How many of us have wasted countless hours perusing the internet with no obvious purpose. It’s a little like constantly changing the tv station with the remote. This apparent desire to be stimulated to avoid boredom is an epidemic. Sure we all need some down time and surfing the net provides some relief. But what about in the office? What should people do when surfing occurs at work? Should the employer adopt a no surf policy? Put up site blockers? Fire surfers?
I’m not a big believer in over regulating worker conduct and behavior. Having been an employment law attorney, I’m very familiar with the traditional advice to completely eliminate surfing as a matter of policy and block certain sites. I think this shows too little trust in employees. As long as they are managed to defined production results, I don’t believe anyone should worry too much about internet surfing. Workers are adults and should be able to self police their internet surfing. It’s just a fact some will do it more than others. One would presume the bigger offender would be the less productive but I’m not aware of any evidence validating such a hypothesis.
However, my opinion changes dramatically if someone is surfing porn or other inappropriate sites. Such inappropriate behavior is generally prohibited under broader employee conduct policies. Other employees may be offended, and frankly it involves an intent to surf the web for items other than news, weather, friends’ facebook updates, etc. I think the days are long gone of trying to control internet usage. This is particularly true in office work settings. I doubt it’s a problem for manual labor positions. But the one truth which applies regardless of the passage of time and invention of new technologies is that people must still be productive.
The right balance between appropriate, universal employee policies regarding employee conduct and employee freedom is a delicate one that’s lived out each and every day throughout the United States. Only responsible people agreeing to watch out for each other’s and the team’s best interest will succeed in achieving this balance.
Tuesday, March 23, 2010
Monday, March 1, 2010
You Should Work
Perhaps I was premature in my last article Work Should be Joyful. It assumed man must work. And indeed, man must work. Let’s look at this foundational teaching.
As one theologian wrote “Man must work both because the Creator has commanded it and . . .Man must work out of regard for others . . . since he himself is the heir to the work of generations and at the same time a sharer in building the future for those who will come after him in the succession of history.” (Pope John Paul II, Laborem Exercens, 73).
Work isn’t bad. Remember last week’s article. Work is good. Work should be enjoyed, perhaps with some attitude adjustment. Once “work” is framed this way, it’s possible to understand the command to work. For instance, I had a Benedictine monk tell me years ago during a personal reflection retreat it was okay for me to get away from my business (provided it functioned in my absence) and pursue other interests. He wasn’t advocating doing nothing. Rather, it was an invitation to follow my natural curiosity. This creative work, identifying additional competencies, paid or not, fulfills this mandate to work. And it’s fun.
The old view of “work is bad” or to be avoided germinated from a society rooted primarily in jobs that that “grind men down with excessive labour as to stupefy their minds and wear out their bodies,” a condition John Paul II admonished in 1991. (Centesimus). Today’s connected world won’t tolerate it. That’s a good thing. But the world also won’t tolerate the other extreme – self -absorbed employees with little work ethic. Such workers shirk more than the terms of their employment agreement, , they disregard God’s command. I think the majority of Americans risk living closer to the latter scenario.
The key is to harness your individuality within a larger organized effort. Everyone wants to produce. But not everyone wants to produce when it’s for other people, like owners and employers. They’d rather do it for themselves. Maybe they don’t like, or believe in, the people they report to or work with. Judging by recent news reports, 45-70% of Americans dislike their jobs. That’s over 100 million people! How can that many people be unhappy with their jobs? Is it the content of the job? Is it co-workers or bosses? Is it the perceived lack of direct benefit to society? Should we resort to an agrarian norm? Heck, I own two farms and dream of working by the sweat of my brow (my wife and kids laugh at this) Such a narrow view implies technological advancement is bad. Progress is a good, moral development in the right context. And our challenge is not to revert to a perceived Nirvana, but to understand how to apply ourselves into this developing world for the betterment of all.
Perhaps one of the best ways to combat aloofness is simply be through exemplifying virtuous work habits. Life is hard. So why not just show up to work on time, put on a smile, and slug it out. Too many workers through in the proverbial towel without quitting their jobs. They don’t “buy in.” They go through the motions. What’s missing is a sense you owe it to God if no one else to work hard and do your best.
As one theologian wrote “Man must work both because the Creator has commanded it and . . .Man must work out of regard for others . . . since he himself is the heir to the work of generations and at the same time a sharer in building the future for those who will come after him in the succession of history.” (Pope John Paul II, Laborem Exercens, 73).
Work isn’t bad. Remember last week’s article. Work is good. Work should be enjoyed, perhaps with some attitude adjustment. Once “work” is framed this way, it’s possible to understand the command to work. For instance, I had a Benedictine monk tell me years ago during a personal reflection retreat it was okay for me to get away from my business (provided it functioned in my absence) and pursue other interests. He wasn’t advocating doing nothing. Rather, it was an invitation to follow my natural curiosity. This creative work, identifying additional competencies, paid or not, fulfills this mandate to work. And it’s fun.
The old view of “work is bad” or to be avoided germinated from a society rooted primarily in jobs that that “grind men down with excessive labour as to stupefy their minds and wear out their bodies,” a condition John Paul II admonished in 1991. (Centesimus). Today’s connected world won’t tolerate it. That’s a good thing. But the world also won’t tolerate the other extreme – self -absorbed employees with little work ethic. Such workers shirk more than the terms of their employment agreement, , they disregard God’s command. I think the majority of Americans risk living closer to the latter scenario.
The key is to harness your individuality within a larger organized effort. Everyone wants to produce. But not everyone wants to produce when it’s for other people, like owners and employers. They’d rather do it for themselves. Maybe they don’t like, or believe in, the people they report to or work with. Judging by recent news reports, 45-70% of Americans dislike their jobs. That’s over 100 million people! How can that many people be unhappy with their jobs? Is it the content of the job? Is it co-workers or bosses? Is it the perceived lack of direct benefit to society? Should we resort to an agrarian norm? Heck, I own two farms and dream of working by the sweat of my brow (my wife and kids laugh at this) Such a narrow view implies technological advancement is bad. Progress is a good, moral development in the right context. And our challenge is not to revert to a perceived Nirvana, but to understand how to apply ourselves into this developing world for the betterment of all.
Perhaps one of the best ways to combat aloofness is simply be through exemplifying virtuous work habits. Life is hard. So why not just show up to work on time, put on a smile, and slug it out. Too many workers through in the proverbial towel without quitting their jobs. They don’t “buy in.” They go through the motions. What’s missing is a sense you owe it to God if no one else to work hard and do your best.
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