June 2005 - Hurrah for Boeing! Romance in the Workplace is Out!

THE CHRISTIAN WORK ETHIC NEWSLETTER
June  2005

Harry Stonecipher WAS the President and Chief Executive  for Boeing Aircraft Corporation until he was recently ousted by Boeing's Board of Directors.

We at Worker Ministries applaud this action!  We believe this sends a strong message to all other employees in that company:  The workplace is no place for romances on the job whether the affair is concensual or not!   Boeing like other corporations is a business establishment and should not be allowed to become a corporate Peyton Place!

It is interesting that Boeing had brought Stonecipher, its retired President, back to bolster ethical practices after a series of scandals had occurred.   By terminating him, the company showed that it does not intend to play the game of hipocracy by allowing its chief manager to engage in a romance with another employee while at the same time promoting ethical conduct!   Hurrah for Boeing!

We at Worker Ministries can only hope that Stonecipher was removed not just because it would have been an embarrassment to keep him but because what he did was W R O N G!

But, you may ask:  What is wrong with romance on the job?

1. The most important reason for NOT allowing romance in the workplace is that it creates an environment for adultery to take place.  The employer who allows this is actually sowing the seeds for such temptation to take place.   God has declared that adultery is a S I N !

2. Many a family has been destroyed because a father or mother started a romantic relationship with another person while at work.  Such behavior which reaps havoc for any innocent children who may become involved is despicable!

3. Other innocent individuals often become entangled in the romantic relationship through no fault of their own.  Examples:  (a) The boss who is despised by a male worker because the manager had to reprimand the worker's on-the-job girlfriend!    (b) An employee who is promoted to a higher paying job is now hated by a female worker who felt her on-the-job boyfriend should have gotten the job!  

4. Such romantic endeavors WILL interfere with job performance because a relationship is guaranteed to draw both individuals away from their work duties throughout the day.  Why is this wrong?  The male employee, for example,  who is constantly using the business phone to make contact with his on-the-job girlfriend is stealing time from his employer for personal gratification and this is NOT right because God has commanded Thou Shalt Not Steal!

Any organization which permits this to take place should beware of Biblical truth:  What you sow is what you reap!

This truth applies to organizations as well as individuals. Corporations or other employers which allow  managers to  turn their heads when observing romantic endeavors on the job will surely suffer consequences in the future including possible financial hardship or ruin!

And, that my friends, ain't a mere coincidence.  After all, divine providence always surpases our own understanding and our own wicked ways!

(For further insight into this subject, click on Newsletter Archive below and then click on our August 2004 newsletter.)

Very truly yours,

Jim Hogsett, President/Founder; Worker Ministries and Writer for Guideposts Magazine