It’s no secret that employee theft in retail stores continues to rise. The amount of lost revenue is in the billions. There are many articles, memos, reports and studies about its affect on the bottom line. But, equally important, and less talked about, is the cost of employee theft on their managers.
Many managers say that “being betrayed” by employees who steal is “the last straw”. This last straw is the one that puts them “over the edge”, which creates burnout. Some of the symptoms of burnout are apathy, anger and unhappiness. Unfortunately, if a supervisor doesn’t recognize and deal with these symptoms a cycle starts.
She starts to resent the employees and dislike her job. The resentment spreads to upper management, customers, vendors and peers. Everyone reacts to her resentment with their own anger. Inevitably, the resentment causes bad behavior or acting out, which leads to an unending process of more hurt feelings and acting out.
The store becomes one of those stores – we’ve all been in them – where everyone has a bad attitude. By the time they’re that toxic it becomes difficult, if not impossible, to sort out whose “fault” the problems are, because both management and employees are responsible.
This cycle usually starts with supervisors who expect and want their employees to have personal relationships with them. They see the workplace as a social situation and the employees as friends. They want everyone to be “one big happy family”. When, not if, an employee is caught stealing he’s seen as a disloyal, unfaithful friend.
The manager’s resulting feeling of betrayal is a personal response, rather than a professional one. Personal response – How could he do that to me, after all I did for him? I treated him like a friend/family member. Professional response – This is disappointing. But, it just goes to show that you can never tell.
Employee theft will continue to be a major problem in retail. A smart, emotionally balanced manager will not take it personally, nor let it create a cycle of burnout. Establishing and keeping a boundary between work and home is a part of good mental health.
Nicole Abbott is a writer, business consultant and psycho-therapist with over 20 years of experience in the fields of mental health, business and addiction. She’s an educator, coach, lecturer, trainer and facilitator – who has conducted over 200 workshops, trainings, presentations, college classes and seminars.
