What to do When the Workplace Gets Tough, Part II

The next passage I'm going to give basically testifies to the prior passage in First Thessalonians discussed in part one of this blog series.  Philippians 2:3-4 says, "Do nothing in rivalry or conceit, but in humility consider others as more important than yourselves.  Everyone should look out not only for his own interests, but also for the interests of others."  We are not to be in rivalry with anyone, including our co-workers — to not make useless competitions amongst each other.  When management is more concerned about getting their next promotion, it doesn't suit the needs of the branch/department/organisation very well.  Your subordinates will also lose respect for you and end up resenting you.  It's one thing to healthfully compete with someone, but it's something entirely different to create a hostile work environment because you consider someone your rival or arch nemesis.  For example, in the Army I would work out with one or several of my buddies to maintain physical fitness for an upcoming PT test and we would healthfully compete to see who could do more push-ups before muscle failure, just for the fun of it.  This healthy competition enabled us to push ourselves harder than we would have if we were alone, preparing us for a PT test with better results.  However, if we were to just compete to prove who's better or stronger than the other just to satisfy our masculine egos, that would in turn create a hostile spirit in the work environment.  This in turn creates conceit, which this passage also says to avoid.  Instead of being conceited in yourself, you have to humble yourself before others, which is to consider their well-being more important than your own.  (That does not mean to neglect your own well-being for another's well-being.  Sacrifice your desires for other people's needs, but don't sacrifice your needs for their desires.)  If this weren't so important, then you wouldn't hear stories all the time of soldiers in the military giving their lives for someone else's life.

By humbling yourself, you can then look out for other peoples' interests instead of solely your own, and the way you can do this is exactly what I discussed with First Thessalonians 5:12-15 in the prior blog entry.  There's nothing wrong with considering your own interests, but that's not all you should consider; you should also consider the interests of the employees you manage.  Consider their dreams and goals just as much as your own, if not more, and give them inspiration, guidance, and encouragement.  Also consider their thoughts on the workplace — any dilemma that may arise, a possibly more effective way to complete a task or project, whatever it may be.

Sometimes when we spend a copious amount of time with our colleagues, they start to become a nuisance — we grow tired of their presence and become irritated.  The key factour to remember here is forgiveness.  Jesus said, "For if you forgive people their wrongdoing, your heavenly Father will forgive you as well.  But if you don't forgive people, your Father will not forgive your wrongdoing" (Matthew 6:14-15).  This is something that we often don't like to admit.  We don't like to admit that if we don't forgive people and just hold grudges all the time, then God won't forgive us, since He forgives all sins through Jesus Christ, after all.  While this is true, it is also true that He will not forgive us if we do not forgive others.  That's the problem with the American Church today; you can't just pick and choose what you want to believe and follow in the Bible.  If people don't deserve our forgiveness, then how do we deserve God's?  Well, we don't deserve God's forgiveness, but He forgives us anyway because He unconditionally loves us through His mercy.  In the very same way, we are to forgive others through the love and mercy of God.  God doesn't have any reason to be merciful towards us; He just is.  Just because we're not comfortable with this does not mean that we should not accept it and not practise it.  Jesus said this, so we must accept it and practise it.

I made this point in the prior blog entry, but I'm going to say it again:  living like Christ is not a comfortable lifestyle!  So why, then, do we pick and choose what we want to follow in Scripture?  Because we want to live comfortable lives.  We don't want to put ourselves at risk for the sake of Christ, which is absurd considering that He died for us.  In the Old Testament, God was the true and only King of Israel, but then the Israelites rejected God as their king and instead wanted a human king so that they could manipulate the king to do what they wanted, therefore habitually falling into the sins of the other nations that they desired to be like, for the other nations also had human kings (1 Samuel 8).  (But while Israel had human kings, God still remained as the true King of Israel.)  In the very same way, we reject God's Word as the Word (ὁ λόγος) and instead create our own word just to follow and believe what we wish to follow and believe rather than doing what God calls us to acknowledge and therefore follow.  To put it a simpler way:  the Israelites rejected God as their King and demanded their own king in order to follow the ways of the other nations, and today we reject parts of God's Word and demand and create our own word in order to follow the ways of the world.  That is exactly why such controversial issues such as homosexuality exists in the political world today because we reject the Word of God.  God's Word speaks against it, the world accepts its abomination, and because we want to be accepted by the world we therefore create our own word instead of accepting God's authoritative Word just to be accepted by the world.  We have to make necessary adjustments in our lives that we're not comfortable with.  Forgiveness does not just come down to friends and family; it comes down to the workplace, school campuses, random strangers throughout the day — every single person on this planet.  Just because someone is simply your colleague does not exclude them from God's forgiveness, nor your own.  Forgive them of their trespasses and that hostile spirit when you're around them will disappear.

Now, if there's just one person in your entire life whom you don't forgive, I don't believe God will leave you unforgiven and just condemn you to Hell for it, because He is a merciful God.  The mistake we often make is that we often compare God to our human limitations.  We bring God down to our level and imagine how He would judge someone.  That's actually blasphemy.  Leave God where He is.  We can't imagine God forgiving us for something like murder or pedophilia if we ourselves cannot forgive it, but that's not how God functions.  God said, "For My thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways My ways" (Isaiah 55:8).  I could not have said it any better than He has.

Moving back on topic, if a colleague trespasses against you several times, you still have to forgive him or her.  Jesus said, "Be on your guard.  If your brother sins, rebuke him, and if he repents, forgive him.  And if he sins against you seven times in a day, and comes back to you seven times, saying, 'I repent,' you must forgive him" (Luke 17:3-4).  As manager, if someone disrespects or disobeys you, rebuke him or her.  To rebuke is to reprove their trespass, which is to gently correct their action.  (If it's something really serious, however, like stealing property from the company, then deal with it accordingly in a serious manner.)  After this is done, you must forgive him or her, especially if they apologise.  When they come back and apologise, no matter how many times this happens, we are obligated to forgive them, not consider forgiving them.  It is our duty as Christians to forgive, no exceptions, when they come with apologies.  Even if they don't apologise it is still required to forgive them, otherwise you'll just end up living your life in the futility of grudges.

First Peter 3:8-9 says, "Now finally, all of you should be likeminded and sympathetic, should love believers, and be compassionate and humble, not paying back evil for evil or insult for insult but, on the contrary, giving a blessing, since you were called for this, so that you can inherit a blessing."  Again, there are several principles listed here as well.  It first says to be sympathetic and to love believers, which translates to brotherly-loving.  When someone does wrongly against you, be sympathetic.  It could be stress that caused them to react the way they did or any number of things, so it's important to show them sympathy and understanding because face it, you're no different.  But if they're just someone who's hard to deal with at work and is one of those conceited or rude people by nature (aka, a "bad apple"), then we are to show them brotherly love, which is the love that Christ showed to us when He humbled Himself as a man.  Bad apples need to either be reformed or fired.  It's good to try and reform them first, but if they refuse to change their attitude or actions, it's best to fire them because studies show that bad apples in a group of people decrease performance from 30% to 40% (Sutton, 2011).  If termination is the end result, then forgiveness still must follow.  Vengeance, or payback, is unwise and unloving, and that's not how we are to respond to such events, but on the contrary blessing them, and as a result we will be blessed in return for God's satisfaction, for God calls us to do this.  However, if termination is absolutely necessary, then do so (remember one of the principles of managing is "don't be afraid to say no").  To bless people, just show them sympathy, love, compassion, and humbleness, as St. Peter says.

Doing all these things eliminates a hostile work environment and creates room for a positive work environment.  By your actions alone, the people you work with can witness the compassion, kindness, humility, meekness, patience, acceptance, and forgiveness of our Lord Jesus Christ.  Acting in Christlike ways is against the flesh, but by practising His ways we can then control our hearts.  And lastly, we must be thankful to God that we can do all this because of our Lord Jesus Christ.

References

Sutton, R. (2011, October 24). How A Few Bad Apples Ruin Everything. Retrieved

            March 24, 2015, from

http://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424052970203499704576622550325233260

What to do When the Workplace Gets Tough, Part I

Just like in many other situations, it is very easy to forget to act Christlike when things get stressful in the workplace.  Having worked in the Army, I experienced this far too often during my service, and there were other things that made it even more difficult to be Christlike in and outside of work.  The battle is maintaining a Christlike attitude in the workplace when work gets busy and stressful and the people become a nuisance.  Everything that I'll be posting in this two-part series can apply to other things in life such as school, family, social situations, whatever the case may be.  Considering the context of this blog, I'll be specifically focusing on the workplace.

Fortunately, the Bible gives us direction when this problem arises.  Colossians 3:23-25 says, "Whatever you do, do it enthusiastically, as something done for the Lord and not for men, knowing that you will receive the reward of an inheritance from the Lord — you serve the Lord Christ.  For the wrongdoer will be paid back for whatever wrong he has done, and there is no favouritism."  This is simply a reminder to maintain your enthusiasm in Christ in everything you do, and that includes your job.  But that's exactly the problem, isn't it?  It's easier said than done.  Some may find your enthusiasm rather odd, but you're not doing it for man; you're doing it for Christ.  I myself have a difficult time being enthusiastic at work and school every now and then whether it's because I'm too tired or because my spirit is downcast for whatever unfortunate predicament that besets me.  But we remain enthusiastic because we know by faith that God will reward us with the inheritance of His kingdom, for we are servants and co-heirs of Christ.  We don't do this for man because most of the time, man cannot keep a simple promise, but God keeps all of His promises.  We can simply know this just by looking at a rainbow — God's promise to Noah to serve as a reminder to Him that He would not destroy man by flood again.  And we also know this not only by our faith, but also through the example of many others such as Abel, Enoch, Noah, Abraham, and many others.  (To read a full, brief synopsis of their and many other's exemplary faith, read Hebrews 11.)  We should remain enthusiastic in the Lord when things get tough because the alternative — doing wrong — will just come back to reap you.  To us, it may not seem wrong for a while, but anything against God's Word is wrong; there is no grey area because there is no partiality with God.  Every time we claim that a grey area exists in God's Word, it is when we are too indolent to distinguish the black from the white.

Another method to consider is to encourage others in the workplace.  First Thessalonians 5:12-15 says, "Now we ask you, brothers, to give recognition to those who labour among you and lead you in the Lord and admonish you, and to esteem them very highly in love because of their work.  Be at peace among yourselves.  And we exhort you, brothers:  warn those who are lazy, comfort the discouraged, help the weak, be patient with everyone.  See to it that no one repays evil for evil to anyone, but always pursue what is good for one another and for all."  There are a lot of principles listed here.  It's important to give recognition to people in the workplace, especially those in a lower position than you are.  I'm not saying that you have to always walk around with a grossly huge smile on your face while saying, "Great job!" and give them two thumbs up.  Honestly, that would be weird and annoying.  But every now and then, letting someone know that they're doing a great job, no matter how small or large of a task it is, it will mean a lot to them that someone has noticed their efforts and it will boost morale.  It doesn't matter whether they're a janitor or the chief executive officer of a company.  Every single job has its place in society and each organisation, no matter how lowly or glorious.  If they had no purpose, then they simply wouldn't exist.  In this way you can shine Christ's kindness upon them and hopefully begin to lead them in the Lord if they don't already follow Him.  And if that happens, you can then begin to admonish them when necessary, which is to earnestly warn them about something that is not in line with God's Word.  Admonishing is in three basic steps: You warn them, you correct them, and you teach them.  This is out of everybody's comfort zone, even mine, but we're not supposed to be comfortable when we live as Christ did.  John the Baptiser was certainly not comfortable.  He was imprisoned in human filth and was beheaded by the order of King Herod because of a promise he made to his wife.  This doesn't happen to all of us, of course, but the fact remains that living a sincere life in the Lord is not always a comfortable one.  It's a difficult life!  Anyone who walks into Christianity expecting it to make their life easier doesn't understand what Christianity is at all.

The passage goes on to say that we must be at peace amongst each other.  This is a huge topic to discuss, but I won't be getting into that.  But Romans 12:14-17 gives us a list of principles on how to live in harmony with each other.  Moving on, the author of First Thessalonians continues to say that we must warn the lazy and correct them and guide them into diligence.  Proverbs 13:4 says, "The soul of the sluggard craves and gets nothing, while the soul of the diligent is richly supplied."  Advise the indolent.  Let them know that they have not what they crave because they are not diligent — they don't work hard for it, and only then will they become fully satisfied in what they desire.  Hard work pays off because hard work is the only way to pay for success.  You can't succeed if you're lazy.  As manager, "know well the condition of your flock, and pay attention to your herds..." (Proverbs 27:23).  Don't neglect someone from God's grace just because they don't believe; it's just that much more important for them to experience it.  Jesus, after all, came not for the righteous, but for the sinners (Luke 5:31).  Thomas Merton once said, "The church is not a museum for saints but a hospital for sinners."  And we're all sinners, even the "best" Christian.  I'm not saying to go right up to them and start spouting verses at them or put your hand on their forehead and begin to pray; that's the wrong approach because it'll just make them uncomfortable.  It all begins with your actions, and when they ask questions, then you can bring up God, but don't push it onto them.  Be meek and gentle (James 3:13).

The next thing the passage says is to comfort the discouraged.  If someone is discouraged of work or just about him or herself in general, then recognition and leadership and guidance are of the utmost importance.  If you notice it and do nothing, their work productivity will decrease and they'll end up losing their job.  From a business perspective, this could be good for the business because they'll hire somebody who will efficiently and enthusiastically get the work done, but we're in the business of God here, not man.  The business we work for as managers may be that of man, but every aspect of our lives belongs to God, including our professional vocation.  Therefore, we cannot tolerate discouragement and a lack of self-esteem anywhere, even in the workplace.  All they need is simple encouragement, recognition, and direction; it doesn't have to be formal.  Let them know that you notice their work and by this recognition, they become encouraged for the simple fact that somebody noticed them.  Give them a reason to believe that what they do makes a difference in the workplace and even peoples' lives.  Give them specific examples of things they do well in their job.  If there are some things that they do poorly and that gives them plausible reasons to be discouraged, then help them get better!  Don't just stand by and watch them crumble into disaster.  The antithesis of love is not hatred; it is indifference — it is apathy.  Help is the ultimate form of encouragement, and that is exactly what heals their discouragement.  The most diligent and successful organisation is one where its employer takes care of its employees and the employees take care of each other.

Before I continue, as a reminder, when you encourage and help people in the workplace, it would be wise not to go around preaching.  (This is different if you work for a Christian organisation, of course.  In that case, spiritual encouragement is necessary.)  In a secular business, doing such things will only turn people away from Christianity because they'll find you ignorant of other peoples' beliefs, arrogant of your own beliefs, and forceful, even if you're not.  As I said above, it begins with your actions.  Just show them the kindness of Christ and love in the way you act and speak and there is the potential that they will individually come to ask you why you do what you do and how you do it, and that's the opportunity where you can say something along the lines of, "Honestly, it's because of the man [or woman] God transformed me to become."  And if they're interested, you can then begin to actually teach them the Word.  Be an opportunist; don't be annoying.

Now, the next thing is to help the weak, and this varies in many aspects.  For you men, where a woman is having difficulty lifting heavy materials, be a gentleman and help her.  Also for you men, if a younger and smaller in stature male is having the same difficulty, help him.  Don't be a jerk and just stand there and think to yourself, "Oh he'll get it eventually."  That has the potential to lead to injuries.  Such a situation is exactly what led to my injury when I was in the Army.  One particular morning in 2012, my unit was doing PT (physical training).  We were working on our upper bodies, so we were lifting a lot of heavy objects.  One of the exercises we were doing was lifting up a tire that belonged to a 5 ton truck, so you can imagine that it's extremely heavy.  During the exercise, I couldn't quite handle the weight anymore (and yes, I was lifting with my legs).  I told the NCO in charge that I couldn't lift it anymore, but he forced me to keep lifting, and that's when my back went SNAP! and I got injured.  Now I have lumbar spinal stenosis, which means that the injury caused my spinal canal to narrow and the joints in that part of my spine are really weak.  Poor management can lead to injuries.

Help the man or woman with a physical condition that prevents them from doing something, whether they're handicapped or temporarily injured (e.g. broken limb, a strained muscle, etc.) or something that's more underlying that you can't see, just like my injury, for example.  My condition is something within my body, which causes me to be unable to lift heavy objects and I can't be on my feet for long periods of time without feeling extreme pain.  You can't see this underlying condition, so when my co-workers know about it, they are responsible for ensuring that I don't do anything that pushes me beyond my physical limits (especially the supervisor or manager).  For everybody, there are tough jobs that require you to come to work in spite of illness (or simply due to one's own stubbornness), which weakens and tires the body as well as the spirit and stresses the immune system even more, so help someone who is ill at work.  Or, as manager, if someone calls in sick, don't be a jerk and tell them to come in anyway.  They need rest and they could infect other employees.  (If they have a pattern of illness, however, it's legitimate to suspect that they're lying.)  These are all simple things to do and it's just simple generosity and compassion.  All you have to do is just do it.

Next, we have to be patient with everyone.  This is a tough one for me.  Those who know me well are familiar with this.  My patience is so thin that I cannot work in any sort of restaurant without talking back to an impertinent customer.  That's just one of my flaws.  Patience is very important when it comes to admonishing someone in the workplace, especially if they're discouraged.  Depending on someone's level of discouragement and their psyche, they're not likely to quickly get back on their feet and start working productively and enthusiastically, so it requires a lot of patience.  God is very patient for each and every one of us, so we are likewise to be patient for discouraged colleagues to come around, become encouraged and enthusiastic, and hopefully come to Christ in the end, because love "always hopes" (1 Corinthians 13:7).  We're human and so we like to dwell on our emotions as well as negativity, especially when one is discouraged and/or depressed, so it takes a lot of time — some more than others.  This is why patience is so important.

Lastly, the passage says to be sure that no one repays evil for evil to anyone.  This is what we call vengeance.  Things happen in the personal lives of employees after work that will often cause enmity in the workplace, whether it's a tribulation in their personal lives or is caused by interaction with one another after duty hours (or even during), and that's not healthy for the organisation or the human being.  You don't have to be a leader in the workplace to make sure this doesn't happen either (although as manager, you have the most influence).  If employees never looked out for each other, then all hell would break loose.  So look out for your colleagues.  I'm going to repeat what I said earlier:  The most diligent and successful organisation is one where its employer takes care of its employees and the employees take care of each other.  See that no evil spirit enters the workplace.  Evil spirits don't just supernaturally float around in an invisible black orb of smoke and make a man spontaneously go berserk.  It is an insidious time bomb that invests in the human mind, heart, and spirit, so it is vital to keep a watchful eye.  By paying attention to detail and looking out for your colleagues, you pursue "what is good for one another and for all" (v. 15).

To Be Continued...