If the employee theft is lower than wages are higher. So says a recent study co-written by University of Illinois Professor, Clara Xialing Chen. The study was reported on PhysOrg.Com.
According to the article….”Using data sets from the convenience-store industry, Clara Xiaoling Chen, a professor of accountancy, and co-author Tatiana Sandino, of the University of Southern California, found that after controlling for each store’s employee characteristics, monitoring environment and socio-economic environment, relative wages – that is, wages relative to those received by other employees performing similar jobs in the same sector and region – were negatively associated with employee theft.”
The article reports that previous studies concentrated mostly on the relationship between employee theft and employee turnover.
According to the researchers, paying employees a better wage results in less employee theft for two reasons. Better wages tend to attract a better class of worker. And those making decent bucks, are less inclined to risk getting fired, especially for stealing. Factor in a wavering economy, and it is all the more reason workers want to hold onto those jobs.
This makes perfect sense to me. I believe one first tries positive reinforcement with employees. Better wages, recognition for a job well done, keeping the stress factor to a minimum and rooting out workplace bullies all contribute to a happier and, subsequently, more productive. employee.
