We asked: What do you think is the main reason why employees steal from the companies they work for?
Total votes: 261
Poll Results:
Low salaries → 145 votes (55.6%)
Greed and lack of integrity → 36 votes (13.8%)
Opportunity — they see a gap and take advantage → 36 votes (13.8%)
Lack of proper internal controls and oversight → 18 votes (6.9%)
Financial pressure from debts or family obligations → 15 votes (5.7%)
Feeling undervalued or mistreated → 9 votes (3.4%)
Influence from friends or colleagues → 2 votes (0.8%)
We asked: Do you think employees would stop stealing if salaries were increased to above fair market levels?
Total votes: 274
Poll Results:
It will reduce stealing, but not completely → 196 votes (71.5%)
No, those who steal will continue stealing → 66 votes (24.1%)
Yes, higher salaries would stop stealing → 12 votes (4.4%)
Key Findings:
Low Salaries Blamed for Employee Theft: With 55.6% identifying low salaries as the main reason employees steal, more than half believe inadequate compensation drives workplace theft, far outweighing character flaws (13.8% for greed) or opportunity (13.8%).
But Higher Pay Won’t Solve It: Despite blaming low salaries, 71.5% believe raising salaries to above market levels would only reduce, not eliminate, stealing. An additional 24.1% believe thieves will continue regardless of pay, meaning 95.6% recognize that better compensation alone cannot stop employee theft.
The Paradox: Respondents simultaneously believe low salaries cause stealing (55.6%) yet higher salaries would not stop it (95.6% say it will either continue or only partially reduce). This reveals understanding that while inadequate pay motivates some theft, other factors like greed, opportunity, weak controls, and personal character also drive stealing behavior.
What This Means:
The 55.6% blaming low salaries reflects legitimate grievances about compensation in Zimbabwe where many employees struggle to meet basic needs on inadequate wages. When workers cannot afford rent, food, school fees, and transport, the temptation to supplement income through theft becomes powerful, especially when they see employers making profits while paying poverty wages.
However, the 71.5% believing higher salaries would only reduce, not eliminate, theft shows practical wisdom. People recognize that some employees steal regardless of compensation due to greed, lack of integrity, seeing opportunity, or justifying it through entitlement. The 24.1% saying thieves will continue stealing regardless reflects the belief that dishonest people will find reasons to steal no matter how well they are paid.
The contradiction between these two poll results highlights a nuanced understanding: low salaries create desperation that pushes otherwise honest people toward theft, but raising salaries addresses only one motivation while leaving others intact. Greed (13.8%), opportunity (13.8%), weak controls (6.9%), and character flaws persist regardless of compensation levels.
Key Takeaway:
Zimbabweans identify low salaries (55.6%) as the main driver of employee theft, far exceeding greed (13.8%), opportunity (13.8%), or weak controls (6.9%). However, 95.6% believe that raising salaries to above market levels would either only partially reduce stealing (71.5%) or not reduce it at all (24.1%), with just 4.4% believing higher pay would eliminate theft. This reveals pragmatic understanding that while inadequate compensation drives some employees to steal out of desperation, other factors like greed, opportunity, weak oversight, and personal integrity also play significant roles that cannot be solved through compensation alone.
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