Employers and workplace experts blame the recent rise in employee theft on the financial difficulties being faced by employees at home or in anticipation of layoffs. The elimination of workplace perks such as employee discounts and holiday parties can often aggravate the problem, as employees are far more likely to steal from employers if they feel they're being treated unfairly.

As workplace theft sometimes can go undetected, it's difficult to pin down exactly how much more severe the problem is now than in prosperous times. But a recent survey by the Institute for Corporate Productivity reveals that roughly 20% of employers surveyed said that workplace theft has become a moderate to very big problem recently. When asked if they had noticed increased monetary theft by employees, 18% said they had, 41% were unsure and the rest said they hadn't. When asked if they had detected an increase in stolen goods in the workplace, 18% of employers surveyed said they had, 43% were unsure and 33% hadn't.

To make matters worse, the most trusted workers are often the ones committing the theft. A 2007 Pricewaterhouse study shows that 25% of all reported internal fraud incidents are committed by senior-level employees with an average tenure of 7 ½ years.

In good economic times and in bad, experts agree that an employer's best defense against employee theft is prevention. Educating and communicating with employees about internal theft, adding on-premise security measures and implementing an effective background screening program are all smart strategies employers can use to reduce their chances of being victimized by employee theft.

To learn more about InfoMart's full suite of background screening solutions and how we can help protect your company's bottom line, please call 770-984-2727 option 4 or sales@infomart-usa.com.

(Source: http://www.wsj.com)