Employee Theft among College Students in the Workforce

Thanasak Ruankaew

doi:10.5539/ibr.v12n4p40

Abstract

Employee theft costs organizations billions of dollars annually. Despite the severity of employee theft, previous research has not focused on the specific demographics of employees who commit this crime. The number of college students in the workforce has increased over the years; thus, the purpose of this study was to investigate the serious problem of employee theft, particularly in relation to the college student population. A survey was used to collect data from college students to indicate employee theft activities among them. Employee theft activities were categorized as follows: time theft, property theft, embezzlement, pilferage, and data and trade secret theft. Survey responses from 92 students indicated that the majority committed time theft, followed by property theft, pilferage, data and trade secret theft, and embezzlement, respectively. This study adds valuable information for businesses and practitioners to understand the severity of employee theft among the increasing number of college students in the workforce.

Highlights

Employee thefts are crimes committed by employees for the purpose of personal gain
While much research suggests that the magnitude of employee theft in organizations is on the rise, the author believes additional research focusing on specific demographics of employee theft should be conducted
The author decided to exclude the responses from students who had been employed at the time for less than a month, based on the assumption that they might not have had an adequate employment record to indicate the frequency of employee theft behavior

Summary

Introduction

Employee thefts are crimes committed by employees for the purpose of personal gain. The issue of employee theft is considered an important one that deserves serious attention from organizations. 80% of all college students are employed, with more than 50% employed for an average of 29 hours per week during the school year (DeSimone, 2008; Riggert et al, 2006). With both college student employment and employee theft increasing, research on employee theft has been challenged based on the different forms, degrees, and causes of theft (Niehoff & Paul, 2000). Research that focuses on employee theft within this demographic and on different types of employee theft (time theft, theft of property, embezzlement, pilferage, and data and trade secret theft) will benefit businesses and practitioners by providing important insights into the gravity of employee theft among college students

Objectives

Methods

Results

Conclusion