Lessons Learned from a Bottled Water
Several years ago I was sharing my frustration with my Director because one of the hotels I frequented regularly had charged me $5 for a bottle of water that I had not consumed. I had been in touch with the hotel manager on several occasions trying to get my account credited. After weeks of phone calls and emails I still had not gotten the credit. (Seriously this must have been really hard!) I felt like such an injustice had been committed and I was on a mission.
My boss listened to my rant then simply looked at me and said, “So how much of the company’s money have you spent chasing this $5 bottled water?” At first I was confused by his question. Then after I quickly did the math in my head I knew I was busted! I had never thought about my hourly worth as a salaried employee but he was exactly right. I was not wrong in my effort to treat the company money like my own (I would never drink $5 bottled water), but at the same time I had lost A LOT of productive time. I had essentially wasted way more than $5.
In Ephesians 6:4-6 Paul encouraged integrity on the job. The Worldwide English version states: “Servants, obey your boss. Respect him with all your heart and try to please him as you would Christ. Obey, not only when he is looking at you, as if you were pleasing a man. But obey as the servants of Christ, and do with all your heart what God wants you to do.”
Integrity in the workplace is broad and often includes guidelines on how to treat others, how to recognize discrimination, and how to work respectively. But integrity also includes how we spend our time at work. Think about Paul’s words to “obey, not only when he is looking at you but as servants of Christ.” In a nutshell, this means doing what is right even when your boss isn’t looking because we know that God sees everything.
Over the next week think about how much time you spend at work during non-break times “not working.” Do you frequently spend time on Facebook, Instagram, or Amazon? Do you get caught up playing games on your cell phone? Do you spend long amounts of time on the phone speaking with friends or relatives? [I insert a chuckle here thinking about the years of my career before smartphones – those little devices have made it so much easier for us to waste time! The years of trying to hide solitaire games by turning your monitor away from the door is over!]
Even in the example I used above with the bottled water I was doing what I thought was right, but I could have been spending that time instead on my strategic projects, on developing my team, or on reviewing important key metrics to help drive company efficiency. I frequently encourage my team to keep track of what they are spending time on; even things that they think are meaningful and productive and then compare their list to the departmental strategy. It is easy to get off track.
One of the most powerful exercises I did a few years back was to rank the top 10 things I was working on from greatest to least. In the next column I estimated how much of my week I was spending on these top 10 things. What I found was that I spent more time in many cases on items that were at the bottom of the list. I had to reshuffle the deck and ensure my time was focused on the top of the list.
So what happens at work when you are distracted by a sick loved one or a burden that has you mentally distracted from focusing on our work? This same boss that pointed out that I had my focus all wrong in chasing down the water reimbursement also made it very clear that he expected his team to be present while at work, but if they had a family issue he insisted that they go take care of it. Not many bosses encourage their employees to focus on their family and that is something I have adopted in my own leadership style.
If you lead people in the workplace do they know and understand your value of time and the importance of family? Can they come to you if they are experiencing a family issue without threat of repercussion? Lead by example and lead with a bright Christian light. Paul also writes in Titus 2:7 “you yourself must be an example to them by doing good works of every kind. Let everything you do reflect the integrity and seriousness of your teaching.” Be the leader that others aspire to be by acting on what you say and doing good for your employees.
Regardless of where you work or what you do, you will have stressful days. It is important that you take breaks, stay hydrated, and eat! This is a requirement in order for you to stay productive and pleasing to your boss. Yesterday I challenged you with the One Minute Challenge. Take that one minute periodically throughout the day and just rest. Lift a prayer up to God, thank him and praise him and then just be still for one minute. Trust me! One minute can make a big difference in a crazy, fast paced work environment.
As Christians we take Paul’s words to heart because they are written in the Bible. Our one true source of truth for living is found on every page of the living word. Our biggest concern should be pleasing our Heavenly Father and working (regardless of where) as if we were working for Him. Take some time next week to make mental notes of things you do at work that may not be what you are getting paid to do. Write down your daily priorities each morning and make sure they are in line with your departmental goals. Are you following worthless pursuits or are you diligently working and earning your pay? Give it all you’ve got while you are at work and remember that Jesus Christ is our one true supervisor.
Heather Callahan
