“Work willingly at whatever you do, as though you were working for the Lord rather than for people.” Colossians 3:23
A recent Gallop Poll found that a staggering 85% of people interviewed were unhappy with their job! Economics and management were two of the top reasons for job dissatisfaction. So what was it that kept people from walking away? In a word, relationships!
A boss or manager that made his or her employees feel valued was a huge factor in employee loyalty. A second relationship factor was the friendships that co-workers would develop over time. Relationship mattered more than compensation.
In my own experience, I remember working for a ministry in which the ministry leader was berating me and others constantly. He would often talk behind our backs and tell others how inept certain people were at their jobs. The pay wasn’t great. The atmosphere was toxic. So why did our small staff stay on?
I can’t speak for the others, but I can tell you from my perspective that I certainly didn’t stay out of loyalty to the director! The thing that kept me moving forward was remembering why I was there and my belief in what I saw our mission to be. My ‘boss’ wasn’t the director of the ministry. I was working for my best friend, Jesus. Regardless of the toxicity, we all were there to serve those who were struggling emotionally, spiritually and in some cases, financially.
When you love your job and the person you work for, your work is most likely characterized by a desire for excellence. You want to do the best you can to help the team accomplish the mission. But excellence is often more about attitude than aptitude.
Using my personal example, those of us on the team grew very close over my time in that ministry. We encouraged each other in spite of the toxic environment. We met each week for ‘donut Wednesday’s’ to talk about our lives, our dreams for the ministry and the challenges we were facing. Our focus was on Jesus and the people in our community that needed a helping hand.
While my time at the ministry was short-lived, and there were many emotional challenges due to the toxicity, I look back on that time with fondness because my focus remained then, and now on the things I saw Jesus doing through us in spite of what was going on in the background.
Grace Nugget: The more we allow ourselves to receive God’s grace, the more we are able to extend it to others in the workplace.
