Theft at the workplace
Apr 11, 2010
BILLIONS of shillings are lost and stolen annually from businesses and governments because of employee theft. Thefts in government departments has crippled development initiatives with an estimated sh600b stolen each year, according to anti-corruption campaigners.
By Lola Naggayi
BILLIONS of shillings are lost and stolen annually from businesses and governments because of employee theft. Thefts in government departments has crippled development initiatives with an estimated sh600b stolen each year, according to anti-corruption campaigners.
However, what is lost by private businesses through thefts has not yet been quantified, but could also be in billions of shillings.
Therefore, it is plain that the businesses cannot continue to function normally if they let employees steal from them.
Employee theft is any stealing, misuse of property or use of the employer’s assets without permission to do so.
Although most firms have CCTVs, that ‘skilled’ thief at your workplace is hard to catch. The tricky part is that the ‘long-armed’ fellow can even steal the company or colleagues’ belongings even when everybody is around.
According to experts, workplace theft is usually not out of need, but out of greed and contempt.
Some employees have seen their colleagues stealing, but decided to keep silent about it because the thieves are their bosses or supervisors.
Stealing at work does not mean only breaking through windows and lifting heavy things like laptops, CPs and people’s properties, or walking away with billions of company money.
It can involve small things that employees engage in when at work, for instance, running personal errands on company time, taking longer lunch breaks, taking the company toilet rolls and air fresheners, being on facebook during working hours and looking at pornographic pictures is cheating the company.
Money is one of the most common assets that are stolen from employers.
“Most employees, who consider themselves an important component to the company, or the mosthardworking, are the biggest thieves.
“Someone borrows your pen or pencil and never returns it, or comes to your desk and picks your eats without asking,†says, Bills Mwekanya, a managing director at a car bond.
He adds that when it comes to money, people tend to act differently. If a firm uses unethical methods to recruit workers or get customers from other companies, it is laying a firm foundation for employees to steal from the company because they know that they were also just ‘stolen’ from other firms.â€
Experts explain that this can lead some workers to start overcharging customers and keeping the difference.
“This drastically affect a business’ reputation, because it affects not only the employer, but the customers as well.
If the customers find out that a business is overcharging them, it can hurt that business’ public relations,†says Justin Walsh in a paper entitled “Employee theft†(www.ifpo.org/articlebank/employee_theft.html).
He adds that this type of stealing is very common in restaurants because most private restaurants do not keep a close eye on their employees’ actions.
Walsh says the most damaging theft is stealing a company’s product design and trade secrets.
“Businesses should be fully aware of how theft of information can cripple their business operations,†he advises.
BILLIONS of shillings are lost and stolen annually from businesses and governments because of employee theft. Thefts in government departments has crippled development initiatives with an estimated sh600b stolen each year, according to anti-corruption campaigners.
However, what is lost by private businesses through thefts has not yet been quantified, but could also be in billions of shillings.
Therefore, it is plain that the businesses cannot continue to function normally if they let employees steal from them.
Employee theft is any stealing, misuse of property or use of the employer’s assets without permission to do so.
Although most firms have CCTVs, that ‘skilled’ thief at your workplace is hard to catch. The tricky part is that the ‘long-armed’ fellow can even steal the company or colleagues’ belongings even when everybody is around.
According to experts, workplace theft is usually not out of need, but out of greed and contempt.
Some employees have seen their colleagues stealing, but decided to keep silent about it because the thieves are their bosses or supervisors.
Stealing at work does not mean only breaking through windows and lifting heavy things like laptops, CPs and people’s properties, or walking away with billions of company money.
It can involve small things that employees engage in when at work, for instance, running personal errands on company time, taking longer lunch breaks, taking the company toilet rolls and air fresheners, being on facebook during working hours and looking at pornographic pictures is cheating the company.
Money is one of the most common assets that are stolen from employers.
“Most employees, who consider themselves an important component to the company, or the mosthardworking, are the biggest thieves.
“Someone borrows your pen or pencil and never returns it, or comes to your desk and picks your eats without asking,†says, Bills Mwekanya, a managing director at a car bond.
He adds that when it comes to money, people tend to act differently. If a firm uses unethical methods to recruit workers or get customers from other companies, it is laying a firm foundation for employees to steal from the company because they know that they were also just ‘stolen’ from other firms.â€
Experts explain that this can lead some workers to start overcharging customers and keeping the difference.
“This drastically affect a business’ reputation, because it affects not only the employer, but the customers as well.
If the customers find out that a business is overcharging them, it can hurt that business’ public relations,†says Justin Walsh in a paper entitled “Employee theft†(www.ifpo.org/articlebank/employee_theft.html).
He adds that this type of stealing is very common in restaurants because most private restaurants do not keep a close eye on their employees’ actions.
Walsh says the most damaging theft is stealing a company’s product design and trade secrets.
“Businesses should be fully aware of how theft of information can cripple their business operations,†he advises.