do you pilfer from the office?

[alocispepraluger102]

http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/07171/795532-28.stm

[kenny weir]

Nope. Never.

[Chuck Nessa]

It's my friggin' office.

[(BB)]

Yeah, self employment sort of takes the fun out of that game.

[catesta]

It's my friggin' office.

Same here, and I'm pilfering the shit out of it.

A timely thread given the fact just today at lunch I was commenting on how many new enterprises I have financed via stolen equipment, supplies, and tools. At least the electric mouse traps worked and we got the little rascals stealing snacks from the front office.

[ejp626]

Given that many employers kind of expect managers to be on call well beyond the 40 hour workweek, it probably isn't that unreasonable to take a couple of pens home, since they'll probably be used 50% of the time for work anyway. At least it is that way for me.

I'd say I am pretty good about not pilfering, though I do occasionally use a blank CD or a work envelope to mail something. I always pay for my own postage though. And if I am making a lot of personal copies (not often), then I actually do buy my own paper and bring it in. Yeah, I guess there is still electricity and some marginal cost of ink and so on, but it seems pretty low (to me). I do have a stapler from an old job, but that was a case where they were closing down an office and everything was being thrown away, so we could salvage pretty much whatever we wanted. I'm sure stealing time is a much bigger issue than stealing supplies for nearly all office workers, as the article notes, and it is that way for me (some weeks better than others of course).

[Jazzmoose]

Does embezzlement count?

[The Magnificent Goldberg]

The article doesn't come up when I try to access it. But from the title, it seems that what used to amaze me is normal behaviour.

I was amazed that senior people, earning about $200,000 a year, would fiddle their travel claims for the sake of a grand or so, and risk losing everything! And some of them did lose everything!

Am I just extremely risk-averse?

MG

[Claude]

I was amazed that senior people, earning about $200,000 a year, would fiddle their travel claims for the sake of a grand or so, and risk losing everything!

That's a classic, I've seen that too.

I think the major reason is that those people in top positions always know someone else who earns more than them without working more or being more competent, and therefore they think that are morally entitled to certain fringe benefits. And there is also the (often wrong) perception that "everybody does that".

[jazzbo]

[MoGrubb]

Pilfered the secretaries pool?

[LAL]

Internet usage

[vibes]

I work for a very large company, and there are some very wealthy executives that work for the company, including the richest person in the state. Sadly, I have found what this article says to be true. Many executives, but not all, act as though they deserve everything for free--the latest music, movies, cell phones, whatever. I have had friends catch vice presidents under their desks searching for the latest movie releases. When I managed the battery category, executive assistants came by for freebies for their bosses more than anyone else. It is strange that the people most able to pay for things in the store are often the least likely to do so. Unfortunately, this behavior causes a lot of confusion in the lower ranks when people are trying to understand company ethics policies with regards to gifts and gratuities. When the senior vp of your department tells you it's not OK to accept Superbowl tickets to a suite, but then does so himself, it's very difficult to understand what you should or should not do and why.

Personally, I'm around samples and freebies so much that I get sick of it. These days I'm happy if someone gives me a free t-shirt, but I'm not interested in much else.

[clifford_thornton]

[vibes]

My parents bought me that stapler for Christmas a couple years ago. Great stapler.

Edited July 21, 2007 by vibes

[Chuck Nessa]