More than half of workers have lost a laptop, BlackBerry or USB stick in a pub, bar and restaurant, with the majority showing an alarming apathy towards the value of business data.

This is according to a new survey by Databarracks, a secure online backup specialist. They found that whilst employees are dependent on business data, 84 per cent admitted they could not do their job for more than half a day if they lost access to it, and 43 per cent said they couldn't cope for any period without it, yet many are sloppy about keeping it safe.

More than three-quarters admitted storing personal content including photos on their office network or PC. According to Databarracks, this increases the risk of malware infection. The same number would prioritise their personal mobile phone over their work PC if both were on fire, in a sign that personal over corporate data is most valued.

Nearly two-thirds of respondents have accidentally deleted data on the networks, whilst 69 per cent admitted to saving more than 10 important work files on their PCs alone, causing major potential disruption if they were stolen or damaged.

Peter Groucutt, MD of Databarracks, commented: "Whilst employees can be educated to treat corporate data more carefully, human error will always be a factor, so this is not a problem that is going to disappear overnight. In addition, organisations have a myriad of different applications to protect, and data retention and archiving regulations to comply with. More organisations have to start seriously considering secure online backup to protect themselves from unforeseen events."

As well as ignoring the value of business data, employees are also failing to heed environmental warnings with 24 per cent admitting they never switch off their PC at close of business, and 23 per cent only sometimes.