Office Supplies form Work

[safari]

I've never bought any office supplies, always got them from work. Pens, pencils, sharpies, highlighters, staplers, binder clips, scissors, paper, envelops, post-it notes, notebooks, etc. Never felt guilty about it.

[lrjohnson]

Never on purpose. Like Bookie, I pick up a lot of pens-in my hair, in my bag, etc.-and everynow and then I have to bring a stack back to work.

When I did a big decluttering a while ago, I brought a bunch of non work pens and pencils to work.

I have paid for office supplies myself if it is a costlier item.

I work for government. This is a huge ethical issue for me. I think taking items without permission is stealing. For me that would be stealing from Californians.

I don't like the argument that taking supplies can make up for some other wrong-I really believe that two wrongs do not make a right.

I never ever use the internet at work for personal use. It's the policy. It doesn't matter that it doesn't cost them anything if i did it on my lunch....I'm not supposed to do it and I don.t

[Elgin526]

I take the occasional pen. We have really nice pens and I can't find them in the stores for some reason. Oh, and paper clips, I never remember to buy them myself so I'll take the occasional handfull to bring home. Otherwise, we don't have much worth taking!

[sakigt]

I mainly use the photocopy machine at work, but my boss said that since its school related and work is paying for school its all good

[miclason]

we all use the printer/copier for personal stuff -- our boss is ok with it, because it would be "more expensive" for him/the company to have us leave for 1 hour or so to have it done somewhere else...I take pens and pencils...usually, the one I'm using gets carried around in my purse whenever I leave the office (whatever stays on my desk just disappears overnight!)...oh, I take the scotch tape...I don't feel guilty about it, as I try not to abuse it (I take 1 roll of tape every 6 months or so, for example) and, whenever I'm asked to go do office-related stuff (like purchase things or go to government offices) I mostly use my car and my gas (which I don't get reimbursed for!), so I figure things are more or less even!

[jodi]

I will admit to using the fax and copier on occasion for personal work - maybe once a month. But as far as taking anything, I don't. I wouldn't feel right about it, and personally, there is nothing at work that I need at home! We have more pens and paper clips than we can use in ten years at home.

[frugalmomof1]

Ok.....I do use the printer sometimes, but everyone else does, too...including the VP. So I guess it's ok.

[rob62521]

Originally Posted by tinapbeana

sadly, i can actually sit down with quill or office depot catalog (you know the one, the size of the old sears book!) and be entertaining for hours! gosh, i'm such a dork...

Nah, you aren't a dork! You just enjoy cheap entertainment!

[Hez]

I mindlessly take pens by throwing them in my purse when I'm done with them (it's often easier than putting them away properly). But they'll remain in my purse so the next time I need them I'll take them back out again. My bosses do the same thing...if we don't have enough pens to go around that day, they'll reach into their purses and pull out a handful, haha.

I do, however, take paperclips without returning them. I don't use paperclips enough to justify buying a box of them, so I just take what I need. We rarely use them at work, anyway...so I don't feel guilty about it.

[pearlieq]

Back when I actually worked in the office, I would occasionally use office supplies for personal projects (I would print or fax things) but didn't take things home, if only for the reason that I have no real need for office supplies at home.

I'm sure pens migrated back and forth quite often, so that was a wash. Now that I'm at home, I have to supply my own printer paper, but that's really all I need since 99% of my work is computer based.

Even if I wanted to filch office supplies, I would have had a tough time. We had this admin-Nazi who sat right next to the supply closet. You couldn't even walk over and pick up your own pack of post-its. You had to fill out a request and have her take them out of the closet for you. I don't miss her!!!

[PRICEPLUS]

I guess for most folks it is a matter of doing work at home or a little give and take that evens out in the end. I was half expecting people to tell me tales of supplies going home for the home office and the kiddies school supplies! I guess it is not as common as I thought!

[rob62521]

Or, these folks don't want to own up to it!

[ren]

Well, I figure it like this -- I work for a branch office of a corporation. Home office only gives us so much money a year. Now, the question is, would I rather steal a ton of office supplies (or make a bunch of personal calls long distance on the company phone) or would I rather have a nice raise next year? No contest.