What Majority Think About Stealing at Work

Most Americans think it’s acceptable to steal at work. This fact came to light in the latest poll, conducted by Meetville.com (dating app to find the right person) from 6/16/14 to 9/5/14.

The poll posed the question: “Is taking a pen from work considered stealing?” 60% majority believe stealing small objects is not a big deal.

Emily Cohn, the Huffington Post's Business Editor, makes it clear that “Stealing a pen from work is still stealing,as it is knowingly taking organizational property for personal use.” She believes “Minor unethical behavior at work, if undetected, puts workers on a "slippery slope" that could lead to worse behavior over time. Little misdeeds like taking a pen are simple to justify, which make it easier to justify more and bigger evils in the long run.”

Out of 49,645 participants 72% were from the USA. However, the problem spreads to other countries as well. As the poll indicates there were 3% of participants from Canada, 8% - from Britain, 6% from Australia and 11% - from other countries.

Alex Cusper, Meetville service analyst, agrees that it is widespread in the business world, becoming an increasingly significant problem that organizations are facing. “As trivial as it may seem to people, it’s not just about pens, pencils and paper,” Alex remarks.

Meetville, a leading mobile dating service, regularly conducts research among its users. Millions of people from the U.S., Canada, Britain and Australia answer hundreds of questions every month. You can find the results of the poll here. If you are interested in research on a particular topic, please contact us. Any reprint of the material should be followed by clickable links to the survey.