ON THE JOB

Fifty-one percent of American workers expect to receive year-end holiday rewards from their companies, according to a report by Xylo Inc., "How Year-End Holiday Rewards Impact Workplace Loyalty." Despite the recession, employee expectations of year-end rewards dipped just 7 percent from last year, the Bellevue, Wash., company found.

The Xylo Report, a national survey on work and life issues, is conducted six times yearly by research firm Wirthlin Worldwide for Xylo, a provider of Web-based work/life solutions used to retain employees. Wirthlin surveyed 674 U.S. adults Nov. 16-19.

Thirty-eight percent of respondents said year-end holiday rewards boost their loyalty to their company. It also found that men are slightly more likely than women to receive year-end rewards; employees earning $60,000 or more are most likely to be rewarded.

Office parties are the most popular perk, followed by cash bonuses and extra time off.The new "Call Me Claus, Call Me Scrooge" message board feature on Netscape.com gives workers the chance to share stories of their bosses this holiday season ? whether they're about the head honcho who banished bonuses in favor of fruitcakes or the supervisor who personally catered the holiday party.

Stories can be posted on the entertainment channel message board at www.netscape.com. Entries will be judged on their humorous content and writing style. Twenty-five submitters with stories of holiday cheer will win the CD from the TNT television movie, "Call Me Claus." Another 25 submitters with stories of workplace woe will receive the CD and a lump of coal.
Corporate information systems are dangerously vulnerable to cyberattacks, according to a recent survey conducted by systems integrator Computer Sciences Corp. of El Segundo, Calif.

The survey of more than 1,000 information technology executives worldwide found these weaknesses:

? 46 percent do not have a formal information security policy;

? 59 percent do not have a formal compliance program supporting their information systems function;

? 68 percent do not regularly conduct security risk analyses or security status tracking.

When asked to rank issues that are most important to the organization, the executives ranked fifth the task of eliminating systems vulnerabilities.