RTO’s Newest Trend: Porch Piracy

The factors in people’s decisions to come into the office can be endless, whether it’s length of commute, family-care issues, or the need to attend in-person meetings, among many others. Recently, a new type of seemingly unrelated crime has become an issue.

Thanks to a new crime wave known as “porch piracy,” some 44 million Americans have had a package stolen in the last three months, according to data from Security.org—in all, a total of $8 billion annually in lost goods. It’s an enormous concern for retailers and shippers, of course, but experts say it’s also motivating workers to come into the office, so that they can manage their personal packages more securely. The only issue: How do firms handle a new mix of business and pleasure with the potential to overload mail rooms?

The topic of corporate mail rarely gets any attention, but firms today receive an estimated 1.37 million packages daily. Some companies, overwhelmed, have outsourced their mail rooms. But experts argue firms should not merely allow, but actually encourage workers to receive personal packages at work. “It’s relatively low-cost, and provides big value for some employees,” says organizational strategist Maria Amato, senior client partner at Korn Ferry.

To be sure, workers have quietly been using their offices as personal mailboxes for decades. Many residents of New York City, for example, don’t have doormen; receiving their personal packages at their office is more secure than receiving them in a building lobby, where mail can go missing. At small offices without mail rooms, front-desk employees cheerfully sign for their colleagues’ packages. “We see that a lot, and it’s based on a personal relationship, not a corporate mail-room operation,” says Dennis Deans, vice president of global human resources at Korn Ferry.

But the combination of hybrid work options and increasing package theft has brought a new urgency to the situation: To avoid theft, 26% of employees work from home on days they’re expecting packages, according to survey figures from Vivint. This has led leaders to reconsider their policies.

Experts recommend that companies—particularly those pushing return-to-office initiatives—take advantage of the high value that employees place on access to mail service. For one thing, hybrid employees have to come into the office to pick up packages, and “anything that gets people into the office is a good thing,” says Paul Fogel, sector leader for professional search in the Software practice at Korn Ferry.

But coming into the office, experts point out, does not guarantee staying there. In a practice known as “coffee badging,” some workers show up for work, swipe their badges, and stick around only long enough for a morning coffee. Picking up packages could serve a similar purpose. Still, experts suggest that firms may want to roll out mail-service benefits as an official employee benefit, with clear guidelines around package pickup expectations and quantities—particularly around the holidays. “That will garner goodwill,” says Ron Porter, a Korn Ferry senior partner. “Why not score points?”

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