The Ethics of Work

Since this blog is posted on Sunday afternoons, some of you will be reading it as you begin a new work week.  Ah, blah Monday's.  Is that how you feel?  When your feet touched the floor as you got up this morning, did you clap your hands together and say, "Boy, this is going to be a fantastic day?"  What's that?  Are you saying that doesn't sound like you?  Aren't you excited to go to work or be at work?  You may be saying to yourself right now, "I'm thankful that I have a job, but I do not love my job.  I'm not bursting with enthusiasm as I begin a new work week."  Shouldn't you be?  Let's consider a few texts from Proverbs first, make a few observations, and then I will close with that same question, "shouldn't you be?"

Proverbs 6:6-11, "Go to the ant, you sluggard!  Consider her ways, and be wise, which, having no captain, overseer or ruler, provides her supplies in the summer, and gathers her food in the harvest.  How long will you slumber, O sluggard?  When will you rise from your sleep?  A little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to sleep - so shall your poverty come on you like a prowler, and your need like an armed man."

Have you ever watched a trail of ants as they are taking food back to their ant hill?  Talk about organized chaos.  They often bump into one another, and have to go around each other and over and around other obstacles.  Sometimes the ant’s trail is interrupted by a child that drags their feet over the trail.  Sometimes it is disrupted by a predator, or even ant spray sprayed by humans.  There may be a little disruption, when these things happen, and the ants move around more helter-skelter and disorganized for a while, but invariably in no time, they are back in their lines again, following their trails, taking food back to their shelter, and then turning around to repeat the same process, again and again.

What is that work ethic within their DNA that keeps them moving, always gathering, always providing?  I personally believe it was put there by their Creator, just as He has put a similar, but different and considerably more advanced kind of work ethic within humans, yet the verses challenge us to learn from the ant about the ethics of work, interesting.

To narrow our focus, let's clarify something.  Our topic today is about having the right kind of work ethic.  We are not looking at the broader term, work ethics.  Wikipedia defines work ethic as, "a set of values based on hard work and diligence. It is also a belief in the moral benefit of work and its ability to enhance character. A work ethic may include being reliable, having initiative, or pursuing new skills."  The subject Work Ethics is the foundational theme for this blog.  Work Ethics is synonymous with Business Ethics. Work Ethics involves honesty, integrity, reliability and accountability in our jobs, careers and vocations. 

Work ethic like most things humans are involved with has extremes.  You have the lazy, and you have the workaholic.  I'm not writing this post to pick on the lazy, nor am I advocating being a workaholic.  Both extremes are wrong.  There must be a work-life balance to have the proper work ethic.  Ethics isn't just about how you treat others.  It's also about how you treat yourself - at work, at home and beyond.  There is a balance, and never has there been a time that finding that balance is as critical as it is now.

Inc. Magazine reported a few years back that U.S. employers lose an estimated $544 billion in lost productivity each year.  Surveyed employees average 1.86 hours per eight-hour workday on something other than their jobs.  That figure does not include lunches or scheduled breaks.  The two main timewasters were surfing the internet and socializing with co-workers.  When I analyze the web traffic for a client's site, Monday is always the heaviest web traffic day of the week, with Saturday and Sunday, when people have "free time" being the lowest two traffic days.  I'm sure you have heard of Cyber Monday, haven't you?  The biggest online shopping day of the year is the Monday after Thanksgiving.  Aren't people usually at work on Monday's?

Now with the explosion of Facebook, Linked In and other social media sites, even more time is being wasted.  Did you know there is a website that’s about nothing more than to show readers "how to use Facebook at work without being caught?"  It gives you 5 easily usable tips that will keep you from getting caught while on Facebook at work.  Another report in Business Week says that one third of workers spend time on Facebook at work.  Of that number, 64% have started using their smart phones to check social sites, now that more and more businesses are either blocking access (28%) or limiting access (40%) to social sites on company computers.

Have you ever seen a time when so many people in the work force just show up, punch a clock, and then immediately look for the counter where success is instantly handed out?  Fewer employees are willing to pay the price, make the sacrifice and make a difference.  Too many want instant success and big money.  Now with the continued weak economy and scarce jobs, people instead of excelling are even more miserable and discontent with working.  You would think it would be just the opposite.  One day recently while my wife and I were in the checkout line at Wal-Mart, we were engaging the checkout lady in some light conversation.  When we were leaving, my wife said “have a good day”.  The checkout lady said, “I only have 30 more minutes on my shift, then it will be a good day.”  We walked away, shaking our heads, thinking how sad it is that she could not find satisfaction and enjoy her life, even at work.  Is that how you feel about work?

Let’s look at one more verse before closing.

Proverbs 12:11, “He who tills his land will be satisfied with bread,”

It is my belief that if you look at work as an opportunity to serve your fellow man, an opportunity to make a difference in your company, your community, your world, an opportunity to contribute to its success, an opportunity to live a live that honors God on the job, that you will be satisfied.  The verse says satisfied with bread.  For some, it may be more bread than what you have, but the promise is that the portion of bread that you receive by putting forth an honest day’s work will satisfy you.  Isn’t being satisfied what living a fulfilling life is all about?

So, again, I ask you.  Tomorrow is Monday.  Will you not start the day bursting with energy and enthusiasm?  Shouldn’t you be?

The Strength of a Handshake

Have you ever considered the strength of a handshake? I'm not talking about the power that some people love to put into the actual handshake itself. You know. Some people love to give the "dead fish" limp handshake, while others grab your hand so hard that you sometimes want to cry, "uncle". I'm talking about the actual significance and meaning of shaking hands. Let's consider two texts from the Book of Proverbs.

Proverbs 6:1-2a, "My son, if you become surety for your friend, if you have shaken hands in pledge for a stranger, you are snared by the words of your mouth;"

Proverbs 17:18, "A man devoid of understanding shakes hands in a pledge, and becomes surety for his friend."

To help us understand the Biblical context, "become surety", it means to guarantee a loan, or put up security for a friend's debt. The words "devoid of understanding" in the other verse means, without good sense or using poor judgment. What then are the verses actually talking about? The emphasis is on the danger of becoming the guarantor for the debt of someone else, and that once you do that you are obligated to pay it whether you have the funds or not. What about guaranteeing a loan made it so binding? It was the "shaking of hands". Shaking hands when the mouth makes a promise was considered as the ratification of a commitment. That is where I came up with the title, the Strength of a Handshake.

The Bible references shaking hands back to the days of the early Kings of Israel. Archeological evidence has also demonstrated that shaking hands can be found as far back as the 5th Century B.C. An engraving was discovered that shows two Greek soldiers shaking hands. The handshake is initiated when the two hands touch. It is commonly done upon meeting, greeting, parting, offering congratulations, expressing gratitude, or completing an agreement. In sports or other competitive activities, it is also done as a sign of good sportsmanship. Its purpose is to convey trust, balance and equality. Its practice continues to this day.

You may be wondering what this has to do with Ethics. I'm sure you have heard the statement, "An honest man's word is as good as his bond." This was first used in print in Cervantes work, "Don Quixote". Its meaning, as defined in the text in Proverbs, has not changed. When a person gives his word to do something, it is his guarantee that he will do it. The guarantee was sealed with a handshake.

Is this how business promises are guaranteed today? Of course not. Today, you need contracts with such complicated wording that only lawyers can understand. Have contracts helped? Not necessarily. People break contracts, companies break contracts. In fact contracts today are only worth as much as the paper they are written upon. When there are contractual disputes, lawyers and courts get involved, and sometimes the contract is upheld, and sometimes it isn't.

Do you remember the day, when a man's word was his bond? When did it stop? Why isn't it true anymore? Should it still be true? Of course it should be. It's simply about keeping your word. Do you think that maybe when Situational Ethics was starting to be taught in the 60's that "the ends justify the means" that keeping our word started becoming old fashioned? When you say you are going to do something, just do it. Each of us has the opportunity to make a deep and lasting impression by simply keeping our word. This concept is not "old fashioned" and "out of date". It is a fundamental principle of ethics. It is the essence of integrity. Whether it's us as individuals or collectively as a company, our integrity is measured by our ability to keep our word. Unfortunately today's culture is rampant with lying, promise breaking, swindling, cheating by both individuals as well as companies, and throughout the political arena. No one trusts anyone anymore. Why does it have to be this way? Does it have to be this way? Call me naive, but I do not believe it does.

Would you like to gain a competitive edge in your market, in your family, in your corner of the world? I believe keeping your word will do more to grow your business than any business training, business plan, guru training, etc. ever will. It will make you stand out in any field. Being known as a person of your word will be like a breath of fresh air in today's society.

Is it easy to keep your word? Unfortunately, not always. I believe most people would say, "I keep my word", but look deep within yourself, do you always keep it? Are there times that you may fudge things just a little, overpromise something, twist a word or two to your advantage? I will gladly be the first to raise my hand and say I'm as guilty as anyone else, but that doesn't make it right. Being truthful, keeping your word takes time. I think it first takes an attitudinal adjustment inside of a person. We need to recognize that being truthful is our goal and be committed to keeping our word. What happens when we slip and don't keep our word? Acknowledge it, learn from it, and move on. We are all a "work in progress". Why not start today to set out to keep your word, if you say you are going to do something, do it, regardless of the immediate consequences.

How do you want to be remembered?

What Motivates You?

What is your motivation in life?  What gives you the drive, the energy, the focus, to do what you do, to live the life that you are living? The subject of motivation and how it leads us in life to do, live or accomplish certain things could be a study in and of itself, so to get us thinking about the topic of motivation, let’s look at the 2 sources of motivation, external and internal.

External motivators are things like rules & regulations, laws, financial rewards, relationships, your company’s mission statement, sales goals, this blog etc.  I could go on and on.  External motivators are everywhere. 

As the name implies, internal motivators come from within.  Rules and laws are meaningless unless I am motivated internally by “fear” of the consequences for breaking them.  Financial rewards can either be good or bad based on whether my internal motivation is “greed”. Relationships are meaningless without the internal motivator of “commitment”.  Your company’s mission statement is just words on a piece of paper, until you are internally motivated to “follow” it.  Sales goals are meaningless without the “discipline” to reach them.  And even this blog on Ethics will just be an external motivator, until you make the decision to “apply” the principles to your own life to live a more ethically principled life.

Today, I want us to look at just one of these external and internal motivators. 

1:19, “So are the ways of everyone who is greedy for gain; it takes away the life of its owners.”

15:27, “He who is greedy for gain troubles his own house,…”

Gain, an increase in wealth, is the external stimulus or motivator.  Greed is what comes from within us.

It is a human tendency to want to look externally when we think of greed.  It’s easy to point the finger at the greed on Wall Street or the greed in corporate America.  Is it really greed coming from those places, or is it our perception of greed?  Is everyone on Wall Street greedy?  Of course not!  Neither are all corporate leaders in America just greedy either.  Some reading this may not be able to get beyond the perceived greed in those places, but I’m asking you to look internally, not externally. 

There is nothing wrong with making money, earning a healthy income, becoming rich.  Just because someone has a lot of money does not mean that they are greedy.  The problem is whether we look at wealth as a tool for good, a means to an end, or do we let the pursuit of it possess and consume us.  If it is the latter, notice the warnings in the verses above, “it takes away the life of its owners, and troubles his own house.”  You may think or have heard someone say that the Bible says that “money is the root of all evil”, but that is not true.  It does not say that.  But, it does say, “the love of money is the root of all evil”(I Timothy 6:10).  If your goal is to accumulate more and more, without any regard to your health, your family, the needs of your fellow man, then please be careful.  Your pursuit may end up taking your life and/or ruining your home.

Again, I ask, what motivates you as you rise each morning and head off to work each day?  Is it just to provide a living for you and your family?  Shouldn’t it also be about fulfilling your own life’s ambitions, in the pursuit of happiness?  How about, serving your fellow man?  Shouldn’t that also motivate us?   I was recently on the receiving end of someone who finds more motivation in life than making money.  To this individual, his motivation is about serving his fellow man.  The funny thing is, I have never personally met this person either.  Let me explain.  The person I’m referring to delivers the newspaper to our home.  We live in a rural area.  Think about how many papers he has to deliver to even make a little profit.  He would either have to have a steady job or be semi-retired, because he is not going to make a whole lot just delivering papers in a very rural area.  Anyway, back to the story.  The other morning, it was raining, and the wind was gusting pretty strongly, when I went out to get the paper.  We have one of those combination mail/newspaper tube boxes with the mailbox on top and the tube underneath.  Every morning when I go out for the paper, the paper is always in the tube.  This particular windy morning was special.  To me, it showed how dedicated the carrier was in providing outstanding customer service.   When I got to the box that particular morning, our carrier had not only double bagged our paper to protect it from the rain, but he had also put it in our mailbox with a portion of the bag hanging out, so I would see it there.  He took ownership of the situation and because of the windy conditions; he thought that the paper could easily have blown out of the tube.  He was making sure (think about the extra time he took to double bag the paper and strategically place it in the mailbox) that I received my paper the way I receive it every morning.  His motivation certainly was not about making money.  It was about serving his fellow man and treating his fellow man like he would want to be treated. 

Let’s make sure that our motivation in life is not just about making money.  There are more worthy pursuits in life that are not only more rewarding, but will also give us a lot more satisfaction.

What do you do when your integrity is challenged?

What do you do when your Integrity is Challenged?

For those who read last week’s blog, welcome back!  For those who are visiting for the first time, thank you for visiting.  Since posting the introductory blog last week, I’m been overwhelmed by the amount of people who have taken the time to read it.  To say it exceeded my expectations, would be an understatement.  I am truly grateful for those who read last week’s post.  With that gratitude, another emotion has also crept in.  It is the total feeling of unworthiness to be addressing the topic of ethics.  There are many of you reading this right now who are far better qualified than me to write on this subject, yet here I am, sitting at my computer feeling the urge to continue writing on the topic.  Why me?  Maybe God has a sense of humor after all to consider using someone like me that has failed so many times in his life, or maybe God thinks that it is because of the lessons I’ve learned through those past failures that qualifies me to write about it, so I can try and help others to not go down that same road.  This way, the focus will never be on me, but I will always be able to point to the Source of ethical living and remind people of what He can do in their lives.

This week, we are going to start seeing what the Book of Proverbs says about ethics in general and business ethics in particular.

Proverbs 1:10-15, “My son, if sinners entice you, do not consent. If they say, “come with us,…we shall find all kinds of precious possessions, we shall fill our houses with spoil, cast in your lot with us, let us all have one purse”.

Some of you may be thinking, “Oh no!  I thought you said this wasn’t going to be preachy or overtly religious.  Here you are on your first actual blog, and you already are talking about sinners.” 

All I ask is that you please don’t bail on me yet.  Let me explain.  A practical definition of “sinner” is  someone who crosses the boundary of an established standard, code or law, whether that law is moral, civil, social or business, so to cross that boundary would make one a sinner.   I’m not going to dwell on the word “sinners” in this post.  I’m more concerned with how we react when we are enticed to cross an established boundary, when we know that doing so is wrong. 

There are actions, deeds, activities that cross established boundaries of what is right that virtually every man alive knows that in doing so is wrong.  The basic tenets of the Ten Commandments are written on the hearts of all men whether they believe in them or not.  For example, I do not know of any civilized society who does not regard murder as wrong.  Yet there are actions or deeds that some people believe to be wrong while other people do not.  It may be from having a religious upbringing or belonging to a church that has established more restrictive boundaries for some.  For the person who regards certain things to be wrong if he does them, while others do not, it would still be wrong for him to do whatever that deed or action may be.   James 4:17 says, “…to him who knows to do good and does not do it, to him it is sin.”

How does this have an application in a business sense, in particular with regards to business ethics?  Think of it this way, there are deeds, activities, actions, etc. that are done daily in offices across the country that a large number of business people do, and do regularly, and probably don’t even think there is anything wrong with doing it.  Here are some examples. 

·        Your child needs some copies done for a school report.  You make copies on the office copier after hours.

·        You regularly check your status on Facebook throughout the workday while on company time.

·        You count the mileage going to your child’s soccer game as business mileage.

·        You stretch the truth with a customer.   For the record, a stretched truth is still a lie.

·        You spread office gossip.

I could go on and on.  I’m sure there are many more you could name, but suffice it to say, I think you get the picture.

To put this verse in a business setting, it could read something like this, “if business associates entice you to do something you know is wrong, regardless of what it is, simply don’t go along with it.”  Sounds easy enough doesn’t it? 

Why then, is it so hard?  First of all, you have to deal with the interoffice peer pressure.  It’s hard when everyone around you is saying “come with us.” “Cast your lot with us”.  You know, it’s that “one for all, all for one” mentality.  No one likes the feeling of being the outcast in an office, one who appears that he does not have fun like everyone else, because he chooses to not participate in joining the crowd, but chooses rather to march to the beat of a different drummer.   Deep down, we all want to be accepted.  Too often this kind of person fears getting labeled a “goody two shoes” or worse.  Besides if it is done by the majority of your co-workers, is it wrong?  I’m not debating that.  I’m simply saying if it is wrong for you, then you should not succumb and go along with it.  You need to rise above the “peer pressure.”

Secondly, it is hard not to give in and follow the crowd, when the enticement however small may profit you in some way, “we shall fill our houses with spoil:” as the verse says.  This appeals to us humans on so many different levels.  This desire for gain feeds our greed.  The writer tells “his son” in verse 15 to “not walk in the way with them.” Walk away from it. Take a stand for right.  Don’t get drawn in, regardless of the consequences.    

In today’s culture, maintaining your personal integrity is not always easy, and it may keep you from being the most popular, but it will give you a life of inner peace.

I realize this has been rather long, and my goal was to make them shorter, but I do have one final thought on today’s topic.   In your efforts to maintain your integrity, you need to always be on guard against becoming judgmental of others who do not hold to the same standards you do, and start thinking you are better than they are, because, trust me, you aren’t. 

Doing what is right should be our goal.  Becoming self-righteous is not.  There is a fine line between living with conviction and being self-righteous.  We will explore the difference in the weeks ahead.

Why am I writing this Blog?

Simply stated, I believe there is a need for it.  Maybe it’s just me, but I think it is glaringly obvious that morals, sound business principles, appropriate social behaviors and ethically principled living have been on a downward spiral for years, and seem to be escalating at an ever more rapid pace with each passing year.

As the name of the blog implies, it is about ethics, and in particular business ethics, but as John Maxwell so aptly stated in his wonderful book, There is no such thing as Business Ethics, ethical principles should guide us in all aspects of our life, not just in business.  The person that you are 8 to 5 should be the person you are the rest of the time, and vice-versa.  Even though I will be focusing primarily on sound ethical principles in the workplace, and since you can’t really separate business ethics from personal ethics, I’m sure there will be spill over into your personal, private life as well. 

The source for these business principles on ethics comes from the greatest book ever written on the subject, the Biblical book of Proverbs. This blog will not be a verse by verse study, nor will it be written to promote any particular religious, denominational or sectarian viewpoint. It is simply my attempt to glean some of the timeless principles from this book as they relate to our everyday business life and share them with you in a conversational, non-threatening way.

My intent is not to come across as a “holier than thou know it all”, “holy roller” or “goody two shoes” for surely, I don’t know it all, and I’m certainly not “holier than thou”, nor do I intend to come across as “preachy” or “lecturing”.  If I see that I am coming across that way, I will shut down the blog myself.  My goals are:  (1) to introduce the reader to the richness of the Book of Proverbs and its teachings on Ethical Principles, (2) to discover principles together that will help us navigate the daily challenges we all face in our culture, and (3) to encourage everyone that even though you may have failed many times to live ethically, whether personally, professionally or both, that you will discover that the Author of the Book for this blog is someone who offers everyone a “second chance.”

For those who know me, you may be asking, “Why are you doing this Tony, why now?  The reason is simple.  There were times that I have failed miserably in my life and have not lived that squeaky clean ethically pure life, but through it all, I have rediscovered a loving and forgiving God that not only gives us second chances, but sometimes third, fourth, fifth or even more chances.  So my purpose is to simply pay it forward.  I hope to share ethics lessons from Proverbs that will benefit others professionally and personally and that will challenge the reader to not focus on the failures of the past, but to live more ethically principled lives now, because real, lasting change is possible for anyone.  I hope you enjoy what will be written in the weeks ahead but also be challenged with these musings.

The Plan for Business Principles & the Book of Proverbs

1.      My goal is to post a new blog every 5 to 7 days.  They will be shorter than this introduction was.  This was longer because of the nature of it. 

2.      Since many of the topics contained in Proverbs are repeated more than once, you may read posts that address the same topic that was covered in an earlier post.  The goal is to keep each post fresh and different.

3.      You are invited to comment, but please keep your comments within the parameters of the topic of a particular post.  Since this blog deals with principles from the Bible and knowing how many different opinions people have, if your comments are argumentative, use inappropriate language, are slanderous or preachy, or if you use the comments area as a forum to promote any particular religion, those comments will not be posted.  I would simply encourage you to write your own blog.

4.      If you start following the blog and subscribe via email, you will also have opportunity to unsubscribe at any time.

5.      All biblical references are taken from the New King James Version, Copyright © 1992 by Thomas Nelson, Inc.

6.      All photos are royalty free and were purchased for approved use through iStock.com.

7.      If you like what you will read, please share it with others.