Are you one of those who think they are very honest and rarely lie to anyone? Well that’s what I also thought about myslef before taking Reader’s Digest online “honesty survey”. But as I learned after reading a related article by Nancy Kalish, the 2,624 people who took the survey thought the same way as I did.
The 13 questions of the survey ask whether you’ve ever…
1. Called in sick at work when not ill?
I’m pretty sure that, especially in Austria, this is a common thing to do. Tell me one person who hasn’t ever ‘pretended’ to be sick. It already starts at school where many kid are even encouraged by their mothers to stay home in some cases…
63 % of those taking the survey said they have lied in this respect and taken a sick day even though they were feeling perfectly fine. Some swore they only did it to take care of an ill child or loved one, but the majority thought it was kind of their right to take a day off from time to time. Interestingly, this practice costs corporations (in the US) an average of $ 645 per employee each year.
2. Taken office supplies from your company for personal use?
71 % of men and 61 % of women have already committed such a crime, but don’t really feel guilty about it since they don’t see it so much as stealing but as a way of getting even.
3. Taken anything valuable from your company for personal use?
Still, even 16 % of all participants confessed to taking something valuable from their employer, which causes an annual loss of $ 15 billion. A study in 2002 showed that retailers credited 48 % of losses to employee theft, and only 32 % to shoplifters.
4. Misstated facts on a résumé/job application?
Everyone of us wants to present him-/herself in the best possible way. To do so, we sometimes exaggerate a little when describing ourselves or talking about our skills, abilities or experience in various fields. We don’t really consider it as cheating since everyone seems to be doing it. Well that’s what I thought anyway…in fact, only 18 % lied on their résumé or job application. But then I think that Americans are more honest in general, they don’t like to cheat as much as we do. It would be interesting to have survey like that in Austria. I’m sure there would be some differences in the results of certain questions.
5. Shifted blame to a co-worker for something you did?
To my mind, that’s really not a very nice thing to do. But honestly, I’ve actually done it myself, even a couple of times…And still I’m not really a bad person since I’ve never blamed anything on a particular co-worker. As you might know I work in a restaurant and it’s a rather big one, so we have a lot of staff. I get along very well with all of them but one single head waitress who is constantly picking on the younger ones and complaining about stupid little mistakes. The easiest way to avoid unnecessary stress is to say “It wasn’t me”. Everyone says it and no one gets the blame. Interestingly enough, we only lie to her, not to any of the other waitresses…
The survey revealed that only 13 % of respondents have ever shifted blame to a co-worker for something they did.
6. Been undercharged/ received too much change from a cashier and not told him?
50 % confessed to being undercharged or receiving too much change without mentioning it. One said “If a store makes an error in undercharging me, I somehow feel that it’s because of their lack of efficiency – and I just caught a break.”
7. Downloaded music from an Internet site without paying for it?
I don’t know any person of ‘my generation’ who doesn’t own a burned CD or who hasn’t downloaded music illegally. 37 % % of respondents have already committed such a crime, many without second thought. Most people think that CDs are way too expensive and that it is much more convenient to just get their favourite songs from the Internet. The Recording Industry Association of America though, claims that CD shipments have dropped 15 % in four years, primarily due to online piracy.
8. "Cheated" on your tax return (not declared income or over-reported deductions)?
Only 17 % of the online survey-takers admitted to fudging a tax return. Most people dread tax audits and don’t want to risk anything.
9. Switched price tags to get a lower price for something you wanted to buy?
It surprised me that one in eight respondents have already swapped price tags to get a lower price. I would be way too cowardly to do a thing like that. Just imagining that there might be a hidden video camera in the store makes my stomach turn. For me, switching price tags is almost like stealing.
10. Lied to friends or family members about their appearance, to avoid hurting their feelings?
Most people say they would never ever lie to their friends and family. But then they don’t even realize how often they actually do so. When we lie to our loved ones, it’s often to protect feelings and the relationship. Sometimes you just really can’t be honest with someone, because if you were, that person might not like you anymore. Just imagine being asked “Does this outfit make me look fat?” 71 % admitted to being dishonest when being asked a question like that.
11. Knowing you had little chance of getting caught, driven more than 20 m.p.h. over the speed limit or gone through a red light?
71 % have no qualms when it comes to speeding or even running a red light. One of the people asked said “Speed limits are guidelines” - I'm sure he is not the only one who thinks like that.
12. Lied to your spouse or partner about the cost of a recent purchase?
That question I couldn’t answer since I haven’t been married yet or shared any money with my partner. I remember though, when I was a child I used to do a similar thing and lie to my Mum about certain purchases. I knew she would start complaining and say something like: “Don’t you waste your pocket money on such unnecessary and expensive things!!”
In order to keep the peace 32 % admitted to deceiving their partner about the price of a recent purchase.
13. Lied to your spouse or partner about your relationship with another person?
28 % believe that some things are better left unsaid. It’s important to stay honest, but sometimes there are things that you partner shouldn’t or might not even want to know about any past or present relationships…
Only 39 people out of the 2,624 who took the survey claimed they have never committed any of the 13 acts on the list (yeah, right…) and just one respondent said he had done them all. On average, people have committed 5 of these 13 ‘crimes’.
What is also interesting, is that men and women seem to be lying differently, which I read in another article by Cynthia Dermody.
Men start lying when it comes to taking office supplies, fudging tax returns and illegally downloading music, which is due to men being more risk-taking.
Women on the other hand, are more likely to be dishonest in their personal lives and relationships in order to avoid conflicts. They also lie more often to the boss about a sick day.
The 13 questions of the survey ask whether you’ve ever…
1. Called in sick at work when not ill?
I’m pretty sure that, especially in Austria, this is a common thing to do. Tell me one person who hasn’t ever ‘pretended’ to be sick. It already starts at school where many kid are even encouraged by their mothers to stay home in some cases…
63 % of those taking the survey said they have lied in this respect and taken a sick day even though they were feeling perfectly fine. Some swore they only did it to take care of an ill child or loved one, but the majority thought it was kind of their right to take a day off from time to time. Interestingly, this practice costs corporations (in the US) an average of $ 645 per employee each year.
2. Taken office supplies from your company for personal use?
71 % of men and 61 % of women have already committed such a crime, but don’t really feel guilty about it since they don’t see it so much as stealing but as a way of getting even.
3. Taken anything valuable from your company for personal use?
Still, even 16 % of all participants confessed to taking something valuable from their employer, which causes an annual loss of $ 15 billion. A study in 2002 showed that retailers credited 48 % of losses to employee theft, and only 32 % to shoplifters.
4. Misstated facts on a résumé/job application?
Everyone of us wants to present him-/herself in the best possible way. To do so, we sometimes exaggerate a little when describing ourselves or talking about our skills, abilities or experience in various fields. We don’t really consider it as cheating since everyone seems to be doing it. Well that’s what I thought anyway…in fact, only 18 % lied on their résumé or job application. But then I think that Americans are more honest in general, they don’t like to cheat as much as we do. It would be interesting to have survey like that in Austria. I’m sure there would be some differences in the results of certain questions.
5. Shifted blame to a co-worker for something you did?
To my mind, that’s really not a very nice thing to do. But honestly, I’ve actually done it myself, even a couple of times…And still I’m not really a bad person since I’ve never blamed anything on a particular co-worker. As you might know I work in a restaurant and it’s a rather big one, so we have a lot of staff. I get along very well with all of them but one single head waitress who is constantly picking on the younger ones and complaining about stupid little mistakes. The easiest way to avoid unnecessary stress is to say “It wasn’t me”. Everyone says it and no one gets the blame. Interestingly enough, we only lie to her, not to any of the other waitresses…
The survey revealed that only 13 % of respondents have ever shifted blame to a co-worker for something they did.
6. Been undercharged/ received too much change from a cashier and not told him?
50 % confessed to being undercharged or receiving too much change without mentioning it. One said “If a store makes an error in undercharging me, I somehow feel that it’s because of their lack of efficiency – and I just caught a break.”
7. Downloaded music from an Internet site without paying for it?
I don’t know any person of ‘my generation’ who doesn’t own a burned CD or who hasn’t downloaded music illegally. 37 % % of respondents have already committed such a crime, many without second thought. Most people think that CDs are way too expensive and that it is much more convenient to just get their favourite songs from the Internet. The Recording Industry Association of America though, claims that CD shipments have dropped 15 % in four years, primarily due to online piracy.
8. "Cheated" on your tax return (not declared income or over-reported deductions)?
Only 17 % of the online survey-takers admitted to fudging a tax return. Most people dread tax audits and don’t want to risk anything.
9. Switched price tags to get a lower price for something you wanted to buy?
It surprised me that one in eight respondents have already swapped price tags to get a lower price. I would be way too cowardly to do a thing like that. Just imagining that there might be a hidden video camera in the store makes my stomach turn. For me, switching price tags is almost like stealing.
10. Lied to friends or family members about their appearance, to avoid hurting their feelings?
Most people say they would never ever lie to their friends and family. But then they don’t even realize how often they actually do so. When we lie to our loved ones, it’s often to protect feelings and the relationship. Sometimes you just really can’t be honest with someone, because if you were, that person might not like you anymore. Just imagine being asked “Does this outfit make me look fat?” 71 % admitted to being dishonest when being asked a question like that.
11. Knowing you had little chance of getting caught, driven more than 20 m.p.h. over the speed limit or gone through a red light?
71 % have no qualms when it comes to speeding or even running a red light. One of the people asked said “Speed limits are guidelines” - I'm sure he is not the only one who thinks like that.
12. Lied to your spouse or partner about the cost of a recent purchase?
That question I couldn’t answer since I haven’t been married yet or shared any money with my partner. I remember though, when I was a child I used to do a similar thing and lie to my Mum about certain purchases. I knew she would start complaining and say something like: “Don’t you waste your pocket money on such unnecessary and expensive things!!”
In order to keep the peace 32 % admitted to deceiving their partner about the price of a recent purchase.
13. Lied to your spouse or partner about your relationship with another person?
28 % believe that some things are better left unsaid. It’s important to stay honest, but sometimes there are things that you partner shouldn’t or might not even want to know about any past or present relationships…
Only 39 people out of the 2,624 who took the survey claimed they have never committed any of the 13 acts on the list (yeah, right…) and just one respondent said he had done them all. On average, people have committed 5 of these 13 ‘crimes’.
What is also interesting, is that men and women seem to be lying differently, which I read in another article by Cynthia Dermody.
Men start lying when it comes to taking office supplies, fudging tax returns and illegally downloading music, which is due to men being more risk-taking.
Women on the other hand, are more likely to be dishonest in their personal lives and relationships in order to avoid conflicts. They also lie more often to the boss about a sick day.
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