Among those who admit to taking office supplies for personal use, the most commonly stolen office supplies include pens/pencils (77 percent), followed by self- adhesive "sticky" notes (44 percent) and paper clips (40 percent). Some employees (2 percent) are even taking decorations like plants, paintings and office furniture (2 percent).

"People often forget that workplace resources are not their own and are actually considered company property," said attorney Alan Kopit, legal editor of lawyers.com. "We are not just talking about pens and paper here, employees are also stealing expensive things too like computers, software and books.

"Americans should be aware that they are putting themselves at potential risk of termination and could possibly face legal consequences." Kopit suggested that employees review their office policy and be sure to alter their behavior to abide by the regulations.

Employee theft costs small businesses billions of dollars a year, because in addition to pens and paper, employees are also stealing resources directly related to the productivity of the business, like classified information, patents, corporate contacts, case studies, and periodicals. "Business owners need to evaluate the current policies and employee practices and if necessary institute new systems to eliminate the risk to the business," said Kopit.