Whining and dining on the bosses’ dime

How we treat company expenses says a lot about us.

While reckless spenders often are sacked, someone who generates income may get away with it.

What does your expense report say about you?

Filing claims for business expenses can be one of the worst parts of a job. How people handle expense reports reveals a lot about their attitudes towards their employer and their emotional baggage about money.

Based on corporate research and insights from psychologists, here are a few common expense-reporting profiles:

The sidestepper

Some people find completing expense reports too confusing, tedious or anxiety provoking to bear. About 10 per cent of employees don’t file for reimbursement even when they’re entitled to it, according to a survey of British workers last year by credit-card company Allstar Business Solutions.

Some resent the time required to scan receipts, list contacts and itemise fees and taxes.

Others fear awkward conversations with managers who ask, “Why did you expense that coffee for $1.50?” says Tim Hird, an executive vice-president with staffing firm Robert Half.

Managing financial details makes some people so anxious or impatient they’d rather give up the money, says Kate Levinson, author of Emotional Currency, a book about the feelings aroused by money issues.

Some sidesteppers feel so guilty that they hide their expense-reporting lapses from their spouses, she says.

The martyr

This employee is so inspired by his employer’s mission that he treats his company like a charity.

Martyrs may not file for reimbursement at all, paying ex­penses as a way of supporting the company, says Liz Fosslien, co-author of No Hard Feelings, a book about embracing emotion at work. She has seen that pattern among employees of Silicon Valley start-ups and tech companies.

On the flip side, others’ lavish spending can show they’re mainly out for themselves, Fosslien says. A senior executive at a company where she once worked gained a reputation soon after being hired for lavish dinners and expensive flights.

“He was just wildly overspending. It sent a strong signal to others that he wasn’t there for the right reasons,” Fosslien says.

The executive soon left the company by mutual agreement, she says.

The payback artist

Keenly conscious of fairness, these employees see money as an instrument of power. They may have been reared in a household where cash was used to control family members, leading them to pay close attention to expenses, Levinson says.

Those who feel undervalued — believing they’re paid too little or the chief executive’s eight-figure pay cheque is too high — are likely to file for every cent spent, Levinson says.

“This is an easy way to express that resentment without losing your job,” she says. They’re also likely to go out and say “Let’s expense this! This round of drinks is on the company,” Fosslien says. “They’re thinking, ‘I deserve better and I’m going to get it.’ ”

Others’ expense reports scream of alienation. Eileen Timmins, a Chicago human resources executive, recalls an incident at a previous employer.

One employee was upset when her employer refused to reimburse her for a $US150 ($218) basket of fruit and cheese she’d bought as a gift for a conference sponsor.

The employee’s response: “All right, I know how to work the system,” Timmins says. She began aggressively filing for every allowable outlay, regardless how small.

The rookie

It’s common for employees in their 20s and 30s not to have read their employers’ expense policy. But they often worry about getting in trouble for overspending, according to research by SAP Concur, an expense and invoice management company.

Decisions that are obvious to senior colleagues cause them angst. “They don’t know what’s normal,” says Mike Volpe, chief executive of Lola.com, a corporate travel management platform.

Employers tell employees to spend the company’s money as if it were their own. Young workers may think that means sharing a hotel room with a co-worker or booking the cheapest flight regardless of time wasted on layovers, says Steve Isom, vice-president of finance at Flywheel, a company that helps clients build and manage websites.

Others err in the opposite direction. When Brett Hicks mentioned the guideline to a former colleague with a habit of ordering expensive meals and multiple cocktails, he replied “I am spending the company’s money the way I’d spend my own,” says Hicks, Flywheel’s training and development manager.

Decisions made under stress are especially difficult. Product manager Jack Sellwood was tired after working several days at a conference in Berlin, his first international business trip. Told by a colleague at the airport employees were expected to show up at the office the following day, he decided at the last minute to upgrade his ticket to business class so he could get some sleep.

His employer didn’t agree and docked his next pay cheque to cover the added cost, he says. Still, the sleep was worth it, Sellwood says: “I’d do it again.”

The grifter

Fuelled by a sense of entitlement, this employee pushes reimbursement requests to the limit — and beyond. Fifty-six per cent of chief financial officers have seen a rise in questionable expense filings in the past three years, according to a recent survey of 1000 CFOs by Robert Half. Questionable items ranged from pet-sitting and bedbug removal to a pogo stick and a string of pearls. Such items suggest employees know they can push their companies’ boundaries, Hird says.

While reckless spenders are often sacked, someone who generates income for the business may get away with it. Jack McCullough tells of a sales vice-president at a former employer who asked to be reimbursed for three meals a day, five days a week, all costing just under $US25 — the threshold at which the company required receipts.

“When I implied he might be stretching the rules he went ballistic on me,” says McCullough, president of the CFO Leadership Council, a professional group.

McCullough lowered the receipt threshold to $US15 to block the manoeuvre but the salesman reduced his reported per-meal expense to $US14.99 or less. McCullough took the issue to the man’s boss. “He said, ‘I know this salesman is a crook but we make more money letting him steal from us than we would from somebody honest,’ ” McCul­lough says. Lacking other options, they let the issue go.

The Wall Street Journal