Last week after work I went straight to my son’s school for a “volunteer” meeting they were having for all the parents.
I had a pad of paper in my car from home, but as I’m getting ready to walk out realized I didn’t have a pen. I grabbed the one off my desk and rushed to the mtg.
When I got home I absentmindedly put the pen on the counter as I’m looking for something in my purse.
Unbeknownst to me at the time….the next morning my husband leaves for work and takes the pen. I had already forgot about the pen.
The next morning my husband says to me that he loves that pen I brought home and asked where I got it. My husband is a cop and the department supplies pens that my husband has never liked.
It occurred to me he was talking about my work pen that I took to the meeting so I just said I needed it back to take to work.
We got into a small debate about stealing office supplies and my husband said it’s just one pen and that he would buy a box of them from Staples.
My opinion was, but we didn’t pay for it so thus it’s stealing. It costs the company money and I’ve heard stealing office supplies has become very rampant. All this as the kids are upstairs getting ready for school.
I’m sure you all see the irony in this = he’s a cop right LOL!!
Do you consider one pen stealing? Have you done that? Am I being silly or what? Maybe it’s just my integrity in all this!! By the way I’ve been with the company for 10 years and have never taken any office supplies home.
You all are making me laugh and feel better! I needed that this mundane Monday morning!
if you were taking supplies home all the time, I would worry, but one pen, on accident....i doubt you'll break the bank. :-)
I think it was an honest mistake and you would not be guilty of stealing office supplies...I might even let the hubs keep the pen since he likes it so much, however if it were just me, I totally would have taken the pen back to work with me...but I am a stress case that way!
I agree with Workinmom... the intent was not to steal. Now if you go into work knowingly taking pens, papers, photocopies then yes it is stealing.
I used to work for a vocational school as an instructor. Here's how I look at it. When someone walks through the front door to check in/register, they accidently take the pen they signed in with. When I used to take roll, and someone had to sign in late, they carried my pen off. Should I call the cops because they have now stolen a pen...lol, no.
One pen here or there is no big deal. It happens, and is almost always due to just habit of carrying the pen off. Taking boxes of pens home, stacks of printer paper, tons of post-it notes, a stapler, now all of that is stealing company supplies.
Relax...let your husband keep the pen. =)
LOL ok so I find the humor in this and while one can appreciate your honesty I don't think one pen is that big of a deal to have an entire discussion over!!!...But you made me smile so thank for that :)
I don't consider a pen stealing... There have been many times that I wrote a check somewhere, and accidentally took a pen, I have pens from many companies now, I just see it as marketing for the company LOL! A pen costs about 5 cents when bought in bulk....
it was an honest mistake..not stealing!
I guess technically it's called stealing; however, the cost of the pen to your company was probably little more than 1 penny...but on principle, I guess it's stealing. I'm sure companies assume workers will put the pen in their purse, intentionally or unintentionally, and factor lost pens in the equation when they are ordering supplies. I personally think a pen isn't worth the time or effort of even thinking about it. If it has your company's logo on it they probably want it to get around as a form of advertising. If it's one pen in a blue moon, rest easy. However, if you're taking home bunches of them...along with copy paper & coffee filters & paper clips, then you are a kleptomaniac!
I honestly don't worry about things like pens, because I bring so many of my own that I like into work, and people take them all the time. So if I take a pen here or there not thinking about it, I don't really worry about it. More than that is an issue though!
Agree with Joanna F. It's one pen.
I wouldn't worry about one pen, but at the same time yeah I would have returned or replaced it. It is one thing when you accidentally take something home and another if you take it on purpose to take and use from home.
I used to accidentally take them home from all the time in my scrub pockets then about once a month I would bring my stash back, lol. I wasn't the only one bringing back a bag of pens every couple of weeks. Sometimes I ended up with a couple of pens and a leash or two around my arm when I went home. 99% of everything made it back into work, I did end up keeping one of the leashes in my car as a spare, never know when you are going to need it and I used it at least once in the parking lot when there was a loose dog and I hadn't even been in the office yet. Then again we had one kind of pen and if I carried them around I broke 2-3 day in my pocket, no idea how but happened every time. I'm sure they lost more of those pens to me then the other kind and they never left work.
Technically it is stealing and if it bothers you so much, you should just buy a box for your home, returning the one you took from work. To me it is just one pen and you clearly don't plan on stealing on a large scale. Don't sweat the small stuff. Personally I buy my own pens and pencils for work because I'm a self-confessed pen snob. To offset sticky fingers I buy purple and pink pens and Hello Kitty pencils. Since my coworkers are largely male, you'd be amazed how fast my pens and pencils make their way back to my desk when I misplace one. :)
Ok, so I don't think that you stole it (at the time that you mistakenly took it home with you.) That being said, once you realized that you had taken the pen from your work, you should replace it. Sorry, I'm a stickler for law and order. :)
Well, when I worked in an office, half of the pens I brought from home walked off with clients or someone else, and sometimes pens from there would end up with me. Not intentionally, but like you described an absent mindly ended up in my notebook or something. I figured, it balanced out... probably I lost more than the company b/c I always had to replace office pens that walked off my desk by others.
But, if you do the math... say the office goes through one box of pens a week, which could be typical in my experience, and one box is $6 and there are 52 weeks in a year... then that's $312 a year... on pens. Now, cheaper pens are worth less than that, but you described this as a pretty nice one. But to clarify, no... one pen taken by accident isn't stealing, but I would take it back to work too if I still had it.
Ooohh!!! Christmas stocking stuffer!!!!! Birthday package toppers!! Father's Day gifts!!! Just because gifts.... Most wives have to wonder and guess what to get for their husbands. Now you know!!
The intent was not to steal, it was an accident. I travel for work, so always have supplies in my bag, that sometimes end up at the house, and are used. Other supplies from home end up in the bag and are used at work. I CONSTANTLY lose pens. If it really bothers you though, find out what type of pens they are, buy a box for home, and return that one.
OMG. I think every pen we have came from work, work travel (hotel pen) or a golf tournament. So clearly no I don't consider it stealing.
I don't think 1 pen is stealing office supplies. I think if you are taking stacks of paper etc is stealing.
Its a pen, you were going to take it back. I think your ok.
It's just one pen - and you didn't mean to take it, it was an accident. It's not like you bringing home entire packages of pens, toner cartridges, printer paper, etc.
Whenever we've eaten out with my MIL, she swipes all the stuff she can. Ketchup packets, sugar packets, napkins, etc. I understand she's basically been poor her entire life and always had to be frugal, but it's kind of embarrassing. It's like, we can afford a bottle of ketchup! Take that stuff out of your purse!
I try not to take pens from people but sometimes I accidentally walk away with one and it ends up home. Then I don't go out of my way to return it. No big deal!
I think about these sorts of things all the time!!!! Like if i know we are low on Tp at home and if i just take the extra roll in the company john, then i woun't have to stop on the way home in the middle of a thunderstorm. cuz really it's just one roll, not that expensive, it is provided for my use etc etc. but I have never actually taken any because, I do think it's stealing and who the heck really wants that scratchy TP anyways- i think your pen issue only became stealing when your cop husband knowingly took it, it's the inention, But If you both promise not to do it again, i'll let you off with a warning. :)
Its one pen and an accident that you were going to return. This my dear is not "stealing", this is "borrowing". Geez, you'd be the worst criminal ever! :) The company probably has a little slush fund in their office supply budget for this sort of thing anyway. In the restaurant biz they call this the "Q" factor. They make the food budget, then they take a little percent and tack it on to account for things that are acciddently spilled, burned, tasted, sent back, snuck out by the kitchen crew, etc and call it the "Q" factor. See, bosses aren't so dumb!
You however - shouldn't definately return it!!! Or it will eat you alive!!! :)
I'm not as worried about the pen as I am about your husband's attitude. You wanted to take the pen back to work, and even if he thinks you are overreacting, he should get it back to you. Instead he debated you. I don't think the pen is the real issue here, not that you asked. ;) I'm hyper-vigilant about these things because my husband is super-controlling, and unless I fight some of the tiny battles from time to time (like over a pen, truly), he starts to get really out of hand and challenge me on every small detail of our lives (asking if our child really needs new shoes for school, why I moved a throw pillow from the sofa to the chair, can I start hanging the dish towels in a certain way, etc.).
I say there are degrees of culpability, and you are guilty at a low level (neglect). You weren't paying attention at the time. Still guilty and can't be making a habit of it. Then, your hyper sensitive conscience caught you! Take 2 pens back right away!
Hahaha! You're so funny, and I can relate to your thinking process. You think that if a person can take a pen, then they can take a box, right? I am glad you guard yourself well. Now, forgive yourself. Don't judge the hubby - he will use it well. He may feel entitled to a good tool... get him some!
