With many employees now using public transport to catch up on work, nearly seven in ten respondents in the research pinpointed trains as the number one danger zone for exposing sensitive information. Cafés (cited by 56%) and hotel bars and lounges (55%) were also identified as high-risk hot spots, followed by aeroplanes (30%).

When asked exactly how confidential information was likely to be exposed, three-quarters of respondents reported that people overhearing mobile phone conversations was the most likely scenario. Confidential printed documents in peoples’ hands or laps, as well as open laptops were also identified as easy targets for snoopers by over half of respondents. Only one fifth felt that their smartphone posed a risk.

Steve Purdy, UK managing director at Regus, said:  ‘Privacy remains a huge concern for workers on their daily commute, and also for the thousands of mobile workers who call into cafés during their working day.

‘Increasingly, they are seeking a professional alternative to working in public places, using our new generation of drop-in workspaces at transport or retail hubs which offer a more secure environment, not to mention more productive.’