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CNNfn
August
19, 1999
CNNfn
LIVE REPORT
Jack Cafferty -
CNNfn Anchor: Joining me now is our
favorite content provider, Allen Wastler, managing director at CNNfn.com. Which is our Web site.It’s the home of a lot of really cool
stuff. Do you steal from the place that you work? Most of you do, don’t they?
Allen Wastler - Managing Director, CNNfn.com: They do. We took a look at it today and we looked at a new study out by Michael
Kessler and Associates and according to them over 73% of employees in the
workplace have either stolen or thought about stealing.
Cafferty: That’s stocking – shocking!
Wastler: Shocking! They just locked up the supply cabinet. We got this memo saying
everybody’s stealing the ball-point pens. I don’t know what you have to do is fill out a form to get a
pencil. One out of three companies that go bankrupt, part of the reason for bankruptcy is attributable to employee
theft and they think it’s between of 60 and 120 billion – billion with a b,
dollars a year attributable to employee theft. But it also goes up to telephones, office equipment, computer
equipment. Someone goes in and snatches the card out of the computer or something like that up to serious white collar
crime, I’ll write myself an extra check for a thousand.
Rhonda Schaffler - CNNfn Anchor: How do they protect themselves against these sticky things?
Wastler: You don’t want to do the big surveillance cameras on employees all the time because
that will bring in a different set of problems, but you can do things like
double checks. If you get a lot of copies of invoices you might be thinking why are you getting copies for these
things. Little telltale signs like that.
Cafferty:
They’ll steal from the workplace and they won’t think about holding up a gas station.
Wastler: Why, Jack, I’m glad you ask.
Cafferty: That’s my job, is to ask the questions.
Wastler: Actually it’s surprising, greed is the biggest reason, of course. 49 percent is greed, but here’s a surprising
one. 43 percent is vindictiveness. I’m going to get even with the boss.
Schaffler: Wow!
Cafferty: 8 percent are almost for need.
Wastler: Here’s another thing for employers to keep
in mind, OK? Once you let the stealing go on, if you turn a blind eye, a few
pencils and paper clips and stuff like that, it will snowball on you because Kessler
also asked employees about would they never steal, would they steal and stuff
and here’s the surprising number. Check
this out, 66 percent, 2/3 said they would steal without consequences and 21
percent said they would never steal. Interesting point, they said the person you got to watch all the time is
the employee that -- that’s never late
for work. Because that employee might
have been stealing this whole time, so they’re afraid if they’re going you’ll
find out.
Schaffler: We can look around the office. Figure out who is on time.
Wastler: You may
want to check it out a little. Anyway,
I got to go so I’ll talk to you all later.
Cafferty: That’s very funny. I was just going to say if
the statistics are right tow of the three of us have robbed the company.
Schaffler: It’s him. He’s got the phone.
Wastler: I would never do such a thing.
Cafferty: He’s stuffing pens in his pocket.
Schaffler: Greed or vindictiveness, greed, vindictiveness or do you need that post-it.
Wastler: Who’s listening? Need?
Cafferty: That was Alan Wastler, CNNfn.com.
Credit - CNN
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