Friday, May 4, 2012

Treating Employees Fairly

Some easy points to be made this week. Do not steal is repeated, but in this case it is truly about business, not just about stealing cattle or some other item. Notice the progression of the sentences below:

19:11-13
11. You shall not steal. You shall not deny falsely. You shall not lie, one man to his fellow.

12. You shall not swear falsely by My Name, thereby profaning the Name of your God. I am the Lord.

13. You shall not oppress your fellow. You shall not rob. The hired worker's wage shall not remain with you overnight until morning.
Once again, we are in the desert, not at work in town or any industry. Nomads in the desert looking for a home and this is what Moshe is told by God to remind Israel?

Withholding working people's wages is akin to stealing? Sure it is. But what is the Torah telling us. Thinking ahead to when they would settle in Israel properly, the guidelines are laid out early. Unfortunately in modern times some of this has been forgotten. Many owners of companies will  pay their staff before themselves, yet some still put themselves first. The Torah is reminding you, the owner, the staff is what makes your world better. Treat them properly or suffer the consequences. 

Similarly in the social media world, if you don't treat your staff right, they in turn will not treat you well in the social media world. Your good name is made by doing what's right for your staff. Your staff in turn is what makes you look good, so it was that Israel was to make God look good and be a light to the nations.
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Parsha Acharei Mot - Kedoshim in the book of Vayikra Leviticus 16:1-18:30 and 19:1-20:27

It is said that the Torah or Bible could be interpreted in over 70 ways. More likely these days 100's of ways. In light of this idea, I am writing some posts that bring a business sense to what we can learn on a weekly basis. Enjoy, Shabbat Shalom

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