Mistreating workers boosts employee theft.

One of the best ways to minimize employee theft may be to treat workers with fairness and compassion. Research shows that they often steal as retaliation against their employers, indicates Jerald Greenberg, the Abramowitz Professor of Business Ethics at Ohio State University's Max M. Fisher College of Business.

Theft by employees costs American businesses about $120,000,000,000 annually and is expected to grow to $200,000,000,000 a year by 2000, according to some estimates. Most of this results not from dramatic heists, but from everyday pilferage of petty cash and supplies.

How can companies minimize employee theft? Greenberg suggests:

* Enhance perceptions of pay equity. The more workers believe they are being treated fairly, the less likely they will steal. Some companies have established corporate hotlines people can call to address questions about their pay. This can minimize untrue perceptions of inequity.

* Treat employees with respect and compassion. Although it may be...