Ethical Issue on Work

[Oriental]

These two days I was confused about an issue at work. Since it is traditional for our firm to send headquarter staff to the retail stores to work with the front line, (it lasts usually only 2 days), headquarter staff hardly wholeheartedly comply with the instruction. It is because to work with the front line in retail store requires the staff to do the stock management (actually lifting heavy objects and cleaning) and cashier duty. Headquarter staff are accustomed to office work in decent place and elegant setting. All the actions that staff goes to retail store to work for supporting them in spirit are sheer lipservice.

Today except a few energetic moments after enough staff were counted for turning up and respective job duties assigned to them, the staff worked only for less than one hour. Afterwards they fled and vanished amid the crowd. (the retail stores are always crowded with people. The selling outlets are having several exits; in spite of the viewcam that the store manager may spy who fled off the job duties, it often goes unnoticed. The store managers hardly care about it.

It sounded quite a hard time. It was pretty stupid to stay in the outlet while abundance of fellow workers vanished after signing off the register in the morning.

How do you guys think about it, scripturally speaking?

Oriental.



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[Canuckster1127]

These two days I was confused about an issue at work. Since it is traditional for our firm to send headquarter staff to the retail stores to work with the front line, (it lasts usually only 2 days), headquarter staff hardly wholeheartedly comply with the instruction. It is because to work with the front line in retail store requires the staff to do the stock management (actually lifting heavy objects and cleaning) and cashier duty. Headquarter staff are accustomed to office work in decent place and elegant setting. All the actions that staff goes to retail store to work for supporting them in spirit are sheer lipservice.

Today except a few energetic moments after enough staff were counted for turning up and respective job duties assigned to them, the staff worked only for less than one hour. Afterwards they fled and vanished amid the crowd. (the retail stores are always crowded with people. The selling outlets are having several exits; in spite of the viewcam that the store manager may spy who fled off the job duties, it often goes unnoticed. The store managers hardly care about it.

It sounded quite a hard time. It was pretty stupid to stay in the outlet while abundance of fellow workers vanished after signing off the register in the morning.

How do you guys think about it, scripturally speaking?

Oriental.



..

That doesn't sound all that different from what may happen in the US in similar situations.

What I would think about it as a Christian, is that it is an opportunity for me to show the difference Christ has made in my life and regardless of what others do, I can stick with my role and do it as unto God.

In terms of the others, it is hard to know exactly what to do in that situation. If they are not responsible to you and store management is choosing to look the other way, I suppose, if it is not your responsibility to address the situation, it would be best to manage your own affairs to be above reproach and leave them to God.

Justice ultimately does come. It just doesn't always come as quickly or as obviously as we wish.

[Oriental]

Thanks for the reply.

What about the situation, the staff who fled off the job duties include those whose jobs rank higher than mine?

Virtually they are corporate controllers or leader-rank guys who simply did not turn up at all? They did not sign off the register because they never turned up! I can tell: it is simply out of control, and it is questionable if the down-to-store action is simply a symbolic action to energise the front-line. And it is a symbolic action only, leaving a register on the table and energising action is on face value only. The reality is that, even the frontline are not happy to see HQ for the fear of being accused of wrongdoing on job. They take HQ as police force in the corporation.

Yesterday I was the only one who signed off the register on time. All other staff came late and vanished very soon. Regretfully I hanged around in the outlet for the morning till noon to have my lunch; afterwards I just stayed in the vicinity of the outlets putting myself on call. At 5:30 pm when I went back to the back office, I realized that I was the only one left behind. All the others had gone home. A strange feeling emerged; I had throught to sign off the register but I did not. Like all others, I went home as well.

Down-to-store action is not novel. It is traditional practice in our corporation for years. HQ people go to stores simply chatting and symbolically energizing the frontline, before everyone of them goes off when it is opportune.


Oriental.



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