My boss told me recently that I’ve accumulated so many banked hours, the office thinks it would be best to pay me out. I’ll never get a chance to use them all up, not even if I work an hour less every day for the rest of the year.
My response? “I could lie about my hours?” Her reply? “I don’t think so. And I’ll still know you’re working too much.” So, the question remained: Do I let the store pay me out? I decided I didn’t want them to, and here is why.
Credit Where Credit Is Due
One thing I’m really good and bad for at the same time is being self-motivated. This can be a desirable feature in a worker, but it can also stunt the growth of others and become a matter of pride and thoughtlessness. Those numbers on my employee dashboard remind me that I can’t do it all. I must share the load.
I’m a manager of a department in a grocery store, with about 15 employees under my guidance. A few of them just show up, work, and leave at the end of a shift. Other employees enjoy their jobs, and they want to do their best.
How do I honor their willingness and ability? Sometimes, I don’t; I try to do everything so they won’t be stressed or overworked. I have a wage budget, which limits the number of hours I can offer per week, which can make the day pretty busy and tight.
I want my team to enjoy work instead of feeling stressed when I’m not allowed to schedule extra people, so I come in early to finish things they don’t get time for.
But trying to be everything to everyone actually sends the message that I don’t need them, or they aren’t good enough, or I don’t trust them, which isn’t what I’m trying to say at all. And I also burn myself out.
God has not asked us to do everything ourselves. We are designed to need helpers in our lives. “It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him a helper fit for him” (Genesis 2:18). That’s a picture of marriage, but also of friendship. And what about less intimate relationships?
Remember when God called Moses up the mountain? He was also instructed to bring up a few companions, though they could not all come close to the Lord. At a certain point, Moses instructed the elders to stay put.
Then, “Moses rose with his assistant Joshua, and Moses went up into the mountain of God” (Exodus 24:13). Whether we are in a position of authority or just trying to do life, we need help.
Trying to Be Wiser
“Whoever trusts in his own mind is a fool, but he who walks in wisdom will be delivered” (Proverbs 28:26). I simply cannot trust in myself to do everything well. That’s foolish and unreasonable.
No one is good at everything. Something is going to fall to the ground in the messiest way possible if I don’t delegate tasks appropriately and put down some of the plates I’m trying to spin.
Staff members will be (and are) inconvenienced when I inevitably make mistakes because I’ve overloaded myself. My job is to serve customers, my boss, and my staff, so it’s important to try and stay organized with the schedule, payroll, etc., and proactively avoid trouble.
As I get used to knowing what my job is and what is someone else’s job, I have to give up control over certain facets of the work we do there and also admit that I need helpers, some of whom are better at particular jobs than I am.
For example, I’m not a trainer. There are people with a better handle on the day-to-day aspects of their part of the department.
In that case, they are well-placed to train new staff members and to prioritize which tasks are most important for newbies to learn in those first few days. They also pick up quickly on the strengths and weaknesses of each new staff member.
Another function which I don’t get too involved with is cleaning. There are a few reasons: one is that it adds more hours to a long day where I am really needed during business hours; secondly, there are usually aspects of cleaning that I find physically painful, and which are better suited to stronger (or younger) individuals under supervision. It’s stupid to hurt myself when I don’t have to.
Thirdly, if I can’t find a reason to keep someone working during the slow times of the year, this is one way to keep more people busy: get them to clean stuff.
But boundaries are also important. Certain staff members should not be given too much authority, or they change things when I’m not there. They ignore or misunderstand my instructions, and I’m left feeling burnt.
Plus, certain people are afraid of authority. I want to give them more, but they are intimidated by the prospect of making decisions.
They phone me when I’m hiking — I’ll be on the side of a mountain, and they’re asking me questions which, if they were to have a bit more confidence, they would realize they are fully capable of answering without my input. So, if they’re going to reach out to me when I’m on holiday, why don’t I just stay at work?
Delegating is an essential part of my job, and I must learn to do this wisely.
What Can I Change?
Sometimes, I come back, and there’s been trouble, whether because of my error or some random mishap. Every time I go away for an extra day, as soon as I come back, someone has to complain about a coworker.
It’s hard to go back to work on those days when the list was already long, and now it’s both longer and there is more tension. Psalm 106 recounts what happened when Moses was on the mountain: “They murmured in their tents, and did not obey the voice of the Lord” (v. 25).
Trouble starts when there is no one there to speak reason, assuming I could be reasonable myself under those circumstances.
Will these problems go away if I burn myself out? No, they won’t. My manager will have to deal with them. I don’t want her workload to get bigger. I also dislike the idea that the staff might be happier when I’m gone, which I always wonder about.
Are they grateful not to have me hanging about and telling them both the good and the bad? I do both — compliments and credit are wonderful. Not everyone takes constructive criticism very well. But both of these are essential.
I’ve seen certain people go from feeling embarrassed by constructive criticism (you’re going to need to work more quickly) to experiencing a sense of pride and accomplishment when I tell them how much they have improved.
And if I see that kind of change, I realize there are things I can do to improve the work situation. It’s not comfortable to tell someone to do better, but if I don’t do that, I deny someone a chance to improve.
Then, when an employee is getting better at his or her job, I’m building a more competent base so that I can leave and feel confident doing so.
I can also ask my boss, who is there to serve me with her wisdom. She will even complete certain jobs of mine when I am away, which is part of her function.
I mustn’t be too proud or embarrassed to say, “I need time. I need a break.” She doesn’t expect me to be Wonder Woman, and I’m not. So that can change — my attitude.
Final Thoughts on Motivation
Remember when David tried to fight, but he was old, and his soldiers had to save his life? “Then David’s men swore to him, ‘You shall no longer go out with us to battle, lest you quench the lamp of Israel’” (2 Samuel 21:17).
I really want to avoid being like David — where my staff or my boss are forced to make me take a break because I’m making so many mistakes; they’re tired of cleaning up after me.
Lord, let me be motivated to work sensibly, a servant to you in all I do, but also to serve my team by knowing when I need to be there and when I need to rest. Amen.
For further reading:
Does God Help Those Who Help Themselves?
Where Does Our Help Come From?
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