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Workplace Theft Is On the Rise (theatlantic.com)
rfengineer tipped us off to this story. The Atlantic reports:
Your office is a den of thieves. Don't take my word for it: When a forensic-accounting firm surveyed workers in 2013, 52 percent admitted to stealing company property. And the thievery is getting worse. The Association of Certified Fraud Examiners reports that theft of "non-cash" property -- ranging from a single pencil in the supply closet to a pallet of them on the company loading dock -- jumped from 10.6 percent of corporate-theft losses in 2002 to 21 percent in 2018. Managers routinely order up to 20 percent more product than is necessary, just to account for sticky-fingered employees.
Some items -- scissors, notebooks, staplers -- are pilfered perennially; others vanish on a seasonal basis: The burn rate on tape spikes when holiday gifts need wrapping, and parents ransack the supply closet in August, to avoid the back-to-school rush at Target. After a new Apple gadget is released, some workers report that their company-issued iPhone is broken -- knowing that IT will furnish a replacement, no questions asked. What's behind this 9-to-5 crime wave? Mark R. Doyle, the president of the loss-prevention consultancy Jack L. Hayes International, points to a decrease in supervision, the ease of reselling purloined products online, and what he alleges is "a general decline in employee honesty."
The report advises companies that the best way to reduce fraud was with surprise audits and data monitoring.
Another interesting statistic? "Fraudsters" who'd been with their company for more than five years "stole twice as much."
Some items -- scissors, notebooks, staplers -- are pilfered perennially; others vanish on a seasonal basis: The burn rate on tape spikes when holiday gifts need wrapping, and parents ransack the supply closet in August, to avoid the back-to-school rush at Target. After a new Apple gadget is released, some workers report that their company-issued iPhone is broken -- knowing that IT will furnish a replacement, no questions asked. What's behind this 9-to-5 crime wave? Mark R. Doyle, the president of the loss-prevention consultancy Jack L. Hayes International, points to a decrease in supervision, the ease of reselling purloined products online, and what he alleges is "a general decline in employee honesty."
The report advises companies that the best way to reduce fraud was with surprise audits and data monitoring.
Another interesting statistic? "Fraudsters" who'd been with their company for more than five years "stole twice as much."
I am not a company owner, but if I were I would not care one bit if employees were taking pens home.
Awesome. Good for you... Except for the part where I get the feeling you're trying to justify it.. You being fine with giving away pens doesn't mean I am. And, I suspect that if you were a company owner, you'd be less thrilled with thieves taking money, indirectly, out of your pocket. Every pen (or case of pens) you have to buy is less profits to take home.. For thin profit margin businesses, this could be a serious concern. But, what the fuck do you care? You're okay with theft...
Employees are paid a wage.. If that wage is insufficient to purchase their own fucking pens then they need to ask for a raise or look for work that pays more. This idea that it's somehow morally acceptable to accept an offer of employment, for a defined and agreed upon wage, and then turn around and steal from your employer is bullshit..