The Lunch Thief Analysis

Skye San Agustin

BA 241-01

October 20, 2015

119-IR3

The Lunch Thief: She May Be Someone You Know and Trust

Wilkie, D. (2015, October 15). The lunch thief: She may be someone you know and trust. Retrieved from http://www.shrm.org/hrdisciplines/employeerelations/articles/pages/stealing-work-lunches.aspx

Article Summary

This article talks about how employees take things that do not belong to them such as food, office supplies, and sometimes—their personal belongings. This article also talks about how theft is pretty common and how people take other peoples’ items or “borrow” them, which of course is never returned. Wilkie (2015) states that:

Petty theft at work is common: Employees take food that isn’t theirs, take items from people’s desks or lockers and never return them, and pilfer everything from pens to aprons for personal use. Experts on dishonesty say such thefts

As I was working, I noticed that while I was working downstairs, there were always little things missing that would not go unnoticed, such as pens. We have pens that are meant to stay on premises and are not to be taken out of the café. Due to the missing pens, my coworkers would come in with their own distinctive pens so they can keep their eye on it and make sure that no one walks away with their pens. I also experienced a coworker of mine “borrow” another coworkers apron while he was off and she forgot to return the apron before he was working the next day. He asked her if she has seen his apron, and she said no because she forgot about it and hadn’t washed it yet. Although the apron was returned, I feel like it was still considered a theft because it was taken without permission. After reading this article, I will be more aware of my belongings as well as my surroundings and my coworkers. This article is important to the HR student because it shows the strategies in which an employee can deter thefts—no matter the price or