Investigating the Causes, Consequences, and Mechanisms of Employee Time Theft at the Workplace

Abstract Book of the 9th World Conference on Management, Business and Economics

Year: 2026

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Investigating the Causes, Consequences, and Mechanisms of Employee Time Theft at the Workplace

Upasna Bhunjun Gokhool

ABSTRACT:

Organisations have long struggled to find ways to reduce unethical behaviours among employees. Unfortunately, employee time theft is a widespread issue and major concern for every organisation. This issue can have various consequences and implications, including decreased productivity, increased labour cost, lower morale, undermining company culture and compromised quality of work. Investigating time theft is essential, as employees frequently engage in unethical activities, and the repercussions can be costly for businesses and their staff. Thus, the research aims to assess the impact of time theft at the workplace, aiming to gain a deep understanding of its implications on organisational performance, employee engagement and overall workplace dynamics. To address this gap in the literature, the theory of planned behaviour was used to establish the relationship between time theft and the behaviour of an individual at work. A questionnaire was administered and drawing from a sample of 306 employees, the findings showed that there is a positive relationship between employees’ attitudes and their intentions to engage in time theft. Furthermore, it was observed that the majority of the employees have committed time theft at the workplace and among the different types of time theft noted, employees have been engaged in more than one type of time theft.

Keywords: Employee Performance; Productivity; Time Stealing; Unethical; Workplace