A new survey commissioned by The Workforce Institute at Kronos and conducted by Harris Interactive reveals that 21 percent of hourly workers have cheated on their timesheet to gain extra pay from their employer. The “Gaming the Clock” survey indicates that employers who use outdated workforce management methods are at risk of significant payroll inflation.

News Facts

• 21 percent of respondents who are compensated with an hourly wage admit to “gaming the clock” (cheating on their timesheets)
  • Of the total number of respondents who state that they game the clock, 69 percent admit to punching in earlier or punching out later than scheduled
  • 22 percent admit to adding additional time to their timesheet
  • 14 percent say that they don’t punch out for unpaid lunches or breaks
  • Five percent admit to having someone punch them in or out (“buddy punching”)
• 35 percent of respondents who receive an hourly wage stated that their employers use paper timesheets to keep track of employee time worked
  • According to a Nucleus Research report, organizations with manual time and attendance systems typically incur unnecessary payroll costs upwards of 1.2 percent of their total payroll costs due to inaccurate application of pay rules, as well as human errors. For example, an organization that has annual payroll costs of $50 million could save more than $600,000 per year if they automated the collection of employee time.¹
• Along with providing immediate cost savings by reducing time-consuming processes and costly payroll errors, an automated workforce management system can also empower organizations with the information they need to uncover significant labor cost savings. A recent Diagnostic Assessment analysis by Kronos of more than 19 months of timekeeping history for a manufacturer with approximately 6,800 employees uncovered more than $20 million in cost savings overall including $3.6 million in gaming the clock-type abuse.
• When researching the purchase of a workforce management solution, organizations should ask vendors about the potentially hidden costs of customization; whether the time and labor data is provided in real-time or in batch fashion; and how intuitive and easy to use the product is.