Office Thief Takes Advantage Of More Than Just Employer Provided Goodies — Counseling Corner

Every Thursday we highlight a problem from a listener. We give our advice and ask other listeners to offer advice. Welcome to the Counseling Corner.

Dear Brain,

I am at the end of my rope with a coworker right now. This person I work with, let's call her Veronica, is the ultimate leech. The company we work for is really great and provides free food for all the different teams when they do a good job. Veronica has decided that this means everything in the kitchen is a free for all!

She started at the company just after I did about 6 months ago so we're sort of close since we did most of our training and everything together. I didn't really notice her nasty habit at first but I definitely think it's gotten worse the longer we've been working here. A few weeks ago we had a fundraiser event for children with cancer and there was food and beverages there. Well, Veronica decided to start stockpiling juice pouches to put in her desk drawer! There were even left overs in the office on Monday morning and she spent a large portion of the day bringing snacks and drinks from the event back to her desk a little at a time.

Most of the people in the office are aware of her habit at this point and a lot of us have stopped leaving our lunches in the fridge because she's been known to pilfer a sandwich here and there. The only one who doesn't seem to know what's happening is our boss! I'd really like to say something to him but I don't want to seem like I'm being petty or a tattletale. Plus, despite all her flaws, she's kind of my friend and I'd hate for her to know it was me that turned her in. But at the same time, I can't keep working in an environment like this! Please help?

Sincerely,

"Nina"

What Our Listeners Think:

Chris experienced something similar at his work place. A group of people spoke to the boss about it and they had an all staff meeting where they addressed the problem. It was still happening so the boss spoke to just the culprit and then the stealing stopped.

Crystal suggested Nina record Veronica stealing from the fridge and leave the video footage on her boss' desk for him to see.

Mike went through the same situation at work. He started putting his food in a plain brown paper bag with his name on it so that it was clear who it belonged to and he said there was never a problem with anyone taking his food.

Several people commented on the KHAK Facebook page saying that Nina should tamper with the food in the fridge somehow whether it be putting on really spicy hot sauce or making something with laxatives in it.

Phyllis thinks Nina should take Veronica out for drinks after work and address the issue directly with her since they are friends.

What We Think:

Bob thinks that because she works there, the leftovers provided by the company are something that she's certainly entitled to.  However, what she shouldn't be doing is taking and stock piling food that belongs to others.  Maybe simply putting a note on the refrigerator that says, "Please do not taking anything that isn't yours," might do the trick.  If not, you could always shadow her every time she leaves her desk.  Ok, maybe not.  If all else fails someone, or a group of someone's is going to have to take it to the boss to put it to a stop.