Anticipating vacation
05/07/13 05:33
There are many ways in which a church doesn’t act like a small business. There are other ways that the church is just like any other employer with a small number of employees. Because we have a small number of employees and we have a limited budget for salaries, we have to be creative in how we cover for employees’ time off. For the most part we simply cover for each other when vacations occur, with no small amount of juggling work responsibilities. The joke we make is that a vacation doesn’t mean that you do less work, it just means that you do part of the work before you leave and the rest after you come home. This is actually pretty much the truth. Except for worship and a few public appearances, the people of our church are responsible for getting their own work done. Planning a vacation means figuring out how to get the work done.
And, in the church, like all other modern offices, the distinctions between work and home are fading. With cell phones, computers, e-mail, voice messages and other technologies enable us to be constantly connected. It is not at all uncommon for me to take a call and handle a work-related issue on my “day off.” Days off are another challenge for us.
Although we complain about it, I don’t think that there is anything that is substantially different from the way we work and the way many others work. There are many people for whom their vocation is a genuine calling – a way of life – more than it is a simple job. There are lots of people who take their work home every day. There are a lot of jobs where the distinction between personal life and work are not entirely clear. Family farmers and small business owners know that the attempt to count work hours is meaningless.
The challenge for the church, as with any employer that values the creativity of its workers, is to create an environment where workers are nurtured and encouraged to achieve appropriate balance between work and recreation. The Biblical practice of Sabbath is as relevant today as it ever was.
At least two large employers, IBM and Netflix, have completely stopped tracking their employees’ time off. They simply do not keep those records. For them, time cards are a part of the past. They understand that employees get creative ideas when they are in other locations. They know that spending time with family makes for more balanced and more productive workers. These policies begin with the assumption that not all work takes place at the office. The companies have decided to structure themselves for results rather than rules. They also understand that managing, monitoring and enforcing vacation policy takes time, energy and money. These companies have decided to focus their resources in other areas.
We do a similar thing at the church. As the senior officer of the institution, it falls to me to supervise other employees. However, we have found that what works best for the church is to hire dedicated people who care about the church and who do not need external supervision. While members of our team report their plans for time off and we discuss how best to juggle busy schedules, I don’t count days or keep track of how many hours are worked. I expect those who work at the church to be responsible both to the work that needs to be done and to their own needs for rest and recreation. With the kind of creative and engaged people who come to work for the church, getting them to step away from the obligations of their jobs and take genuine time off is probably a bigger problem than having them take too many days off from work.
The bottom line is trust. When we hire trustworthy people and give them our trust they rarely abuse it. Time and time again the people who work at the church prove me to be right to trust them to live lives of faithfulness to the mission of the church. Conversely, when trust breaks down, problems arise. From time to time, for whatever reasons, a church member will have some dissatisfaction with a person who works at the church. One disgruntled church member can account for hours and hours of lost productivity while a church employee struggles to answer complaints and concerns. A few years ago, we had a church member who stopped by the church at 9 a.m. several days a week and commented on who was and who was not in the office. The member didn’t learn much about how we get our work done. Spot checks on who is at the office tells you nothing about who was at the hospital in the middle of the night, who has arranged a Bible study in another location, or who is out visiting other church members. Office hours are nearly meaningless when it comes to productivity of church workers. Much of our work doesn’t occur at the church office and when we are at our best, we are out an about working with the people.
This blog, of course, is prompted by the fact that I am in the midst of the scramble of arranging for a two-week vacation. There are many things that remain on my “to do” list before I can depart. I know that I will take a few phone calls as I travel. I’ll check on my e-mail on a regular basis. The church called me to be a pastor. I don’t stop being me and I don’t stop being a pastor when I am on vacation.
On the other hand, it is important for me to get away to gain perspective. I need to look at the church from a distance from time to time. I need to model being attentive to my marriage and family as an enduring commitment. I need a balance of recreation and work.
The next three days will be filled with lots of activities. I’ll be running errands for the church and personal errands in the same trip. I’ll be thinking about family and about work all together.
If someone wants to track my hours, they are welcome to do so. I’m too busy to keep that kind of record.
And, in the church, like all other modern offices, the distinctions between work and home are fading. With cell phones, computers, e-mail, voice messages and other technologies enable us to be constantly connected. It is not at all uncommon for me to take a call and handle a work-related issue on my “day off.” Days off are another challenge for us.
Although we complain about it, I don’t think that there is anything that is substantially different from the way we work and the way many others work. There are many people for whom their vocation is a genuine calling – a way of life – more than it is a simple job. There are lots of people who take their work home every day. There are a lot of jobs where the distinction between personal life and work are not entirely clear. Family farmers and small business owners know that the attempt to count work hours is meaningless.
The challenge for the church, as with any employer that values the creativity of its workers, is to create an environment where workers are nurtured and encouraged to achieve appropriate balance between work and recreation. The Biblical practice of Sabbath is as relevant today as it ever was.
At least two large employers, IBM and Netflix, have completely stopped tracking their employees’ time off. They simply do not keep those records. For them, time cards are a part of the past. They understand that employees get creative ideas when they are in other locations. They know that spending time with family makes for more balanced and more productive workers. These policies begin with the assumption that not all work takes place at the office. The companies have decided to structure themselves for results rather than rules. They also understand that managing, monitoring and enforcing vacation policy takes time, energy and money. These companies have decided to focus their resources in other areas.
We do a similar thing at the church. As the senior officer of the institution, it falls to me to supervise other employees. However, we have found that what works best for the church is to hire dedicated people who care about the church and who do not need external supervision. While members of our team report their plans for time off and we discuss how best to juggle busy schedules, I don’t count days or keep track of how many hours are worked. I expect those who work at the church to be responsible both to the work that needs to be done and to their own needs for rest and recreation. With the kind of creative and engaged people who come to work for the church, getting them to step away from the obligations of their jobs and take genuine time off is probably a bigger problem than having them take too many days off from work.
The bottom line is trust. When we hire trustworthy people and give them our trust they rarely abuse it. Time and time again the people who work at the church prove me to be right to trust them to live lives of faithfulness to the mission of the church. Conversely, when trust breaks down, problems arise. From time to time, for whatever reasons, a church member will have some dissatisfaction with a person who works at the church. One disgruntled church member can account for hours and hours of lost productivity while a church employee struggles to answer complaints and concerns. A few years ago, we had a church member who stopped by the church at 9 a.m. several days a week and commented on who was and who was not in the office. The member didn’t learn much about how we get our work done. Spot checks on who is at the office tells you nothing about who was at the hospital in the middle of the night, who has arranged a Bible study in another location, or who is out visiting other church members. Office hours are nearly meaningless when it comes to productivity of church workers. Much of our work doesn’t occur at the church office and when we are at our best, we are out an about working with the people.
This blog, of course, is prompted by the fact that I am in the midst of the scramble of arranging for a two-week vacation. There are many things that remain on my “to do” list before I can depart. I know that I will take a few phone calls as I travel. I’ll check on my e-mail on a regular basis. The church called me to be a pastor. I don’t stop being me and I don’t stop being a pastor when I am on vacation.
On the other hand, it is important for me to get away to gain perspective. I need to look at the church from a distance from time to time. I need to model being attentive to my marriage and family as an enduring commitment. I need a balance of recreation and work.
The next three days will be filled with lots of activities. I’ll be running errands for the church and personal errands in the same trip. I’ll be thinking about family and about work all together.
If someone wants to track my hours, they are welcome to do so. I’m too busy to keep that kind of record.