Opinion: 'Faith at Work' can create workplace cynicism

I am a Christian. Faith is central to my life. It has carried me through many difficulties, including a battle with cancer. A few notable companies, such as ServiceMaster and Chick-Fil-A, successfully integrate faith and work. Regardless, I remain skeptical of FAW in its current popular form.

FAW in some companies goes beyond accommodating employees’ religious beliefs or providing them with chaplains. An entire industry now exists to create FAW programs. Books depict God as a “heavenly CEO.” Companies proclaim FAW, even belief in God, as a core value. Executives promise to manage companies according to godly principles.

But religious faith is misused. FAW becomes a strategic business plan and profitability equals godliness. Executives pose as saints while misleading employees, the public and sometimes themselves about how some companies truly run. FAW becomes “bad faith at work.”

Recent business scandals show the damage caused when executives fail to follow company value statements. Employees and consumers become cynical and lose confidence in U.S. businesses.

What happens if a company’s executives violate a promise to conduct business in a godly way or honor employee religious beliefs?

Enron’s company values were respect, integrity, communication and excellence. The executives promised to run the business on those values. They lied to Enron’s employees and the public, but at least they kept the sacred out of their lies.

What if Enron’s promise of respect had said, “respect for our employees’ religious beliefs”? Would not the betrayal have been even greater?

Consider this simple analogy. You drive down a busy highway at the posted speed limit. A speeding car passes you. The speeding car has a radar detector and a “support your state troopers” bumper sticker. Are you cynical, or at least skeptical, about the driver’s willingness to obey the law?

What if the car also has a “honk if you love Jesus” sticker or displays the Christian fish symbol? Does your cynicism or skepticism about the other driver’s values increase even more? Mine does.

FAW creates similar cynicism in others when executives use company property for private pleasure or take excessive compensation. The same is true if management pays low wages, ignores employee safety, allows the verbal abuse of employees, practices favoritism or cronyism, punishes dissent or in other ways violates commonly shared religious principles.

FAW should not be clever public relations or a means to pacify employees.

A sincere faith at work program does not need a new statement of company values, a formal program or an expensive company retreat to introduce the program to managers. Executives need only practice the golden rule: Treat others as you would have them treat you. Promise to treat others with dignity, respect, fairness, and mercy, and keep the promise!

The golden rule is common to almost every religion, including Christianity, Judaism, Islam, Buddhism, Hinduism and Confucianism. As the Bible’s book of James states, “Show me your faith without your works, and I will show you my faith by my works.” James 2:18 (New King James Version).

John D. Copeland, J.D., LL.M., Ed.D., is an executive in residence at the Donald G. Soderquist Center for Business Leadership and Ethics and Professor of Business at John Brown University in Arkansas.

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