Suspected theft of goods or time

Employers may have to deal with certain types of theft in the workplace. While the theft of valuable property may be dealt with in a rather straightforward manner (identifying and terminating the offender, with possible prosecution), there may be situations where the theft is less significant or the offender cannot be readily identified. For example, employers may face the theft of office supplies, or even theft of employee lunches or other belongings, but may not be able to identify the thief.

Theft in the workplace affects all employees, even if personal items are not taken, because the loss of company goods creates an expense that affects profits. Addressing an unidentified thief may require an indirect approach. A direct approach, such as surveillance or new procedures that keep basic items (like office supplies) under lock and key may be more costly than the value of the items missing. For instance, locking up office supplies and making them available only upon request may hamper productivity and frustrate the majority of employees who are trustworthy.

The first steps may be to make all employees aware of the problem, which also lets the offender know that the thefts have been noticed. Other employees may also be recruited to keep their eyes open and to report any suspected thefts.

The company may even communicate that it does not want to install surveillance cameras or restrict access to necessary supplies, but will do so if the problem continues. Ideally, this “threat” will both encourage honest employees to keep their eyes open and help identify any thieves (to avoid the possible inconveniences of the company’s response) and also let the offender know that the pilfering must end now or the company will take action strong enough to make future theft impossible anyway.

If the problem involves theft of employees’ personal items, all employees should understand that they have a duty to protect their possessions. They can also avoid creating temptation by not leaving valuables in plain sight. Even placing personal items in an unlocked drawer keeps them out of sight and should make theft attempts more conspicuous, since a potential thief would have to look through a coworker's desk. For valuable items, employees might carry them when leaving a work area, or leave them in the car rather than bringing them into the workplace.

Employers can take some proactive measures to deter theft, perhaps having supervisors conduct random checks of work areas, but cannot prevent all theft. Employees are ultimately responsible for their own belongings, and should understand what steps they can take to protect their possessions.

Time theft

Employers may also face problems involving theft of time. For example, employees may falsify time cards to include additional hours, or may even have a friend punch their card to avoid recording a late arrival or early departure. This attempt to receive wages for time not worked is essentially a form of theft. Similarly, employees who use company time for personal reasons (most commonly surfing the internet while at work) are getting paid for non-productive time.

Organizations have long struggled with how to prevent false time card submissions. Catching employees may require having a supervisor check the arrival and departure times of suspected violators, or even installing a surveillance camera over the time clock to catch a time thief. While these measures are somewhat extreme, catching a suspected time thief “in the act” may not be possible with lesser measures. Fortunately, the at-will employment doctrine allows for termination of an employee based on suspicion, even if the violation cannot be proven.

Catching employees who use computers for personal reasons can be handled much the same, since there is software available to record data such as websites visited and time spent on those sites. Since this monitoring can be tied to a specific computer, the offender is usually easier to identify. In the absence of such surveillance software, however, this kind of time theft may go unnoticed.

Ignoring theft?

Although it may at first seem senseless, many employers ignore employee theft, at least to a certain point. For example, if employees are stealing office supplies, the organization might compare the relatively low cost of the supplies to the potential costs of monitoring for theft, imposing discipline, and training a new employee after firing an offender. The cost analysis may suggest that ignoring the theft is far less expensive than trying to identify a thief. For significant losses or valuable items, the cost of identifying the offender is more likely justified, but for minor theft, the necessary steps may feel like using a hammer to kill a fly.

Cost isn’t the only consideration, however. Some surveys indicate that as many as half of employees admit to stealing from their employers. An organization probably isn’t going to identify, discipline, or fire half the workforce. Moreover, if the studies are correct, there’s a 50 percent chance that any replacements will eventually begin stealing as well.

Rather than trying to catch a thief, employers may instead choose to address the underlying causes or reasons that employees steal, since theft is often a symptom of other problems. Employers can’t eliminate all theft, but can reduce it through positive relations. Employees may steal from their employers, even taking items such as toilet paper or office supplies that they could easily afford, for a variety of reasons:

1. Employees may feel underpaid and view stealing as way to increase their “earnings.”
2. After not getting an expected raise or promotion, employees may feel they are “owed” additional compensation, so stealing is just providing what they deserve.
3. Employees who are frustrated with a manager or with a company policy may steal to “get back at the system.”
4. Some people find a small thrill in breaking the rules, or may view their theft the same way they view driving a few miles per hour over the speed limit. Everybody does it.

Problems can arise, of course, when some employees increase their efforts and begin stealing more items, or start targeting more valuable items, perhaps progressing from stealing pens and paper to stealing laptop computers. By the time the employee is caught, he or she may have taken thousands of dollars in property. An employee who gets caught may have been stealing for some time, and employers should be wary of any claims that this was the first offense. In such cases, termination would be appropriate.

Employers should not condone or excuse theft, but the cost evaluation may create a plausible reason for ignoring theft, at least to some extent. Employers that understand employee relations may also realize that an inappropriate response to theft could actually make things worse. For instance, installing locks and security cameras on the office supply cabinet is likely to frustrate all employees, at least half of whom are trustworthy. The costs may be greater than the savings, but even worse, the employer may convey the impression that it does not trust employees. This is not the best way to address the underlying reasons for employee theft. Employers who know why employees steal can take steps to address those reasons without ever mentioning that the intent is to reduce theft.

For instance:

1. Communicating that compensation is competitive and providing total benefits statements can reduce feelings of being underpaid.
2. If an employee does not get an expected raise or promotion, explain the reason and outline steps to achieve the recognition in the future. If the employee has a plan of action and successfully checks off every item on the list, be sure the reward is given at the next review.
3. Ensure that managers communicate effectively and respectfully with employees to minimize frustration. If justified, conduct employee surveys to identify problem areas that might be addressed.

All too often, employers over-react by adopting restrictive new policies to address a few problem employees, even if the problem employees are known. For instance, if a handful of employees abuse sick leave (which is often done for the same reasons that employees steal), the answer isn’t to eliminate paid sick leave for everyone. Along the same lines, treating every employee as a potential criminal is not an appropriate response to suspected theft.

Instead, take the opportunity to improve employee relations in other ways, even increasing the amount of responsibility and autonomy. Addressing the self-justifying reasons that employees steal should reduce theft, with the benefit of improving employee relations and, hopefully, employee engagement.