Someone at my office stole my headphones off my desk. Anything I can do?

Print out a few sheets of paper saying "Thou shalt not steal" and post it in the communal areas of your office.

I'm the principal of principle at my office and it works

Frustrated Accountant wrote:

To clarify, I'm not looking for a handout or reimbursement; my point is someone like this doesn't belong in a setting like this where people regularly leave much more valuable items on their desks. So I'd like them outed so other people know they work with a lowlife POS who is willing to steal things off peoples desks.

If it makes you feel any better, the same thing happened to me a few years ago. But it was a $200 Montblanc pen (which I'd received as a gift -- ridiculous thing to buy in my humble opinion). Two weeks after it vanished from my desk, one of the senior managers, two levels up from me, was sitting across from me in a meeting taking notes with the same model pen. Due to company politics I couldn't say much; asked him how long he'd had it and he said he couldn't remember. I never saw the pen again after that meeting. The guy was fired months later for messing up some project. Cold comfort...

Vaporflyer wrote:

Just report it to your boss and go buy a new set, If you're a millennial, then start a GoFundMe campaign to get a new set of headphones.

Frustrated Accountant wrote:

Nothing will come from reporting it. Maybe an email will be sent out, but that will be it. Besides, I don't really care about dropping $20 measly dollars for a new pair of headphones. It is the principle of it that bothers me, that people in an adult setting like an office would do something as childish as steal a $20 set of headphones.

Don't be a wuss.

The chances are that someone knows who took it and would shine the light on them, but won't do that unless they know someone cares.

Vaporflyer wrote:

Just report it to your boss and go buy a new set, If you're a millennial, then start a GoFundMe campaign to get a new set of headphones.

Frustrated Accountant wrote:

Nothing will come from reporting it. Maybe an email will be sent out, but that will be it. Besides, I don't really care about dropping $20 measly dollars for a new pair of headphones. It is the principle of it that bothers me, that people in an adult setting like an office would do something as childish as steal a $20 set of headphones.

Don't be a wuss.

The chances are that someone knows who took it and would shine the light on them, but won't do that unless they know someone cares.

Frustrated Accountant,

I've warned you that several times that the company policy is a maximum 45-minute lunch break. Last week you took lunch breaks of 47, 53, 46, 51, and 48 minutes. I took those head phones so that I could sell them and use the proceeds to pay the company back for the 20 minutes you stole last week. Would you rather I docked your pay?

Sincerely,

Your Boss

60 dollars an hour? Not bad!

Tell him you have an ear infection.

I WOULD EXERCISE MY SECOND AMENDMENT RIGHTS AND GIVE NO QUARTER.

I WOULD TAKE THEIR LIFE

YOU DO NOT DO THIS IN USA.

YOU COULD TAKE THEIR LIFE wrote:

I WOULD EXERCISE MY SECOND AMENDMENT RIGHTS AND GIVE NO QUARTER.

I WOULD TAKE THEIR LIFE

YOU DO NOT DO THIS IN USA.

This right here. Get a Don't Tread On Me flag and put it in our cublicle. I guarantee that the illegal alien that stole your hreadphones will never do it again.

What kind of dump do you work at? ?

Post a large sign saying:

"To the a**hole that stole my headphones, I hope you needed them more than me. You people are the worst"

Frustrated Accountant wrote:

Gravy wrote:

Yes. Literally nothing could go wrong with this.

Clue me in, what exactly is it you think could go wrong? Are you suggesting my employer might have some problem with me putting a hidden camera on my desk? If anything, I would think they would be far more concerned with the existence of someone at the office who is willing to steal anything they think they can get away with.

It's ok until someone discovers that you've installed hidden cameras. Then they start thinking you're some kind of stalker or peeping Tom.

When you try to explain that it's just to try and track down who stole your headphones they won't believe it because you never reported it.

As for your employer they would probably be more bothered by the cameras than the theft. Neither is desirable but having someone who thinks they can be judge and jury and take action into their own hands like this marks the employee as a loose cannon.

Clued in wrote:

It's ok until someone discovers that you've installed hidden cameras. Then they start thinking you're some kind of stalker or peeping Tom.

When you try to explain that it's just to try and track down who stole your headphones they won't believe it because you never reported it.

As for your employer they would probably be more bothered by the cameras than the theft. Neither is desirable but having someone who thinks they can be judge and jury and take action into their own hands like this marks the employee as a loose cannon.

Hey, you got something to hide?

Go ahead and put a hidden camera on your desk, and then you can see what is happening.

The way around that is to install VISIBLE cameras, preferably several. Add a couple of bright spotlights, aimed straight at your paperclip tray. That'll deter them.

The camera would only be able to see within my cube, there is no reasonable expectation of privacy within the office, and certainly not for other people entering my cube. I am not a peeping tom for monitoring MY cube. As far as being "judge and jury and taking action into my own hands", no. I will be taking anything I find directly to HR, and letting them decide what they want to do (I would recommend they be fired). I am buying a camera today.

You are just an apologist for the scum who think they can get away with stealing.

Look forward to hearing how this all goes for you.

If you can't understand that installing hidden cameras on your employer's premises is something they won't enodrse then crack on.

If you have a HR dept then I'm sure there is a Security team/dept/firm in charge of building security and you ought raise it with them.

You keep using the word "installing" which makes it sound a lot more invasive. It is not like I am drilling holes in the wall and hooking up a hidden camera. Try a new picture frame, or a clock SITTING on MY desk.

You are fabulous. I don't know if you're trolling me but I'm enjoying it nonetheless :-)

Instead of either just reporting it to your manager, to HR, or the Security team - which would all be simple and reasonable things to do - you go straight to a Code Red, Defcon 5 and become the office vigilante.

I'm hoping you're in America because what you're suggesting is illegal in Europe.

Anyway you do realise that when you say "SITTING on MY desk", it's the company's desk and premises which you'll be doing your covert surveillance at.

What exactly do you think reporting it to HR would do? I'm not Psychic, but I'll tell you right now.

Nothing.

Which I'm sure you are more than happy with. Personally, I like to see people held accountable for their actions. No one else should even be in my cube anyway. So if people aren't in my cube, taking my stuff, they have nothing to worry about.

And FYI, I could just as easily "accidentally" leave my work laptop camera on to accomplish the same thing. Think my boss would have a problem with that too?