What is the most stolen item from offices?
Rachel Davis
Updated on January 10, 2026
One survey found that more than half of employees admitted to stealing from their employer. So which supplies are most commonly taken hostage? Pens, pencils, sticky notes, and paper clips top the list but research shows some employees are brazen enough to steal much larger items like chairs.
What is the most common type of employee theft?
The 3 Most Common Types of Employee Fraud
- Monetary theft: Stealing cash is the most obvious form of workplace crime.
- Physical theft: Stealing company inventory and supplies can cost a business dearly.
Why do people steal from their companies?
Employees may also steal to get revenge on their employers. Employees who suffer a pay cut, or who feel overworked and underpaid might seek to even the score with their employers by stealing time or money from the employer. Another reason employees steal is because it’s simply too tempting.
What is the number one reason people steal?
Stealing may be caused by jealousy, low self-esteem, or peer-pressure. Social issues like feeling excluded or overlooked can also cause stealing. People may steal to prove their independence, to act out against family or friends, or because they don’t respect others or themselves.
Do people steal office supplies?
In a recent anonymous survey by Papermate as part of the launch of a new pen, 100% of office workers admitted to have stolen a pen at work. Other academic researchers have reported that up to 75% of employees admitted to stealing office supplies in the past year.
Is taking office supplies stealing?
Stealing supplies from work may seem to some people like a perk of the job—even an action that no one will notice. However, this type of employee theft can be considered a crime. Taking money from your workplace is embezzlement.
What percentage of employees steal?
What percentage of employees steal from their employers? Recent stats suggest that about 75% of all employees have stolen from their employers at least once during their time within their company. That makes about three-quarters of all employed workers, with 37.5% of them stealing at least twice.
Does stealing hurt the company?
Stealing from a retail store damages the company’s profits in direct and indirect ways. The immediate loss of product for sale hurts the company’s ability to offer items to consumers willing to buy them, while the costs to replace stolen goods increases production costs.
How many employees will never steal from a company?
This shows that 10% of employees will never steal, 10% will always steal, and 80% will go either way depending on the opportunity. The good news is that there are many things a company can do to convince the 80% that they should not steal and these will be discussed later.
Which is an example of an employee stealing?
Stealing is most often thought of as the theft of money or other physical items (i.e., office supplies, merchandise), but employees might also steal intangibles, including an employer’s intellectual property and time (employees might fail to report used vacation time or lie about hours worked, for example). Why do employees steal?
Who is more likely to steal your money?
This unsavory behavior puts the ability to complete basic operations and innovate at risk, so you need to weed it out as soon as possible. The Chrome River survey found that men are much more likely to dip into your finances than women are. The survey found that, compared to females, males are
Which is the most common asset stolen from an employer?
Money – the most common asset stolen from employers. Time – Occurs when an employee is paid for time that he/she did not work. This usually happens through falsifying time keeping records, or when employees are not working while on the job (although difficult to prove).