M
Magicsilence
Guest
Ok, so you take the decision and get fired! Then what? Lather rinse repeat for ever?
And this really is not about being afraid of adulthood.
Morality of jobs and what am I supposed to DO for the rest of my days on this earth?
- Status
And this really is not about being afraid of adulthood.
J
jmcrae
Guest
Make a list of companies whose values you believe in. Then, research the companies and find out how your talents, education, and skills fit in with the positions that those companies offer. (And if there’s something you need to upgrade, then make sure to upgrade it, and make sure to tell them that you are upgrading it.)
Then, write up a resume that highlights those areas, and start applying for the jobs that you want.
You are not required to apply for jobs in places that don’t fit with what you believe in. (You may have to take a job in one of those places temporarily, while waiting for an opening in the job that you really want. But you don’t have to (and you also shouldn’t) spend your entire career doing things you don’t really believe in.)
M
mercygate
Guest
So get the job and when you get fired, we’ll discuss it.
D
davidv
Guest
So, what questions are you preparing to ask your propective employers, that will help you decide whether you would accept an offer from them?
M
Magicsilence
Guest
The example was really just to illustrate a point.No. Not at all. That would be really bad for business, in the long run. Don’t work for anyone who requires you to behave like that, because they will be out of business (and you will be out of work) within a year.
Remember the golden rule of sales - if they say “No” you don’t talk them into it. (Give them two opportunities to say “Yes,” because the first “No” is usually just a knee-jerk reaction - if they say “No” the second time, when they’ve had a chance to think about it, then you don’t push them any further.) Rather, you move on to the next customer.
Remember, the relationship is more important than the sale. Build up good relationships, and sales will take care of themselves.
Our economy is capitalist, and wherever, whenever, however possible this means the maximisation of profits. This is the fundamental goal of business, and is completely contrary to our Catholic Faith.
Holding clients, building up good relationships etc… are all the other side of the capitalist coin, namely securing future customers for… you guessed it, the maximisation of profits.
The problem I am facing is that, almost wherever one works, it is not unto Jesus Christ, but money, and as an employee of that business, you are inevitably entangled and asked to do things to that goal.
M
Magicsilence
Guest
So what happens when every business is focused on money, and you are trying to find one focused on Jesus Christ?
M
Magicsilence
Guest
What if I was already put in the situation and am speaking from experience?
M
Magicsilence
Guest
These ones?
Do you believe in God, the Father almighty, creator of heaven and earth?
Do you believe in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord, who was born of the Virgin Mary, was crucified, died, and was buried, rose from the dead, and is now seated at the right hand of the Father?
Do you believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy catholic Church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and life everlasting?
J
jmcrae
Guest
You cannot get fired for not breaking the law. I have been a professional driver - seriously, they can’t force you to break traffic regulations. They can really, really want you to, but there is no package so important that either it can’t be delayed the extra five minutes, or else you’ve got lights and sirens on your vehicle, and it’s perfectly legal for you to go as fast as you can.
I’ve also been a secretary, and if I was told to say that my boss was not available, it was because he was actually not available. Maybe he was out playing golf, but he certainly wasn’t available.
What you can do is mention in your hiring interview that you have a strong sense of ethics, and that you will always do your best to be honest and ethical in all of your business dealings. That way, if they later ask you to lie about something, or break the law in any way, you can remind them that this would go against your code of ethics.
If an employer fires you for not lying or for not breaking the law, I think you’d have a clear case to be able to sue his pants right off of him, quite frankly. The majority of employers are honest, and the few that are not, you can avoid working for simply by doing a bit of research and making sure that you apply for jobs in places that hold similar values to your own.
M
mercygate
Guest
Join the Trappists. You won’t have to worry about the ethics of money.
J
jmcrae
Guest
You do know that money comes originally from God, right? Working for money (which is necessary for life) is not “against the faith” - being a good worker (meaning, bringing profit in for your employer, and building good relationships with clients) is actually part of being a good Catholic.
There is no conflict, as long as God comes first and money comes second. But businesses are about making money, because business is how we get money. If we didn’t need money to survive, we wouldn’t bother with business - we’d all stay home and play all day.
M
Magicsilence
Guest
I think you are approaching this from a micro perspective, i.e getting any job and being ethical.You cannot get fired for not breaking the law. I have been a professional driver - seriously, they can’t force you to break traffic regulations. They can really, really want you to, but there is no package so important that either it can’t be delayed the extra five minutes, or else you’ve got lights and sirens on your vehicle, and it’s perfectly legal for you to go as fast as you can.
I’ve also been a secretary, and if I was told to say that my boss was not available, it was because he was actually not available. Maybe he was out playing golf, but he certainly wasn’t available.
What you can do is mention in your hiring interview that you have a strong sense of ethics, and that you will always do your best to be honest and ethical in all of your business dealings. That way, if they later ask you to lie about something, or break the law in any way, you can remind them that this would go against your code of ethics.
If an employer fires you for not lying or for not breaking the law, I think you’d have a clear case to be able to sue his pants right off of him, quite frankly. The majority of employers are honest, and the few that are not, you can avoid working for simply by doing a bit of research and making sure that you apply for jobs in places that hold similar values to your own.
I am approaching it from a macro perspective, namely; to what end are my job’s activities focused on? And hence, is the job itself immoral?
You would not, of course, have worked for the ancient colosseum where Christians were fed to the lions, but refused to open the lions gates because of ethical values. You would have condemned the very institution as immoral and had nothing to do with it, in accordance with the Catholic Faith.
In the same vein, the pursuit of money is an evil that, unfortunately, all modern corporations base themselves upon. In working for these institutions we indirectly support the goals of senior management, namely the pursuit of money.
As a result, most jobs involve loose morals and questionable activities aimed at making money.
M
Magicsilence
Guest
But this is reflective of a problem that Christians around the world have to face. Becoming monks can’t sort out everybody’s problems!!
J
jmcrae
Guest
Someone who has trouble asking money from someone who is buying a product, might have trouble with the idea of begging door to door for money, though.
M
Magicsilence
Guest
What!?! Money is a visual representation of our claim to the gold our countries possess. God gave us plants and animals, not money!
I know this. The laborer deserves his wage.
Being a good worker is definitely good and holy. But it becomes less clear when that aim is solely to make someone else richer and richer by fleecing others.
So, if God comes first, then he should come first in the business too? Right? And when anyone asked you to do something which was not moral, you would refuse, right?
J
jmcrae
Guest
There is nothing the matter with money. Money is essential for life.
Even if you become a monk, you will still have to come up with a certain amount of money each day to feed and support yourself and your brother monks - either by begging from door to door, or else by selling something. Nobody can just live on air and happy thoughts - and everything has a price. It’s not like the old days where some things were free.
M
mercygate
Guest
Money is not intrinsically evil – the LOVE of money as a thing in itself, or as a means of wielding unjust power is evil. Money is not evil and the pursuit of it is a necessary fact of civilization.
Even monasteries need to make money.
I have been in the work force for 40 years. In only 2 short jobs was I ever confronted with the expectation that I behave unethically. Since then, I have worked in medical education: I have never been expected to do anything that would compromise my Christian ethical code. In fact, I am the ethics police – overseeing the ethical conduct of research involving human and animal subjects where the researchers hold financial conflicts of interest with project sponsors.
Macro view? Gimme a break. Get a job – not in a casino or porn shop. Tithe. Deal with the ethics when you actually face a problem.
J
jmcrae
Guest
Money represents hours of work, and products created and sold. These things (time and creativity) are given to us by God. We exchange them by means of money, so that we can buy the things we need in order to stay alive. Even gold is not gold, without the time and talent that it represents.
Not every corporation is out to “fleece” people. Those that are will not be in business for very long.
Absolutely. And even if your employer doesn’t believe in God as we do, he still (if he’s any good at his job) believes in higher ideals of ethical service and fairness. A good employer (meaning, one who plans to stay in business past the next quarter) will never require you to do anything unethical.
M
Magicsilence
Guest
I know all this. But the goal of these monks is not money, but to survive through the use of money.
Business idolizes wealth, above and beyond its use for sustenance, and working towards that aim is wrong.
Luke 16:13 No servant can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or he will hold to the one, and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon.
P
puzzleannie
Guest
most businesses do not serve the devil directly or indirectly. yes most businesses do operate under a profit motive, so that the owners of the business, the shareholders, can reinvest in for enterprises which not only create jobs, increase the economic well-being of the country and its people, and supply necessary products and services.
I don’t know where you are getting your misinformation on the capitalist system, but you may want to take your remaining time in school to re-educate yourself if you expect this system to support you and your family in the future.
- Status