Humility is the Key to a Godly Decision

I have had to make some tough decisions in 2013 and in the early part of 2014. Most of these decisions had to do with my personal life. Don't worry, all is well (or at least getting better and better), but tough decisions none the less.


There is nothing tougher than to make decisions that affect family, friends and employees. Obviously, the tough decisions that affect only acquaintances, is not really of concern. So what do we do when we have to make these tough decisions about employees?

God’s Word is always the ultimate arbiter of right and wrong, but on the issue of firing employees, the Bible offers a somewhat complicated teaching. One thing that we know for sure, though, is that in this process, as in all things, our first calling is to humility.

Move  slowly and introspectively, asking questions like:

• Did this person know the rules and expectations?
• Was improper training or some other management blunder the real culprit here?
• Have I really measured this person’s performance accurately?
• Is my decision motivated too much by profit concerns or by my personal dislike of this employee?
• Have I considered the individual’s family situation?
• And overall, am I honoring God as Boss and reflecting His face through my decision-making process?”

 

These are hard questions and they take time to answer.

Spending more time on our people is just part of the deal if we truly intend to take God seriously in the workplace. We will put more effort into decision-making and we will respect inconvenient – sometimes counter-cultural – guidelines that our peers blithely ignore. That’s humility before God.

Our distinctive attitude  as Christians must be a humble willingness to invest the time to balance discipline and forgiveness – to always seek God’s way. Sometimes God’s way will entail giving second or third chances, retraining the employee, offering lateral transfers for fit, and so on.

Other times it will entail delivering a pink slip, no matter how much you like the employee. But one thing it will always entail is walking with our employees in hard times, whether we’re walking them back to their work station or out the door. I wish I had all of these principles nailed down in my life and in my work. I don't, but I continue to move forward.

Keep up the great attitude. Do the right thing and never give up on doing good.


Take care,
Mark

A Theology of Termination of Employees When Necessary

Let me reiterate, I am not firing anyone. I appreciate the staff who are with me. They work hard and generally have great attitudes. I am simply ruminating about the Christian's perspective of terminating employees for consistently poor behavior or other acts/omissions  that affect productivity. Christians are called to a higher standard, as both employers and employees.

What are the specifics of this “higher standard.” On one hand, grace is the central pillar of the New Covenant. On the other hand, both Testaments also indicate that it is entirely appropriate to excommunicate individuals from a group because of their behavior.

Staying with Proverbs for the moment, at least two passages stand out in this regard:

“Drive out the mocker, and out goes strife; quarrels and insults are ended” (Proverbs 22:10)

“Remove the dross from the silver, and out comes the material for the silversmith; remove the wicked from the king’s presence, and his throne will be established through righteousness” (Proverbs 25:4-5)

Proverbs 22:10 makes plain that removing problematic individuals should reduce conflict. Digging a little deeper, the word translated here as “mocker” carries the connotation of “scorner” and “arrogant talker.” This is a person whose inflated sense of himself creates disputes and generally disrupts the work environment. The verse, it seems, gives us the green light to oust such people from our workplaces.

 

Proverbs 25:4-5 builds on this thought with a promise that goes beyond reducing conflict. “Dross” is the residue left behind after an ore has been purified by fire. Likewise, for a work group to be as productive as possible, its dross – its “wicked” and, by implication, its “mockers” – must also be separated out. What should be the natural result of this “purification” process? The proverb teaches that the king’s “throne will be established by righteousness.” In a modern business context, purging of these employees from the group can pave the way for effective, God-honoring leadership.

There is no doubt a tension in the Biblical text between forgiveness and discipline – a tension that lies at the heart of the Christian manager’s dilemma about discharge. Since the Bible appears to support two different and competing paths, what is God’s will in this area?

Biblical Insight on Employee Theft

2013 was a HARD year. My father's lady partner of over 30 years died. My stepfather died from Lou Gehrig's disease. Additionally, I had staff changes and months with limited income, which I later learned was,  in part, due to theft from an employee who was taking money and doing work outside of the firm.

Let me say, I have NO doubts about my present team. They are excellent employees and I am thrilled to be working with them all. However, I suppose with need and opportunity, any of us is subject to taking the wrong road. How should a Christian handle the trespasses of others?

I want to talk about the Biblical approach to employee theft.  I literally travailed over what to do about this situation because I trusted this person and had given much responsibility. Many of us felt betrayed. I struggled with justice and mercy, knowing that have been given mercy many times by family and friends. Fortunately, my moral failures never involved illegal activity, yet I still sought wise counsel.

Here I will share my thoughts on what a Christian employer should do under similar circumstances. If it helps, I am grateful. If not, I'm sorry.

 

Wise counsel:

1.       I don't think you would be wrong to let her go, but if you are feeling that you should show mercy, you might consider letting her know that her offense is  indeed grounds for termination, but you would like to show mercy and grace to her seeing that she is in a bad situation (which in no way negates her guilt or responsibility), but in order for her to stay she would be demoted to another position that would not have any access to client finances, etc., and work at a reduced salary.   That way she still has a job, still has some kind of income, but it is up to her to decide if she is truly remorseful hoping to move back up at some point in the future should she prove trustworthy, or she can look for another job.  You didn't fire her. :)  Just a thought.

Ricky

2.       However, forgetting about the money, this person knew she was misrepresenting the amount your client had paid.  Your reputation to your clients is your most valuable asset.  She damaged that reputation. I don’t think it would be in your best interest to have this person representing you in the future.

Larry

3.       Whatever action you take, please view it from how you think you would feel about you decision in 5 or 10 years from now and pursue no regrets.  This is a pretty serious offense.  If there is true repentance and restitution perhaps a probation period would be extremely merciful.  No matter your decision some serious boundaries need to be put in place so she can NEVER make do this again.  IF it cannot be put in place you will need to move forward in replacing her… right?  How you do it --- is for you to keep a clear conscience without regrets.This is not a pretty picture or an easy solution.  What is the LORD saying / leading you to do? 

Stephen

 

All seemed well  from these ideas, but what have larger entities done? Read on.

Prior to 1985, the hotel chain Days Inns of America was a Christian company. Its founder, Lon Day, Jr., sought to honor God by running family-oriented facilities, by not serving alcohol, by giving away more than 2.5 million Bibles to customers, and by offering a large share of the profits to charity. He also honored God with his stewardship of the operation, growing the company to more than 300 locations in fifteen years.

 

Day also cared immensely about his employees and even hired four full-time workplace chaplains to counsel workers who were in need. At the same time, workplace realities occasionally dictated that problematic employees be terminated, especially for taking kickbacks or for harassing female co-workers. According to Day, dismissed employees would typically plead their case with a fervent: “You can’t fire me. I thought this was a Christian company!”

Day’s response to them? Simple and final:

“God will always give you a second chance, but you have had your second chance with us!”

 

Some managers, like Day, seem to have little difficulty letting employees go. But for others, the prospects of terminating a subordinate can turn even a seasoned business professional into a nail-biting novice. And when that professional is also a Christian, there’s the added difficulty of reconciling the firing with God’s call to servanthood, forgiveness, and love.

 

Nowhere does scripture support the notion that it is sinful or even poor witness for a Christian boss to fire a subordinate. No where. God’s Word does not per se prohibit firing people. Quite the opposite, as we’ll see below, under certain circumstances, terminating employees is both sanctioned and encouraged in scripture.

It’s also the case, though, that we Christians have several responsibilities before we can invoke capital punishment in the workplace – responsibilities that include, but go well beyond, respecting legal mandates. As usual, God has set a higher standard of conduct for those who follow Him.

 

Employees Stealing from Employers

 

This also takes many forms.

 

John 12:6 - Judas kept the bag for Jesus and his disciples, but he stole from it. People in positions of responsibility in businesses often embezzle from the company. They may hide their crime by changing the books or other such manipulations.

 

Titus 2:9,10 - Servants should not pilfer or purloin (steal) from masters. Many employees take company supplies, equipment, and even the manufactured product. I have read that 60% of employees misuse company postage (using company stamps or postage meters to mail personal letters).

 

Some companies allow employees to take or use certain items. This is fine if we really have permission. If in doubt, ask. Do unto others as you would have them do to you. If you steal from your company, they must raise prices and the customers pay the extra. If you don't like paying for what others steal, then don't make others pay for what you steal.

 

Beware lest you harm your example by cheating your employer in these ways:

 1.           Stealing Time: 

Most people record the hours they work and are paid a certain amount per hour. While you are being paid, you should be a diligent worker. You were not hired to spend time texting, talking to your friends on the phone or at the workplace, or playing games. While you are at work you should be focused on the work you were hired to do.

If you finish your work, ask your employer if there are other things you can do. If there is no work you can spend time cleaning and organizing the workplace. This demonstrates your willingness to work and a desire to learn new things which makes you more valuable as an employee.

 2.           Embezzling: 

The most obvious way to do this is to take money for yourself if you have access to money. If the company gives you a credit card to make purchases on its behalf, they are trusting that you will not use the credit card to purchase personal items.

 3.           Unauthorized Loan: 

Someone might take money from the company or purchase personal items on a company credit card saying “but I’m going to pay it back.” Some fraud begins this way where the person is taking a small amount of money and promises to pay it back. They then take more money and eventually owe the company a lot of money with no way to pay it back. If you need money before you are paid, some companies will give you some of your pay ahead of time (called an advance). But this is money given with the approval of the employer and they take the payment out of your paycheck.

 4.           Pilfering: 

You can also steal money by taking office products or company property for your own. Although taking these small things, called “pilfering,” may not seem great, the scriptures explicitly forbid it.

 5.           Lying About Expenses: 

Sometimes people “pad their expenses” by turning in receipts for personal items that are not supposed to be paid for or will report more than what was spent for expenses without a receipt. This is a basic trust issue. Is your soul so valuable that you’d sell it for an extra $5 or $10? Yet some will lie and cheat for such small amounts.


Next week, look for the personal post about the "theology of termination."


Take care.