Ethical Question: On Time Theft

[Jeff616]

I recently had a really bad experience with a co-worker who was never on the job. It was my problem because he was supposed to be helping me with a job, but kept disappearing for long periods with no explanation.

I was just wondering. I know that almost everyone wastes time at work at one time or another, but at what point does it become sinful? Or is it sinful at all? Is it immediately? Or does intent come into the picture? Is it mortal or venial sin?

Any thoughts?

 

[Evania]

I think we will all stand before Our Lord and give him an account of the time He gave us. We all know right from wrong. It’s not sinful if we indulge in some form of relaxation in moderation, but if we neglect our duties whatever they may be, then it is sinful. In the case of wasting time at work, a person is being paid to do a job, and if they are accepting the money without working for it, it is stealing. As to what type of sin, mortal or venial, I guess it would depend.

 

[nodito]

That sounds really frustrating. Have you asked your co-worker why he kept leaving? Could he have been feeling unwell? Having a personal or family crisis?

I think normally we’d have to make distrinction between degrees of time theft. It might only be a venial sin to take an extra half hour at lunch one day or to waste some time playing tetris but it would be more serious to skip out after lunch every day if you knew your boss wouldn’t notice. I think we’d need to take into account whether the employee was truly stealing time or if there was some compelling reason why s/he needed to leave work during normal operating hours.

 

[KrazyKat]

I recently had a really bad experience with a co-worker who was never on the job. It was my problem because he was supposed to be helping me with a job, but kept disappearing for long periods with no explanation.

I was just wondering. I know that almost everyone wastes time at work at one time or another, but at what point does it become sinful? Or is it sinful at all? Is it immediately? Or does intent come into the picture? Is it mortal or venial sin?

Any thoughts?

Not doing your job, wasting time, is stealing. It is a sin.

 

[Qoeleth]

I recently had a really bad experience with a co-worker who was never on the job. It was my problem because he was supposed to be helping me with a job, but kept disappearing for long periods with no explanation.

I was just wondering. I know that almost everyone wastes time at work at one time or another, but at what point does it become sinful? Or is it sinful at all? Is it immediately? Or does intent come into the picture? Is it mortal or venial sin?

Any thoughts?

I would suggest simply following your reaction. If it occurs to you “Hey, I am actually stealing by wasting time like this”, then you probably are. But, if for example, you stop from time to time to refresh yourself, then it is OK. When a person is being paid, it does not make them simply a machine for the duration of the paid time. Everyone has times of stopping (whether to drink coffee, or whatever).

Ultimately, the responsibility is with the employer. If the employer is not happy with how much work someone gets done, they are at liberty to sack them. It is not really the employee’s moral responsibility to set his or her own standard of productivity. In this context, it could be foolish (but not sinful) for someone to slack off too much (if they want to keep their job).

But if there was deception involved, that would be another matter.