Two in three employees admit to workplace 'theft': survey

It found that 67% of employees have committed at least one type of theft in their current workplace, while 41% have stolen from their employers in more ways than one.

The most common form of misconduct admitted by employees is tackling personal tasks during company time, as cited by 54% of the respondents. Among these personal tasks are:

• Completing household chores
• Making personal phone calls and appointments
• Browsing the internet and using personal devices
• Running errands
• Organising personal finances

"In an age of myriad internet distractions, smartphones close at hand, and much of the workforce logged in from home, it's little wonder that more than half of employees admitted to this practice," the Business.com report said.

Direct theft at work

Meanwhile, the report found that roughly a quarter of employees improperly used company supplies, equipment or vehicles. On the other hand, fewer employees have directly stolen goods or services, such as:

• Pens and writing supplies, including notepads and markers
• Printer paper and ink
• Office supplies like sticky notes, paper clips, and folders
• Batteries
• Toiletries, including toilet paper and tissue paper
• Kitchen items, like plates and utensils

According to the report, less than one per cent of workers admitted to stealing cash directly from their current employer. Overall, the whole list of "workplace theft" that they admitted to are:

• Performing personal tasks while on the clock (54%)
• Regularly taking longer breaks than allowed (19%)
• Using a company printer for more than a handful of personal papers (18%)
• Taking company supplies (14%)
• Taking time off in an unapproved manner (such as calling in sick when not ill, if not allowed) (13%)
• Sleeping on the job (11%)
• Reporting more hours than actually worked (7%)
• Asking another employee to clock in or out on their behalf (3%)
• Offering customers an unauthorised discount or free service (3%)
• Driving a company vehicle for personal purposes without authorisation (3%)
• Taking products intended for sale (1%)
• Using company funds for personal expenses (1%)
• Accepting cash from customers without recording a sale (1%)
• Submitting a fake or fraudulent expense report (1%)
• Taking sensitive company information such as trade secrets or customer data (1%)
• Creating a fake transaction to earn a commission (1%)
• Processing a fake refund and keeping the money (1%)
• Stolen company money (i.e. from a cash register or bank account) (<1%)
• None of the above (33%)

Why employees steal

Brian Carmichael, director of Carmichael Mediation Services, said on LinkedIn that there are six signs or reasons why employees steal from their employers. They are:

• Unsuccessful promotion or transfer, which can make employees apathetic and feel the need to be compensated for their unrecognised hard work
• Their job is no longer available or organisational restructure, which can lead to uncertainty and make employees take items belonging to the company because of the chances of receiving reduced or no wages
• Conflict between a supervisor or manager, which can give employees the incentive to sabotage their manager's performance in many ways
• Breaching the psychological contract, which is based on fairness and equality, can lead to actions intended to hinder the performance of an organisation
• Organisational culture is unethical, with poor leadership and unprofessional conduct by senior managers
• Poor stock control and inadequate security measures can tempt employees to become thieves

Preventing employee theft

To avoid employee theft, especially financial theft, Xero offered the following advice to organisations:

• Practise proper bookkeeping
• Monitor retail transactions
• Track inventory closely
• Count-in, count-out cash
• Review all petty cash
• Actively participate in the business
• Offer meals and discounts to boost morale
• Monitor to deter dishonest behaviour
• Tune in to employee behaviour
• Consider a stricter hiring process