Workers take home billions in office supplies

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/13479829/ ^ | 6-22-06

[Hydroshock]

NEW YORK - Young workers in the United States are twice as likely as older colleagues to steal office supplies for home use without thinking it is wrong, a new study says.

And all those missing paper clips and pens add up to more than $50 billion a year.

One in five workers age 18 to 24 did not feel it was wrong to take home office supplies, said the Spherion Workplace Snapshot, an online survey.

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Among those young workers, one in four said they had taken supplies home in the past year, the survey said. By contrast, only 8 percent of workers age 65 and up said they did not feel such appropriation was wrong, and just 12 percent of older workers said they took supplies.

gThatfs just how many people admit it,h said John Case, head of Employeetheft.com, a security consulting firm based in Del Mar, California.

[goldstategop]

Yeah, all those pens, pencils, paper clips and rubber bands the boss is running low on. Its not cheap to replace it, even in bulk.

(Denny Crane: "Every one should carry a gun strapped to their waist. We need more - not less guns.")

[P-40]

Homer Simpson: Another day, another box of stolen pens.

[2banana]

And all those missing paper clips and pens add up to more than $50 billion a year.

There are 300 million Americans. Assume 1/3 in an office (very high asssumption)

That means every person steals $500 worth of stuff? That is alot of pens!

[Huck]

Pilfering is part of the game. It's tax-free compensation. My motto: Take it easy, but take it.

[Hydroshock]

The door and lock on the supply closet at work border on Armageddon proof. Lat year they were not there and everything that was not nailed down that would be used in a school walked off.

[diamond6]

My last job, my co-worker and I kept a tabulation of office supplies or paper that we would take for personal use, and we'd pay him like every six months. He never had a problem with it.

Stealing is stealing.

[Hydroshock]

Ink cartridges, copies, the list goes on and on.

[HitmanLV]

Workers take home billions in office supplies

I know I did.

[xrp]

When I worked in a corporate office I would take items that I could use to do my job at home. It made me a more productive worker and I made sure to get my boss's written approval first.

I'm in the field now, so I just get to expense all that stuff (not a lot).

[jdm]

Take stuff from work.
It's the best way to feel better about your job.
Never buy pens or pencils or paper.
Take 'em from work.
Rubber bands, paper clips, memo pads, folders-take 'em from work.
It's the best way to feel better about your low pay and appalling working conditions.
Take an ashtray-they got plenty.
Take coat hangers.
Take a, take a trash can.
Why buy a file cabinet?
Why buy a phone?
Why buy a personal computer or word processor?
Take 'em from work.
I took a whole desk from the last place I worked.
They never noticed and it looks great in my apartment.
Take an electric pencil sharpener.
Take a case of white-out; you might need it one day.
Take some from work
It's your duty as an oppressed worker to steal from your exploiters.
It's gonna be an outstanding day.
Take stuff from work.
And goof off on the company time.
I wrote this at work.
They're paying me to write about stuff I steal from them.
Life is good.

King Missile Lyrics - Take Stuff From Work

[muggs]

I work from my home but I am not self employed. I try very hard to make sure I keep my employers supplies separate from my own. It's probably me that is getting ripped off.

[balrog666]

[Publius6961]

There is another side to this issue. Ever work for a bureaucracy?
Ever been in a position to not have the supplies you need to do your job?
Ever tried to request an item that some idiot somewhere decided no one should ever need?

I have brought supplies to work more times than I care to count; just to save wear and tear on the psyche...

[Gingersnap]

I'm just glad that I make enough money to buy my own paperclips. Finally.

[KarlInOhio]

Copies and printing for personal use are probably at the top of the list.

I wouldn't take a box of pens, but I never seem to have qualms about printing up a hundred pages for personal use.

While in college some professors had notes that you could copy in the library. A friend took one set out of the cover (which had the security strip in it), drove to his office and made at least a ream of copies for himself, me and a couple other people.

[Blueflag]

OK, then never call me AT HOME. NEVER expect me to work AT HOME. Never expect me to do anything for you outside the walls of your edifice.

Easy for me to say ... I own my own businesses and work out of my house; LOL

[Groganeer]

Great song, great album. First thing that came to my mind when I saw the article title.

[Uncle Hal]

I remember when I first got out college, around 1960, I was invited over to my bosses house for dinner. He was always emphasizing about not taking things from the office. While at his house, I noticed his kids playing with items that were obviously taken from the office. I said nothing, and he kept harping to the employees about taking items home.

[LizardQueen]

I never intentionally take office supplies home but I seem to have some bi-directional "pen migration" going on. The home pens seem to end up at work and the work pens end up at home. They're hitching rides back and forth in my handbag.

So far it seems to be a wash, about the same number have migrated in each direction....

LQ