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. So warns Banner Business Services, after a recent survey suggested 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 said to be 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, as suppliers of office products and services, 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
The firm is suggesting offices up and down the country to tighten their stationery security.
Patton adds: “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.”
About Banner Business Services
Banner employs more than 1000 people across the UK with offices in Norwich and depots in Hampshire, Manchester and Northern Ireland. Banner routinely makes more than 7,500 deliveries a day to customers.
