By all accounts he was liked, respected and even loved. In the rearview mirror of life, a career of 28 years as a SRJC police officer may now lie in possible ruins. Jeff Holzworth, 51, a past “SRJC Employee of the Month,” was charged with embezzlement of parking revenue. Holzworth was in charge of meter maintenance and revenue collections for years at SRJC. There was very little oversight of his work.
What makes a likeable person with a distinguished career from all appearances take from the hand that feeds him? Forensic, organizational and industrial psychologists have long examined employee workplace theft.
Studies and reports show that EWT comprises $15- 50 billion a year in the U.S. alone. Some data suggest these figures are higher than that from shoplifting loss, often called “shrinkage.” The low end of this figure involves physical theft while the higher end involves “stealing time,” that is, lying about hours worked.
The Association of Certified Fraud Examiners estimates the typical organization loses six percent of its annual revenue to employee theft.
The psychological angle of employee theft is most interesting. “Why do they do it?”
First, there are many types of employee theft. The major categories are: stealing money, stealing time, petty theft, stealing costly items (called grand theft), co-worker theft, customer and client theft, fraudulent favors to friends and family and vending machine theft. These categories round out some of the major theft schemes. Psychological dynamics may vary greatly by theft type.
While there are various psychological profiles for many workplace employee thieves, two stand out. The first (Type 1) is the workplace thief who in many areas of their life is a kind, liked, respected and a good person. They seem to have a character flaw in how they justify their theft.
The second (Type 2) is or sometimes called the “Bernie Madoff” thief. In this type, there is nothing good about them — they are a scamming con artist, cheat and thief to their very core. They are severely pathological.
Since most workplace thieves tend to fall into the Type 1 category, let us focus on this group. What is the psychological transition that takes an otherwise good person and molds them into a workplace thief?
People who cheat and steal in the workplace sometimes believe they themselves have been gravely cheated in life. When they steal they are evening the score. It is interesting to note that layoffs, downsizing, outsourcing, excesses in executive compensation, as well as salary and benefits cuts, worsen and harden these beliefs by some. Terrence Shulman, in his book “Biting The Hand That Feeds: The Employee Theft Epidemic” (2005), notes the U. S Chamber of Commerce estimates that 75 percent of employees steal in the workplace and that a more recent study saw an increase by 50 percent since the start of the recession.
The Type 1 workplace thief slips into the act slowly, over time, and because they believe they won’t get caught. Poor oversight makes it easier. It is interesting to note that Holzworth apparently had considerable control over parking revenues with no checks and balances. Banks use two-person teams to handle money, rotate the teams and alternate team membership. Also, the Type 1 workplace thief is generally not in dire financial straits.
Still others take the position, “They owe me” for real and/or perceived sacrifices for an organization that have gone unrewarded — they act like a victim. That is why organizations bend over backwards to praise and reward their employees robustly. Once a “sense of entitlement” settles in, turning back from workplace theft becomes more difficult.
Nearly all employees engage in, and justify, some type of workplace theft, whether it is a long distance phone call or a taking home office supplies. For the most part it is human to do so. When the line is crossed from occasional workplace theft to major workplace theft it becomes a more complicated topic.
Forensic, Organizational and Industrial Psychologists are still trying to understand the dynamics of employee workplace theft. That is, why one bites the hand that feeds them. Until then, workplace theft will continue, perhaps grow, and be as unpredictable as a thief in the night.
Dr. J. Davis Mannino is a professor of Psychology at SRJC
