Lenten Meditations - # 8
I was having a conversation with a dear friend one morning this week and we lovingly agreed to disagree. The topic was the role of business (including leaders) when an employee has a medical problem and cannot work for an extended time. He remarked that you cannot give something for nothing. If an employee is not working then one should not pay them. Some employers may have insurance which covers short term disability while someone is getting treatment. Some may be able to afford a generous paid sick leave policy. Some organization have many employees who donate paid sick days off for the sick person to use. Small businesses, however, may not have any of these options. Yet, I have known small businesses who found a way to pay the sick person and continue to function while an employee was getting treatment or overseeing the treatment of a family member. Obviously, this can create a hardship, especially since the workload of the sick employee must be carried by the remaining employees or even employee. Some might argue that this is unfair to the remaining employees. I would argue that it is not a matter of fairness or unfairness. I would argue that we are our brother’s or sister’s keepers.
My personal experience is that when one is kind to another person; that when one treats others as one wants to be treated all works out in the long run. When one is committed to doing the next right thing just because it is the next right thing one has a feeling of inner peace which no one can take from one.
The interesting thing is that the friend with whom I was talking and who suggested one cannot give something for nothing is, in his personal life, extraordinarily generous. He often helps others expecting nothing in return just because they are a human being. Yet, he balks at the suggestion that employers should pay someone a salary when they are unable to work because of a medical condition. I am not sure why this is. Even in his business dealings he is often generous with his time and money.
Often, I talk to business people who believe that the rules for how one treats others in business dealings should be different than how functions in one’s private life. The excuse or reason given is that “This is business.” as if this explains or justifies treating each other as less than. I have heard the argument that one must do whatever one can to keep the business running. If the business gives away more than it can afford the business will fold and all the employees will be without a job and, thus, without money to care for themselves and their family members. Yet I believe that often when humans are 100% committed to a goal they find a way to achieve that goal.
I do not recall Jesus suggesting that humans treat each other one way in a business setting and another way in a personal setting. I agree it is a challenge for humans – especially this human – to apply the teachings of Jesus in all aspects of one’s life. It may be a bigger challenge to do so and not feel as if one is sacrificing something to follow this path – a challenge to not fall into the trap of thinking one is a martyr.
I never want to give from an attitude of degrading pity. That does not feel good to the giver or the receiver. I do believe that all people have something valuable to give back. As Father Greg Boyle says what the person may be giving back is ourselves – a piece of ourselves. This does not mean I want to give expecting something back, but I want to give with an openness to the gifts which are returned to me in whatever form they arrive.
Written March 14, 2019
Jimmy F Pickett
Coachpickett.org
I was having a conversation with a dear friend one morning this week and we lovingly agreed to disagree. The topic was the role of business (including leaders) when an employee has a medical problem and cannot work for an extended time. He remarked that you cannot give something for nothing. If an employee is not working then one should not pay them. Some employers may have insurance which covers short term disability while someone is getting treatment. Some may be able to afford a generous paid sick leave policy. Some organization have many employees who donate paid sick days off for the sick person to use. Small businesses, however, may not have any of these options. Yet, I have known small businesses who found a way to pay the sick person and continue to function while an employee was getting treatment or overseeing the treatment of a family member. Obviously, this can create a hardship, especially since the workload of the sick employee must be carried by the remaining employees or even employee. Some might argue that this is unfair to the remaining employees. I would argue that it is not a matter of fairness or unfairness. I would argue that we are our brother’s or sister’s keepers.
My personal experience is that when one is kind to another person; that when one treats others as one wants to be treated all works out in the long run. When one is committed to doing the next right thing just because it is the next right thing one has a feeling of inner peace which no one can take from one.
The interesting thing is that the friend with whom I was talking and who suggested one cannot give something for nothing is, in his personal life, extraordinarily generous. He often helps others expecting nothing in return just because they are a human being. Yet, he balks at the suggestion that employers should pay someone a salary when they are unable to work because of a medical condition. I am not sure why this is. Even in his business dealings he is often generous with his time and money.
Often, I talk to business people who believe that the rules for how one treats others in business dealings should be different than how functions in one’s private life. The excuse or reason given is that “This is business.” as if this explains or justifies treating each other as less than. I have heard the argument that one must do whatever one can to keep the business running. If the business gives away more than it can afford the business will fold and all the employees will be without a job and, thus, without money to care for themselves and their family members. Yet I believe that often when humans are 100% committed to a goal they find a way to achieve that goal.
I do not recall Jesus suggesting that humans treat each other one way in a business setting and another way in a personal setting. I agree it is a challenge for humans – especially this human – to apply the teachings of Jesus in all aspects of one’s life. It may be a bigger challenge to do so and not feel as if one is sacrificing something to follow this path – a challenge to not fall into the trap of thinking one is a martyr.
I never want to give from an attitude of degrading pity. That does not feel good to the giver or the receiver. I do believe that all people have something valuable to give back. As Father Greg Boyle says what the person may be giving back is ourselves – a piece of ourselves. This does not mean I want to give expecting something back, but I want to give with an openness to the gifts which are returned to me in whatever form they arrive.
Written March 14, 2019
Jimmy F Pickett
Coachpickett.org
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