The 7 deadly sins at work
The majority of workers have committed acts outside the established norms. Most are not overly serious things. However, after seeing the results of the study, you will think twice when you have the idea of leaving your things at the office. Let’s get a little traditional and start by breaking down the results, based on the 7 deadly sins.
Lust
When desire and passion take over us, there is nothing to do… Even if you are at work.
When we asked the participants if they had ever had sex at work, 15% of them confessed to having done it, at least once. Men (18%) claimed to have had sex in the workplace more than women (13%).
The same difference between genders applies in the answers about whether they have ever masturbated at work. Of the 17% of people who confessed to having done so, a difference of 20% can be seen in favor of men.
How do these situations arise during work hours? Maybe they started sending some nudes from the office bathroom. When asked if they ever took erotic photos from work, 18% of people confessed to having done so at least once.
Greed
The insatiable need to have it all: money, food, status, power. A little ambition at work is not a bad thing… is it?
When we asked participants if they had borrowed money from a coworker, without paying it back later, 17% confessed to having done it at least once. A quarter of all millennials confessed to having done so at least once, while older generations had a lower response rate.
Other workers simply steal material from the office. 45% of respondents have taken material from the company at least once and without returning it.
Here comes the worst: when evaluating the open responses about the worst they have seen someone do at work, this got out of hand. The most outlandish answer of all:
“One of my co-workers organized a fake robbery and locked two employees in a freezer and stole the office vault.”
Envy
When others have what you want, and you cannot, envy begins to flow through your veins.
Although, surely no one ever invented a story about a partner so that this would be to fire him… Or yes? Well, 7% have confessed to having done so. Who is the most common culprit? The rookie: 20% of people who have between one and two years of experience, confessed to having done it at least once.
A very questionable act that many people commit at work is checking your colleagues’ emails, conversations, or personal files. More than 30% have confessed it, being millennials the ones with the highest rate of all age groups (31%).
Anger
How far can envious anger go at work? Suppose a co-worker receives a raise that he does not deserve or that your boss puts you extra work. How would you react?
Some have even ended up in the hands. 16% of the participants claimed to have had a physical altercation at work at least once. Men (22%) gave an affirmative answer to this act, more than women (13%). In relation to those who work in the field of computer science, 1 in 5 professionals have had altercations with their colleagues.
The most conflict situations ended up being shown in our open-ended questions :
“I once deleted a colleague’s emails as revenge.”
“For a while, I was a coach team at McDonald’s. One day I saw a colleague spitting on a hamburger that was going to a policeman. He seemed to be in a hurry, so I didn’t say anything to him and handed it to him through the window.”
“I put some liquid THC in my manager’s tea.”
Pride
“I can do whatever I want and whenever I want, just watch, nobody knows will tell.”
Does this sound like someone you know? Maybe not, but think: Has your lunch or any personal item ever disappeared? That pride and esteem towards oneself as to take over the things of others prevails in many of our respondents.
40% of respondents confessed to having used personal items from their colleagues without asking permission. Besides, 27% of people confessed to having eaten a colleague’s lunch, again, without asking permission.
The same trend that we have seen so far in gender and age, continue with pride: men commit these acts 10% more than women. In turn, Millennials (37%) have done so more than all other age groups.
The most common work-related sin also falls into this category: looking over a colleague’s shoulders without their knowledge. A surprising 82% of respondents confessed to doing this. So keep this in mind the next time you use social media or the browser at work for your things.
Gluttony
What is the reason a co-worker would eat your lunch? Sure, you may have forgotten yours. But what if it was just the gluttony of the people?
No wonder most people have a sweet tooth. When participants were asked if they ever saw a colleague drunk on the job, almost half (48%) said yes. And the number is even higher (51%) for those who saw someone walk into work with a hangover.
The biggest sin of gluttony at work? You got drunk at work. 17% of those surveyed said they had done it at least once. Men (10%) did it more often than women. Many open responses point to drinking as the main sin at work.
Sloth
To begin with, more than ¼ of the participants (29%) confessed not having left the bathroom clean after using it. What if. Again, men (38%) avoided this more often than women (23%).
However, looking at many of the open-ended questions, you get a better idea of what laziness means at work: longer breaks, working just enough, being late, taking a nap at work… to name a few.
One of the respondents went as far as “go to work to open, leave for 8 hours and come back to close, not even a soul is felt”.
Conclusions
Whether masturbating at work, stealing office supplies, or firing a colleague, capital sins are common in the workplace. Let’s see a summary of the main findings of our study:
- 50% of the participants would inform their managers if they witnessed them
- 53% of the respondents confessed that they went to work with a hangover or saw a colleague drunk at work (37%)
- Almost half of the workers have taken material from the company and have not returned it
- 37% of people have used other colleagues’ objects without asking permission
