How can I share the Light with my co-workers?

[sanchopanza]

I am a 30-something male who works for a small company of 18 people that doesn’t have a lot of experience with change. Three guys are in the warehouse, but in the office part where I work there are eleven women and then me, and one other guy upstairs who works at various sites, so I don’t deal with him much. Clearly I’m outnumbered. I’m also 15-25 years younger than everyone. Anyway, I go to Mass 5-7 times a week (depending) and am all about God after an awakening/conversion. There are a few Catholics, some Baptists and a few “spiritual” people here, and while I don’t proselytize, I do speak of my faith if asked, which happens fairly often due to a few pics of Christ and the Virgin and books people have seen me reading during breaks.

The odds here are daunting in some ways, but I think the Lord put me in this job to teach me humility, and also because it’s a great fit that answered my prayers in many ways. I’ve been used as a punching bag in a number of ways (most of them petty), and it’s been a real test that has taught me a lot in the three months I’ve been here. I think a number of my co-workers are unhappy and really sweat the small stuff too much (they never miss the slightest thing I might do wrong as I continue to learn the ropes and when I do, boy do they let me know it!) Some of the women seem a bit threatened by me because I have more education and my position is different than theirs. While I don’t know for sure (though I suspect it), I am a much more active and devout Christian than my co-workers, though I’d never say such a thing. My question is, I want to be something of a ball of light here in the office, a good examle, if you will, a “uniter”. I want to spread the “good infection” as C.S. Lewis said.

I think this is a wonderful opportunity for spiritual growth, to receive by giving, to overcome a lot of stereotypes, generational gaps issues, and battle of the sexes hogwash, etc. Obviously it is a great opportunity for my co-workers too - if they want it to be. I know some of them really like me, but they don’t want to give me any credit for anything, mainly because I’m a guy, even a kid to some of them. A few (falsely) see my presence as a challenge to their tenure. I take everything in stride, and I think sometimes they just want to get a rise out of me for no good reason, pushing their weight around as if I had dreams of overturning everything here.

Any suggestions?

 

[acadian]

Smile. Thank them when they let you know the things you don’t know. Be pleasant. Listen way more than you talk. Be patient.

 

[Julia_Mae]

Any suggestions?

Be the kindest, humblest, most honest person they have ever met. Be the best listener, the last to judge, the first to help, the hardest worker. Be the most joyful. Then they will want to know how to get what you have.
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I really need to learn to take my own advice.

sigh

 

[George_Stegmeir]

The best way to evangelize your co-workers is by setting a good example. Be humble and cheerful, and do not shove your religious beliefs down your co-workers throats. The worst thing that can happen to you on the job in a small company is to get a reputation as a “Bible thumper”! Be low key. But, by the same token, if a co-worker uses excessive coarse language or tells off-color jokes, do not hesitate to tell them that you find that objectionable. Then drop the subject, don’t argue with them.
In the long haul, this will do more to evangelize your co-workers than all the preaching in the world.
The fact is, that in the United States, there are three subjects that should never be discussed and have no place in a business environment: Politics, sexual encounters, and Religion. Discussion of any of these subjects can not only cause resentment, but could get you fired.

 

[AlanFromWichita]

Be the kindest, humblest, most honest person they have ever met. Be the best listener, the last to judge, the first to help, the hardest worker. Be the most joyful. Then they will want to know how to get what you have.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
I really need to learn to take my own advice.

sigh

Ditto!

The best way to evangelize your co-workers is by setting a good example. Be humble and cheerful, and do not shove your religious beliefs down your co-workers throats. The worst thing that can happen to you on the job in a small company is to get a reputation as a “Bible thumper”! Be low key. But, by the same token, if a co-worker uses excessive coarse language or tells off-color jokes, do not hesitate to tell them that you find that objectionable. Then drop the subject, don’t argue with them.
In the long haul, this will do more to evangelize your co-workers than all the preaching in the world.
The fact is, that in the United States, there are three subjects that should never be discussed and have no place in a business environment: Politics, sexual encounters, and Religion. Discussion of any of these subjects can not only cause resentment, but could get you fired.

 

[AlanFromWichita]

I had some other ideas; I was going to replace my last post but it took to long, so here goes…

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I agree with the previous posters.

One other thing I strongly suggest to work on is the appearance of a pride problem. You may not feel proud, but it is hard for an education person to be around less educated people and avoid giving that air. I don’t think you feel you are a better person, but you do feel more “advanced” in a number of areas. It is hard to keep this from seeping through your persona and creating a “holy aura” of some sort. People who are not as educated as you may be much more sensitive to those things, because they very well could work their jobs under the thumb of or at least heavily affected by people who do think they are better and talk down to them if not ignore their opinions entirely. So you’re fighting their opinions of previous people you will automatically be compared to – such as the last person in your position – that they don’t like. Or they did like the last guy and want to see if you measure up.

Perhaps it would be well to keep a sharp eye out for others’ areas where they might be advanced, and might teach you something. For example, the way “blue collar” people relate to each other under stress can sometimes be instructive to “office people.” Listen to them joke with each other, and hopefully they don’t get silent when you walk near. Watch how they react to each other, and learn.

I started Boeing as a young engineer in 1981, fresh out of college. The shop people took huge exception to me, not because of me but because I was an engineer. It made no sense to me until I realized that in normal work flow, the engineers didn’t even ask the shop people for advice on a design, and by the time it hit the shop it was cast in concrete and shop requests for design change were turned down at a rate of maybe 99%. This made the whole shop hate engineers.

Well, when I got a design from scratch, I did things differently. I went to the shop with my design just before I handed it over the wall to the packaging group to be “cast in stone.” With permission from the foreman, I talked to the loudest engineer curse-er in the shop. I handed him the design notebook and stood there ready to take notes. I told him, “Bill, you’ve been building these boxes since before I was born, and I’d like your opinion on my first design, before we release it to packaging.” (I knew Bill had turned in over 200 RFC’s on the previous project I was on and they were all denied.) Bill started flipping the pages, started to turn red, and after about 30 seconds, he burst open. "Well, the FIRST G-D thing I see is you should make sure you only shield wires that need to be shielded. Those things are a nightmare to us… " and he went on for almost five minutes.

Every idea was excellent, and we incorporated them all before sending the design to packaging. For example, there were over 400 wires in the main junction box, and I had them all shielded because I was given an old design as the only example, with no design guidelines except the performance specifications. When I analyzed it, there were only two wires that needed shields, so I delete the rest. When that design hit the shop (it was a tester that tested the radar transmitter from a B-52) it set records for how cleanly it made it through, and it worked perfectly the first time it was turned on, except for one switch that was wired upside down. We sold the testers to the Air Force. Keep in mind, they sent a very skeptical team to buy our design. They had come to Wichita for a four-week First Article Demonstration that was so messed up it turned into 13 months, and wrote up over 300 complaints against it, many of them very serious functional issues. Well, when they saw my testers they loved them, a two week scheduled demonstration was completed in four days. The Air Force wrote only 12 complaints, none of which were performance-based, such as “need grommet in hole in counter top to avoid chafing.” Sign off was completed and the AF team was dumbfounded to go home a few days early.

The lesson here is that it truly is teamwork. And they ARE better at many things than you. Let them know you recognize that. Ask the other people for their opinions on things you know they are expert at, and heed their advice. Let them “mold you” to the culture of the company (of course you will refrain from sin but you must not “notice” theirs except in extreme cases of hostile workplace). That way they will have something invested in you. And you will be much more in the know about how things are really done, and they will be more likely to help “grease the wheels” when you need some “special” cooperation from them because they will respect you for having respected them first.

Alan

 

[YESSENIA1]

Julia mea, Love your post…