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MENLO PARK, Calif., April 9, 2014 -- As Tax Day approaches, people will be lining up at the post office to send off their income tax returns, but there might be a line at the office printer, too, suggests a new survey by Accountemps. Thirty percent of workers interviewed said it's common for employees to use company resources like the copier or printer to complete their personal income tax paperwork. Furthermore, 30 percent of workers also said it's common for employees to spend time on personal income tax preparation during business hours.
The survey was developed by Accountemps, the world's first and largest specialized staffing service for temporary accounting, finance and bookkeeping professionals, and conducted by an independent research firm. It includes responses from 463 employees 18 years of age and older who work in an office environment.
Workers were asked, "In your opinion, how common is it for employees at your firm to spend time on personal income tax preparation (e.g., printing paperwork, filling out forms, talking to their accountant) during work hours?" Their responses:
|
Very common |
9% |
|
Somewhat common |
21% |
|
Somewhat uncommon |
20% |
|
Not common at all |
45% |
|
Don't know/no answer |
6% |
|
101%* |
*Responses do not total 100 percent due to rounding.
Workers also were asked, "In your opinion, how common is it for employees at your firm to use company resources (e.g., copier, printer, scanner, mailroom) to complete personal income tax paperwork?" Their responses:
|
Very common |
11% |
|
Somewhat common |
19% |
|
Somewhat uncommon |
16% |
|
Not common at all |
48% |
|
Don't know/no answer |
6% |
|
100% |
View an infographic of the research findings.
"While the lines between work and personal hours have blurred in recent years, it's never a good idea to use company time or equipment to prepare your taxes," said Max Messmer, chairman of Accountemps and author of Managing Your Career For Dummies® (John Wiley & Sons, Inc.). "Beyond the time-theft issues, it's risky to have personal financial documents floating around the workplace or stored in your office copier's hard drive."
Messmer added, "Employees shouldn't go overboard and let productivity suffer because of last-minute tax scrambling."
About Accountemps
Accountemps, a Robert Half company, is the world's first and largest specialized staffing service for temporary accounting, finance and bookkeeping professionals. The staffing firm has 345 offices worldwide. More resources, including online job search services and the Accountemps blog, can be found at accountemps.com.
SOURCE Accountemps