Olympic viewing will not improve staff morale

Only two fifths (41%) of those surveyed believe that involving employees in Olympic activities, such as watching sporting events online, will have a positive impact on morale.

These results will be welcomed by many IT executives who could be charged with implementing online viewing.

More than half (53%) said they would not allow employees to watch the Olympics on office computers, citing concerns about productivity, security and network capacity.

Robert Half Technology conducted the survey, its managing director Phil Sheridan said: "The summer of sport gives companies the opportunity to host events in the office with the aim of building morale, motivation and teamwork, key considerations in making an organisation a great place to work.

"There needs to be balance, however, with pragmatic IT directors sounding a word of caution about the outcomes of watching events on employee productivity, network bandwidth and security.

"One of the important elements of any IT director or manager's role is to keep systems up and running - despite what may be happening in the world of sport.

"As with all perks, it's important to balance the positive impact on employee morale against the overall needs of the business," he added.