London Workers Most Happy to Bend Office Rules
Workers' attitudes to misdemeanours in the office vary considerably depending on where they are in the UK, a survey conducted by bCentral.co.uk (who offer information and advice to businesses across the UK) has concluded. London workers are most likely to accept a fair degree of rule-bending, whereas those from Northern Ireland and Wales have much tougher attitudes.
The survey of company owners, managers and other workers from a range of business sectors has rated how "sackable" they regard various office misdemeanours.
It also showed that workers who are discovered installing unlicensed software are more likely to get the sack than those caught exaggerating their expenses, throwing a sicky or turning up to work with a hangover.
The 1300 respondents to the bCentral* survey were asked how "sackable" they regard a variety of office misdemeanours. They rated each of them on a scale from 0% (for 'no problem at all') to 100% (for 'a sackable offence').
Overall, the misdemeanours were placed in the following order, from the most serious to the least serious, with their average 'sacking' rating in brackets:
1. Installing unlicensed or pirated software (81%)
2. Exaggerating expenses (78%)
3. Using the phone to make international personal calls (68%)
4. Throwing a sicky (62%)
5. Using the franking machine to send personal letters (59%)
6. Turning up for work with a hangover (52%)
7. Falling asleep in the toilet (51%)
From the questions posed, the most serious office offence was judged to be 'installing unlicensed or pirated software'. This can take a number of forms, including licence abuse (where software is copied onto more PCs than are covered by the licence) and using counterfeit product (where software has been illegally duplicated and often re-packaged).
Microsoft's Licence Compliance head, Alex Hilton, explains: "Despite this being rated as the misdemeanour most likely to get you the sack, nearly one in every three PCs in the UK is running pirated or unlicensed software. In terms of licence misuse, we're working with businesses to
convey the importance of using genuine, licensed software - it is an important part of business health. With genuine software, a business gets a reliable product, security and support, which help keep its systems and people working productively."
David Frost, director general, British Chambers of Commerce adds: "The rise of unlicensed software and inappropriate email or internet content is rightly of concern to a company: it can be extremely damaging to its reputation if its name is linked to the latest scandal and, in the case of
software piracy, can attract heavy fines. Employees must take into account that their actions can impact on the health of their company and ultimately on whether that company is able to employ a workforce. Managers are right, therefore, to act in the interests of safeguarding the company
against a few rogue elements."
Other findings to come out of the survey showed marked differences in attitudes between workers in different business sectors, regions and job
roles.
Business Sector
Within specific business areas, the most lenient workers overall are those in the legal sector. Collectively, they gave the selection of
misdemeanours the lowest average 'sacking' rating (58%); the next most tolerant sectors were marketing (61%) and IT (62%). However, those in HR
(74%), no doubt with their strong appreciation of employment law, clearly take the hardest line on office misdemeanours.
Workers in finance take a middle-ground position on breaking rules in the office, but ironically, they regard 'exaggerating your expenses' less
seriously than workers in any other sector.
Regional location
Workers' attitudes to office misdemeanours also vary considerably depending on where they are in the UK. London workers (59%) are the most
tolerant, whereas those from Northern Ireland (70%) and Wales (68%) take a much harder line on the offences.
Job position
Job position also has a surprising effect. Business owners and managers regard office misdemeanours generally less seriously, than their junior
staff. Directors (64%), for example, gave an overall 'sacking' rating lower than other non-managerial employees (69%).
However, when it comes to assessing the most serious misdemeanour - installing unlicensed or pirated software - the story is different.
Business owners (85%) rate this offence more strongly than their junior workers (78%).
Frost adds: "These findings show that companies are managing employees more effectively. Behaviour traditionally expected to result in the sack
is now more closely monitored and issues can be quickly addressed. Companies tread a fine line between a devil-may-care attitude and being
regarded as heavy-handed but it is an area that has had to improve as it can impact on a firm's ability to compete in the international market."
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