According to research carried out by the ‘British Science Festival’, BRITISH workers who ‘borrow’ things from their offices are racking up costs of £2 billion a year and unwittingly leaving their employers open to security breaches with far-reaching implications.
The warning from Banner Business Services comes after a recent survey revealed that more than two-thirds of people in office jobs have admitted taking stationery from work.*
Anne Patton, marketing manager at Banner Business Services, said:
“Although the taking of stationery items may seem trivial, the cost soon starts to add up, especially when you consider one in twenty employees admitted to taking valuable items such as mobile phones or computer hardware.
“The UK is one of the worst offenders for office theft in Europe and costs employers more than £2 billion a year. **
“Petty theft becomes an even bigger problem though when items such as memory sticks go missing, as they often contain confidential data which can open the door to all sorts of security risks such as fraud and breaches of confidentiality.”
Banner Business Services, one of the UK’s leading suppliers of office products and services, has identified the most popular items taken include:
1) Post-it notes
2) Sellotape
3) Scissors
4) Toilet roll
5) Photocopier paper
6) USB memory sticks
7) Notepads
8) Pens
9) Staplers
10) Highlighters
Banner is calling for offices up and down the country to tighten their stationery security.
Patton continues:
“We advise businesses to tighten up their internal systems. Office managers should keep a log of all stationery items, outline the costs and implications to staff, announce that periodic and unannounced audits will be undertaken and keep stationery keys in a safe place.”
