Newspaper Page Text
PAGE 8 — The Georgia Bulletin, February 15, 1990
All contents copyright (c) 1990 by Catholic News Service.
By Father Robert Kinast
Catholic News Service
“You have no idea how hard it is to
be a Christian in today’s workplace.”
One person made the comment, but the
other six sitting around the table
nodded in agreement.
We were planning a parish retreat and
these parishioners were giving me sug
gestions. I asked them to give me some
examples, confident that I had a good
idea how Christians should function in
the workplace.
I listened as these men and women
from labor, management and govern
ment described scenarios I barely could
comprehend. Then I offered the only
insight I could come up with, “I see
what you mean.”
And I recalled the great escape clause
from Vatican II’s Constitution on the
Church in the Modern World, “Let the
laity realize that their pastors will not
always be so expert as to have a ready
answer to every problem” (No. 43).
Since that night I have learned that
although it is hard for many Christians
to put their faith into practice in the
workplace, many do so with heroic
virtue. Many more do so without
realizing it as they work out of a funda
mental Christian value — respect for
each person's dignity.
Pope John Paul II said in his
apostolic exhortation on the laity that
“to rediscover and make others
rediscover the inviolable dignity of
every person makes up an essential
task, in a certain sense the central and
unifying task” of the church’s service to
the human family (No. 37).
Christian workers do this when they
show respect for themselves, for others
in the workplace, for consumers or
clients and for the natural resources
they use in their jobs.
1. Respect for self. It is not always
easy to show self-respect in the
workplace. Even people with a good self-
image may accept discriminatory treat-
CNS illustration by Mark Williams
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Ethics at work
ment to keep a job or get ahead.
I recently had to go to a medical clinic
for a routine procedure. The nurse
explained the procedure and took my
vital signs. The doctor came in and
checked me and then the nurse pro
ceeded to do the job. The doctor returned
and pronounced her work very good.
“You ought to be a professional,” he
said, intending to compliment her.
“Doctor, I am a professional,” she
responded.
That exchange showed me that she
had self-respect and was not hesitant to
affirm it.
2. Respect for co-workers. Competi
tion undergirds the free market but it
also can undermine respect for persons
in the workplace, especially if they are
viewed only in their role on the job.
A government worker I know com
bats that tendency with what he called
a “water-cooler ministry.” Inevitably, at
the water cooler, he asks someone a
personal question like, “How’s your
family doing?”
Sometimes the conversation is brief,
sometimes it leads to a deeper sharing.
But it always reminds both that they
can relate as persons, not just workers.
A personnel director for a large hotel
chain tries to spend time each week
working side by side with an employee.
She says this keeps her aware of the
situations employees face. It also keeps
her face to face with them.
Efforts like those require initiative
and could be misunderstood as prying
or snooping, but these are small risks
for affirming respect for co-workers.
3. Respect for consumers. Much that
is done in the workplace is intended for
someone else as a product or service.
Consumers and clients easily can be
viewed as money-generating sources
rather than persons with dignity.
A real-estate agent keeps these values
in perspective. His manager placed
signs on all the telephones which read,
“Every caller is worth $$$ or more.”
The agent penciled over his sign,
“Every caller is worth more than $$$.”
4. Respect for the environment.
Respect does not stop with other
persons; it extends to the things used
in work. It is part of Christian belief
that God entrusted the world to
humans to use, not abuse.
A few years ago I had a plumbing
problem, so I called Ron, the plumber.
He traced the problem to the outside
line. A terra cotta pipe had cracked and
someone had wrapped a black plastic
bag around it rather than replace it.
Ron kept saying, “I can’t believe
someone would do that to a pipe,” as if
he was hurt personally by the act.
It struck me as humorous then, but
I often have recalled that moment and
wondered what the environment would
look like if everyone had Ron’s respect
for the things they use.
Bringing the Christian value of
respect into the workplace demands the
courage to affirm one’s dignity when it
is undervalued, the initiative to talk to
co-workers as persons and meet them
face to face, the willingness to see con
sumers as more than potential income
and respect for the things of this world,
even broken pipes.
As with so many other demands of
the Christian life, the hardest part about
doing it is doing it.
(Father Kinast is a pastoral theologian
and writer in Madeira Beach, Fla.)
4 I
FAITH IN THE MARKETPLACE
How do you see yourself as a Christian making a difference in the place you work?
I know I can help people out
by making them a loan, but
sometimes I can help them bet
ter by not making a loan. One
reason the banking business
always interested me was
because I felt it was an excellent
place to assist people to better
themselves.”
— Melvin Frei, banker, Cottonwood, Idaho.
ii]
I think if you are an example
out in the community it makes
people want to examine why the
Christian individual behaves in the
way that he or she does.”
— Virginia Almquist, lobbyist, Boise, Idaho.
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I respect other people — the
way they live, the way they
think.... The biggest difference I
make in the workplace is that I can
always be trusted to give 100 per
cent.”
— Dolores Olszewski, housekeeper,
Tampa, Fla.
u
Through mutual support. In
my job, there are many give-and-
take situations. I am able to give
support to those who need it, and
I can expect it when I need it.”
—Paula Clark, administrative secretary,
Rapid City, S.D.
An upcoming edition asks: Is there anything about the sacraments that puzzles you?
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