经济低迷意味着许多公司将处理不必要的或利润较低的服务，但正如最近的研究表明的那样，背景调查不应该是其中之一。事实是，在艰难的经济时期，员工盗窃行为有增加的趋势。

人们和企业一样，都在努力削减开支并最大限度地利用他们目前拥有的资源。然而，人们可支配的资源往往是公司的财产。

随着经济陷入困境，工人带来的风险只会增加。企业生产力研究所 (i4cp) 于 2008 年 12 月发表的一项研究发现，在拥有 10,000 名或更多员工的公司中，有 31% 的公司表示，他们注意到公司自有物品被盗的情况有所增加，例如办公用品、他们生产的产品、经济衰退以来的电子设备和食品。

这些数字对大公司是一个非常严重的警告，这些公司在这次经济危机中越来越依赖临时工。不幸的是，许多人只是将这种盗窃行为视为一种获得他们没有在薪水中获得的东西的方式。

工作场所犯罪的威胁实际上超出了实物盗窃的范围。事实上，在大公司（拥有 10,000 名或更多员工的公司）中，27% 的受访者表示，在当前的经济危机期间，工作场所的犯罪率总体上有所上升。

这包括各种各样的违规行为，例如时间盗窃——员工将公司财产（例如计算机）用于个人用途。在经济不景气的情况下，24% 的公司认为时间盗窃是一个日益严重的问题。

似乎在工作时间担心员工还不够，32% 的大型组织的外部犯罪活动有所增加。这种工作场所外的犯罪不仅对组织有直接影响，而且还揭示了一个事实，即越来越多的员工更倾向于寄生而不是对公司有利。

许多公司已经评估了这种风险，并已采取措施保护自己免受可能试图欺诈他们的人的侵害。19% 的公司并没有试图通过放松背景审查服务来削减成本，而是在雇用新员工之前更加关注背景调查。

background screening should not be one of them.  The truth is, in harsh economic times there is a tendency to see increases in employee theft.

People, like businesses, are trying to cut spending and maximize the resources that they currently have.  Too often, however, the resources people have at their disposal are actually the company’s property.

The risk posed by workers is only increasing as the economy stumbles. A study published in December 2008 by the Institute for Corporate Productivity (i4cp) found that 31% of companies with 10,000 or more workers said they’ve noticed an increase in the theft of company-owned items such as office supplies, products they produce, electronic equipment and food items since the economic downturn.

These numbers serve as a very serious warning to large companies that, in this economic crunch, have become increasingly reliant on contingent workers. Unfortunately, many people simply see this theft as a way of getting what they’re not getting in their paychecks.

The threat of workplace crime actually extends beyond the bounds of physical theft. In fact, 27% of respondents in large companies—those with 10,000 or more employees—said crime in general has risen in the workplace during the current economic crisis.

This is inclusive of a wide variety of violations such as time thefts—employees using company property, such as computers, for personal use. Time theft was cited as being a growing problem by 24% of all companies in the down economy.

As if worrying about employees during work hours wasn’t enough, external criminal activity has increased in 32% of large organizations. This outside-the-workplace crime not only has a direct impact on organizations, but it also reveals the fact that there is a growing number of employees who are more prone to be parasitic than beneficial to a company.

Many companies have assessed this risk and have made moves to protect themselves from those who might try to defraud them. Rather than trying to cut costs by loosening background screening services, 19% of companies overall are paying more attention to background checks prior to the hiring of new workers.