Workplace Crime

p Crime in the Workplace

Criminal behavior in the workplace is difficult to detect and it is even more difficult to punish . Workplace crime is just as varied in form as criminal acts committed outside the workplace . People commit crimes that range from petty theft (taking home or pens for example ) to committing murder in the workplace . Crime in the workplace is a serious problem that can create costly problems for a company if it goes uncontrolled . Employee crimes cause price hikes in merchandise produced by companies in which it occurs . It

creates high employee turnover rates , and safety concerns for both employees and customers . This looks at why employees commit work-related thefts , and what type of systems is being put in place to prevent these crimes

Literature Review

Many professionals have questioned why employees commit crimes against the companies that employ them . One theory is called The Theory of Wages in Kind (Hollinger and Clark , 1981 , in Wells , 2001 pp89 . This theory states that when an employee is dissatisfied with their work they are more likely to commit crimes against the companies where they work . For example , if an employee feels that they are not receiving adequate pay for the work that they do they will be more likely to embezzle fund from the company . The one flaw to this theory is that often employee theft results either from ignorance of company policy regarding taking home materials such as office supplies , or they are just plain greedy

The second major theory that seeks to explain employee crime is called Financial Pressure Theory . This theory states that many employees embezzle money and goods from the companies that they work for as a means of meeting bills and financial obligations outside the workplace (Wells , 2001 , pp90 . This is more often the case than not , and people who fall under the category of financial pressure resulting in workplace crime often fully intend to pay back the funds once the financial pressure lets up . Opportunity also influences employees to steal from their companies . It is comparable to finding a wallet on the sidewalk Even if stealing is , something you would never do the temptation is still there . Many experts in the field including experts in computer forensics and forensic accounting recommend that employers wishing to lower rates of employee theft divide responsibilities for financial and private records so that each employee has limited opportunities to access this information (Wells , pp 90 . Finally , experts recommend that companies that suspect employees of theft perform regular audits on financial systems and private records in to ensure the security of these systems

Employees can commit workplace related theft in many ways . The most commonly used term to describe theft that occurs in the workplace is asset misappropriation . This term encompasses both theft of goods (such as office supplies , and theft of knowledge (employee info , financial data etc , and theft of money (embezzlement (Wells , 2001 , pp31 . Goods information , and money can be stolen at several points...