CORPORATE TIME THEFT

Trafford Publishing

Contents

Preface.............................................................vii1 Time Theft........................................................12 Internet Surfing Is Draining Your Bottom Line.....................63 Texting at Work...................................................154 Breaks Breaking the Bank..........................................195 Meetings: Less Is More............................................256 Workplace Ethical Standards.......................................317 Keeping Four I's on Time..........................................378 I Better Get Back To Work.........................................459 Loyal Employees...................................................4810 The Balance......................................................51About The Authors...................................................60Speaker Invitation..................................................62

Chapter One

Employees from all levels of an organization (from front line to executives) waste more than two hours a day at work, costing companies $750 billion a year, according to survey conducted by Salary.com and America online. Although it is not a pleasant topic to discuss, the fact is that Time Theft is costing organizations a lot of money. Workers at all levels will misuse company time at some point in their careers.

It is hard to believe that someone whom you hired to fill a trusted position in your company would actually steal from you. Nevertheless, it happens every day. In addition it is estimated that up to 75 percent of all employees' Time Theft is overlooked.

Time is money. Lost minutes result in lost dollars for businesses. In this economically challenged and competitive marketplace, every dollar counts, and every minute counts.

Survey conducted by AOL and Salary.com involved more than 10,000 respondents who indicated that there are many ways that they spend time at work doing non-work-related activities. Here are some figures from the survey:

Top Five Time-Wasting Activities

1. Surfing Internet (personal use) 44.7%

2. Socializing with co-workers 23.4%

3. Conducting personal business 6.8%

4. Spacing out 3.9%

5. Running errands off-premises 3.1%

Top Five Excuses for Time Wasting

1. Don't have enough work to do 33.2%

2. Underpaid for amount of work I do 23.4%

3. Co-workers distract me 14.7%

4. Not enough evening or weekend time 12.0%

5. Other 16.7%

Top Five Time-Wasting Industries

1. Insurance 2.5 hrs/day

2. Public Sector (Non-Education) 2.4 hrs/day

3. Research & Development 2.3 hrs/day

4. Education 2.2 hrs/day

5. Software & Internet 2.2 hrs/day

Although, theft is a harsh word, it is recognized by management as a significant problem. If employees take products or cash from an organization, it is considered theft. No one would argue with that. So why is it that when we talk about Time Theft—especially in this day and age when "time is money,"—we get this uncomfortable feeling? When time is money and money affects an organization's ability to make it or break it in this competitive world, then Time Theft is no different than product or cash theft. This is a simple concept, but like anything that pushes the boundaries of what we consider normal, it is surrounded by a great deal of discomfort.

Most experts would agree that reducing Time Theft is a much more realistic goal than eliminating it altogether. But in order to reduce time theft, business owners, management staff, and employees must recognize that the problem exists and must take an active role in preventing and controlling it.

Why Do Employees Steal Time?

People cite numerous reasons for stealing, but ultimately people steal time because they are given the opportunity to do so. When companies do not take an active role in implementing checks and balances to curb the occurrence of Time Theft, they create a fertile environment for it. When such an environment exists and all levels of employees are busy stealing time, a snowball effect is created, and Time Theft becomes part of the organizational culture.

Many employers write off losses due to Time Theft as a cost of doing business. "A certain amount of slacking off is already built into the salary structure," says Bill Coleman, senior vice president at Salary.com. But what employers might not realize is that workplace Time Theft can cost them their businesses if it isn't controlled. In August 1999 CNN Financial News reported that one out of every three companies that goes bankrupt each year does so as a result of employee theft, costing businesses between $60 billion and $120 billion a year. Although this article was referring to theft of equipment, products, supplies, etc.—imagine the cost to businesses when you add to this the losses due to time theft.

Time Theft is not confined to any one type of person or industry. The majority of executives we have talked to know that this is an issue in their company but have no idea about how prevalent and costly Time Theft really is. More importantly, they don't know how to deal with this problem.

What does this all mean to you, the business owner and an employee? Simply that you are losing hundreds and thousands of dollars every year. This stolen time translates into loss in productivity, revenue, and your competitive edge.

Setting New Boundaries

Today, Time Theft has become somewhat of a fringe benefit that employees enjoy at work. If you want your company to survive in this economically turbulent world, you need to build a culture of time-accountability. Creating a culture that respects time is vital to the success and survival of a company and it's employees.

You cannot change what you do not acknowledge. Life Lesson #4 by Dr. Phil McGraw

Chapter Two

This century has brought forward an immense digital leap throughout the developed and developing worlds. Access to information and technology, particularly the Internet, has grown tremendously over the last decade. It is estimated by Internet World Stats (internetworldstats.com) that 30 percent of the world's population (approximately 2,095,006,005 people) has access to the Internet.

How Much Is The Internet Really Costing My Company?

"Surveying the Digital Future" a report published in 2003 by UCLA provides some insights into the increasing amount of Internet usage in the workplace for both work-related and personal purposes. The report also provides data on e-mail usage for both work-related and personal matters.

Below are excerpts of the study around Internet and e-mail usage at work:

• "Of those who had Internet access at work in 2002, 60.5 percent visited Web sites for personal use."

• "About 57 percent of those who use the Internet at work in 2002 accessed their personal e-mail from work ..."

Your Bottom Line Is Bleeding

If you are as committed to the success of your company as we are, you have already started to do some number crunching to figure out how much this personal use of Internet and e-mail is costing you on a yearly basis. But we'll make the analysis easier for you. Let's agree on some basic numbers before we provide you with...