Who’s The Real Time Thief?

The Busyness Paradox

Mar 22 2023 • 45 mins

It’s that time of year when endless news reports about March Madness-related “time theft” bubble up to the surface (get it? like teams on the bubble? anyone?) They all bemoan the incalculable dollar amount, which dozens of studies nonetheless claim to calculate, lost to employees watching basketball instead of working. Our take: if your employees are doing what you pay them to do and you’re furious that they didn’t do more because they were watching basketball, you’re the time thief.

Mentioned in this episode:

Who’s The Real Time Thief?

March Madness Underscores Cost of Workplace Time Theft

Stealing time at work: Attitudes, social pressure, and perceived control as predictors of time theft. Journal of Business Ethics, 94, 53-67.

Employee time theft: Conceptualization, measure development, and validation. Personnel Psychology, 75, 347-382.

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