Anxiety

"Do you suffer from anxiety? Ask you doctor if is right for you." Then they rattle off the fine print and potential side effects caused by the drug.

Sometimes as Christians, we refuse to admit our anxiety. But stop and think about what you are anxious about today.

• Out of work and running low on savings
• Going to work for an unreasonable boss
• Waiting for that next promotion
• A child who is failing no matter what you do
• A large project that your career depends upon
• Trying to figure out what training/degree to go for next
• Finding a new job

I can then add in many other personal things that make us anxious - our marriage, finding a mate, going through a divorce, how to pay for that leaky roof, fear of flying, fear of death...

How do we get there? Read some of these lyrics from Billy Joel - Pressure:
You have to learn to pace yourself
You're just like everybody else
You've only had to run so far
So good
But you will come to a place
Where the only thing you feel
Are loaded guns in your face
And you'll have to deal with Pressure

You used to call me paranoid

Riding the Taxi

I had several cab rides on a recent trip to New York. The subway is much more fun in terms of people, but traveling with luggage in the subway is rather difficult, especially when riding during rush hour.

I will say that riding in any car in New York can be a hair-raising experience. Having an "expert" at the wheel is imperative, humorous, and sometimes extremely scary!

On this trip, two of the rides got me thinking about a great song by Caedmon's Call called Bus Driver.

"I'm just a bus driver, and what do I know?"

How often do we think that we are above somebody else because of their profession? Do we realize what kinds of things would not get done if we did not have the bus drivers? Do we realize the differences in cultures and how they relate to other professions?

Help! I'm Drowning!

Ever feel like you just cannot keep up at work any longer? Do you wonder how you would ever get to the next level by watching your manager or somebody in the next level?

We just finished review season at work, and are now preparing goals for 2008. My manager tells me two things each year, and these are passed down to our staff.

1. Assuming you achieved an "above expectations" rating on your performance review - if you perform at the same level next year, achieving the same type of results, you will only receive a "meets expectation".

But that isn't fair many will argue. My boss' next piece of advice explains why...

2. My job is to push you out in the deeper water and see how you will do. At times you will go under, bobbing for breath. I will make sure that you do not drown, but you need to tell me if you are dying - call uncle - but you better mean it.

Think about as a child - you started out in the wading pool, graduated to the 3' section in the larger pool, and would gradually be pushed (by parents or peer pressure) into gradually deeper water. Each step was a challenge, and your parents would often be right beside you. If you went under, they would hold you up.

Praying for Work - Muscling Up Our Faith

No, this is not about praying about finding a job, but praying FOR your job. It also is not about the workouts that you are or are not doing.

We pray for our families, our church, our friends, sicknesses - but do you pray daily for your job, your meetings, your boss, the kids you teach, the customers you have to serve, the work that you have to do? And I mean more than praying that God would strike down the manager who heaps work on you constantly!

That is a lot to pray for! Is it biblical? Are there prayer passages that deal with work? Of course! We will look at just the New Testament.

Romans 12:12 tells us to be faithful in prayer. There is no time limit, no limitation on what to pray for. Faithfulness means regular.

Ephesians 6:18 says to pray on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. All occasions means work, meetings, reviews, classes, parties, dinners.

Compassion and the Workplace 2

SurfinSteve made an interesting comment on this topic - that as Christians we are held accountable for our actions.

We have talked about 1 Corinthians 10:31 - everything we do is to give glory to God.

So does it honor God if we release non-performing employees or contractors, even if they are going through a hard time?

The past two weeks have been difficult. I have released two contractors for various issues. The second was easier as he was not performing as expected, and had not been on the team for very long.

The first, that is what brought on my conflict. He had been on the team for over a year. I enjoy his company, and I have been praying for his salvation. He was open to talking about spiritual things.

I knew some of what he was going through, but he did not tell me everything. One of the other challenges is that he was a contractor, not an employee. Ending a contract is always easier legally than firing an employee.

Compassion and the Workplace

This is for managers out there who face hiring and firing decisions. At the bottom of this entry you will see "Add new comment", and I would like to get some discussion going on this topic.

I'll add my thoughts on it next week.

Here is the scenario:

You have an employee whose performance is going down. You work with them to make sure that the problem is addressed, and the employee knows about it. After a period of time with little to no improvement, you have another discussion about performance, and you are ready to release the employee. During this session you find out that there are problems going on at home that you didn't know about previously.

Here is the difficulty - as a Christian, you feel compassion, but as a manager, you still have work that needs to be done.

Does it matter if the person is a believer or not? Should it?

Ed Roden
Ministry in the Marketplace
EdRoden@woodsidenews.org