The Pros And Cons Of Time Theft

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When you ask most people what it means to steal from their company, you 're likely to get answers about making copies at the office, taking home pens or other office supplies, or maybe even padding your expense report. Generally, people are not likely to mention a type of theft that has become more widespread in this age of the Internet and social media, time theft. Younger workers may not even recognize this as theft; they’ve grown up with constant access to the web and view it as normal, if not even an entitlement. But surfing the web on company time is indeed theft, as is anything else that takes an employee 's time or attention away from the work they are being paid to do. With the internet on almost everyone’s phone it is also hard to …show more content…

Those methods still occur, but even offices without a strict time clock can experience time theft. Does one of your co-workers always come in a little late each morning or sneak out early a couple afternoons a week? Are her lunch hours just a little longer than an hour and then she has to use the restroom as soon as she walks in? It may be "no big deal" to her, but she is, in reality, stealing from the company. Not only is she not at work, never mind being productive, when she 's supposed to be, she 's likely creating a distraction and grumbling among colleagues who do put in their full day. This is so true, one co-worker in our office takes at least 4 to 6 smoke/bathroom breaks a day and more often than not, she is not at her own desk. It really makes the people working their 8 hours feel cheated. It causes hard feelings and makes employees question why their supervisor doesn’t say or do …show more content…

It’s shocking, but it’s also consistent with a Seminal Time theft survey conducted by Robert Half International, which found that employers lose about 4.5 hours per week per employee. While every employer has to deal with time theft, it’s especially challenging for companies with a distributed workforce. When you have employees in different locations, even different countries the problem can be compounded. Different cultures view time differently. So, even if you hire carefully and manage scrupulously, chances are you have some percentage of workforce theft in your midst, and that likely includes time theft”. (Donskey

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