and provides simple steps to fix weak spots and raise their scores.

Comprehensive online protection offers an added layer of protection for employees, whether they work remotely, in a hybrid role, or in the office. Employees see that as a big benefit.

Employees see online protection as a big benefit.

Employers know quite well that attractive benefits packages help attract and retain great employees. Likewise, employees said much the same in our research. Globally, 4 out of 5 employees said that benefits are key to joining and staying with an employer.

Specific to online protection and digital wellness, 55% of employees cited online protection as an important benefit. That puts it in close association with other core benefits. In India, Brazil, and Australia, online protection is closely linked with healthcare and paid leave. In the U.S. and European countries, 2 in 5 employees consider online digital protection tied to core employee benefits such as paid leave and bonuses.

Employees broadly acknowledged that this kind of protection benefits their employers as well. More than half said that they were interested in online protection because it can protect data and networks from unauthorized access (67%). More than half (52%) said that it could help them avoid unknowingly risky behaviors that might endanger their work.

Employees help make the case for online protection as a benefit.

Comprehensive online protection as part of a digital wellness program can benefit employees and employers alike. Employees see the value in it as they increasingly handle sensitive and personal matters online, ranging from their finances to their health and wellness.

With that increased reliance on the internet comes increased risk of hacks, attacks, and scams. Online protection can reduce those risks significantly. It helps prevent cyberattacks that can rob employees of their time and money as they attempt to recover from an attack. And it provides a clear path forward with restorative measures in the event of a data breach or identity theft.

Aside from offering a benefit that employees highly value, organizations can realize benefits of their own when they offer comprehensive online protection. They’ll have employees who’re unburdened and undistracted from disruptive attacks. Moreover, they’ll extend protections to personal devices that their employees use. Devices that half of them use for work and personal purposes.

In our next article, we’ll help you make the business case for online protection and digital wellness programs from an organizational standpoint. Based on interviews with organizations of varying verticals and sizes, we’ll see what they had to say about the role that digital wellness plays in their workplace today.

Editor’s note: Want to learn more? Visit us at https://www.mcafee.com/en-us/resources/digital-wellness.html or reach out to EmployeeBenefits@mcafee.com.