KNS Financial

Personal Finance From a Biblical Perspective

The Importance Of Integrity In The Workplace

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A while back, as I was doing my daily bible reading, I came across this passage about integrity:

You shall not have in your back differing weights, a large and a small. You shall not have in your house differing measures, in large and a small. A full and fair weight you shall have, a full and fair measure you shall have, that your days may be long in the land that the Lord your God is giving you. For everyone who does these things, everyone who acts unjustly is an abomination to the Lord your God. – Deuteronomy 25:13-16

God expected the Israelites to operate with honesty and integrity both in trade and business. The picture here is of a merchant in the marketplace who, as he conducts business, carries false weights and scales, which will measure things in his favor and allow him to cheat his customers. This is similar to someone in modern times gambling with weighted dice.

Integrity - Balanced Scales

The Bible has a lot to say about having integrity, especially as you operate your business. As you can see from the verses above, and the many more that I didn’t even enclose, how we handle our business is very important.

We need to do everything with integrity and honor and honesty. In fact, the measure of success when it comes to how we deal with others – especially in business or financial matters – is not whether we were profitable, able to get our way, or even if we were able to make someone happy, but it’s if we operate with honesty and integrity.

Even if we have a business that fails, or we try an endeavor and it doesn’t work out, we can know it was a success in God’s eyes, if we operate with integrity, honesty, and godly character.

[Question: Does hard work show a lack of faith?]

Because most people in this country don’t own their own business, but in fact, work for someone else, we may feel as though these verses don’t apply to us. However we must realize that we do own a business in a sense – we own our labor, our intellect, and our abilities, and we are to use all these things with integrity for our clients. It’s just in many cases, we call our clients our boss, manager, or supervisor.

I think we have to really look at how we approach work and other things that we do in life. We need search our hearts and make sure that we are operating with integrity in all that we do (even if it causes us to lose favor with a boss that is asking us to bend the rules or fudge numbers). If we can do that then we know that we have been pleasing to God.

There’s a lot more that can be said about this, and most likely I will write about it in the future, but I just wanted to put that quick thought out there as it definitely hit me hard as I read it and thought about the consequences.

photo credit: freedigitalphotos.net

How to Know When It’s Time to Make a Career Change

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Would you make a voluntary career change? I’m talking about a career change driven by personal choice, not one forced upon you by a job loss.

What might cause you to consider making a career change, given that jobs are already hard to find?

{Find out which job hunting expenses are tax deductible!}

Common Reasons To Make A Career Change?

Make Career Change

Company Issues

You’ve probably known people who seem to be in perpetual crisis; well guess what? Some organizations are the same way. Much is made of synergy when it comes to organizations, but seldom discussed is bad synergy! It’s very real! If the top two or three people in a company or department are negative, suspicious, hostile or downright incompetent, those attitudes will filter throughout the ranks.

Every day you come into work with the feeling you’re fighting something but you can’t put your finger on exactly what it is—let me suggest it might very well be that negative synergy. You can’t fight it; it will be there in spite of your best efforts, and it will still be there long after you’ve moved on.

I had the displeasure to work for such a company in my first job out of college. Going to work was an emotional wrestling match every day. When I got there, it was even worse. Seldom did I have anything remotely resembling a good day at work. There were some good people in there, but they were snowed under by bad management and that portion of the rank and file who seemed to be able to play the game only too well.

I ended up leaving and never looked back. What I didn’t know at the time was that this small, privately held company was on the verge of bankruptcy!

Sometimes it really isn’t you–it’s the company! And staying can drag you down with them.

{Learn how being a part of the contingent workforce can help you make a career change!}

Industry Troubles

Sometimes entire industries get into big trouble. Being a refugee from the mortgage business (left in 2008) I know this only too well. I could have stayed in the business and worked in some capacity, after all I had been in it for years and knew a lot of people in the business. But an industry’s problems are usually too big for one person to work through.

When that happens, you have to come face-to-face with the stay or go question, and do some serious soul searching. Will you be better off to continue to make a go in an industry you know, or will you be better off trying your hand at something new?

As we’ve seen from the mortgage business, industry troubles can take years to work out, and you have to ask if “staying the course” is really in your best interests. That answer will be different for everyone.

Technological Changes

Sometimes technology dooms an entire industry, but at the same time it also creates parallel opportunities. The print media and the internet are an example. The print media has been struggling to survive and to find relevancy ever since the start of the Internet Age. So far, it seems to be losing the battle—virtually every projection shows it to be continuing to lose ground. But at the same time, new opportunities are arising on the internet, and while making the shift from print to the web may be difficult it’s hardly impossible.

The situation was similar for radio when TV became popular in the 1950s. Many of the stars of 1950s TV series were former radio personalities who had successfully made the jump. They decided to make the change into the new industry rather than to ride the old one down—technology changed the game forever.

Career shifts due to technology have been going on for a long time, so it’s something we should recognize and be prepared for.

The “Little Voice Inside”

Sometimes you just know that you’re in the wrong place, doing the wrong job. It could be that the career you have just isn’t cutting it—emotionally, intellectually, spiritually, physically or financially. Other times, it’s a sense that you could (or should) be doing something else. What ever it is, you owe it to yourself to investigate what the little voice inside is telling you.

I realize that this is hard to describe, but over the years I’ve learned that when the “little voice inside”—also referred to as “your gut” (as in “going with your gut”)—is telling me something on a consistent basis, I need to pay attention. The little voice inside could be the Holy Spirit (the “still, small voice” referred to in 1 Kings 19:12?) working in us, or it could be the blending of emotional and spiritual forces in us that the mind doesn’t quite understand.

{Find out how to honor God in the workplace!}

Living in a world driven by reason and rationality, such inner disturbances are supposed to be suppressed, but I think that when we do, we do so at our own peril. Feel free to disagree but that’s been my own experience!

A Burning Desire To Do Something Else

Not everyone agrees with the idea of following your passion to your chosen life’s work, and if you don’t please humor me for a bit.

We live in a world where job security is rapidly deteriorating, and as it does the idea of working for a paycheck alone isn’t as solid an idea as it once was. It may be more important than ever to work in a career that you truly feel passionate about. If you do, there’s a better chance that you’ll excel at your work, and become even more successful than ever. And even if you aren’t a success as the world defines it, you may be happier than you’ve ever been.

{In choosing a career path, do you choose money or happiness (or both)?}

Should you leave a well paying career to follow your passion? That’s something only you can decide, but it’s worth thinking about.

Make Your Move While You’re Still In Control

One of the advantages of deciding to make a career change is that you can engineer the entire transition. You aren’t leaving because of a layoff or a firing (though either may be a definite possibility in the future) and because of this you can maintain some control over the process.

Many people make career changes only after a job loss, which only seems to be a natural break in the career cycle. But a job loss can create financial need and a sense of panic, neither of which are conducive to a smooth career transition. Better to do it before the ax falls on your job, that way you’re still in control.

What ever the reason driving you to make a career change, it’s always best accomplished while you still have a job that way—at a minimum—you can take care of any preliminary career change requirements while you’re still getting paid.

What would drive you to make a career change, and how might you prepare for it?

photo credit: Freedigitalphotos.net

Should You Let Your Employer Know About Your Side Business?

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Do you have a side business? A lot of people do today. Not only are there more opportunities to have one (think internet here), but there are also more reasons than ever. Let’s face it, raises are no longer annual events, and even when they are they’re hardly worth waiting for. And that better new job just doesn’t seem to be out there.

The solution to these problems is often creating your own business as a side venture. But side ventures can create problems with primary employers. Employers don’t want their full time staff working on other ventures because it can distract from or even compete against the work that you do for them.

If you have a side business, should you let your employer know about it? The answer: it depends.

Secretly Working From Home

Existing Job vs. New Job

Much of the question comes down to timing. If you already have your side business up and running when you take a new job, it’s probably best to let the employer know from the start, no matter what the reason for the business might be.

There’s no whoops factor when you start a new job with an established business. You won’t be able to wiggle around the fact should you be discovered later. If the employer is OK with you having a side business from the start, you’re free to operate. If they frown on it, you can make the decision if you even want the job under that circumstance.

Existing jobs are more complicated, and often come down to the reason why you started the business in the first place (see the last section). If your employer has a written policy prohibiting outside business activities, discovery can mean either a cease and desist directive or termination.

Sometimes when your employer doesn’t know about your business it can be an albatross for you. It means worrying about your employer finding out and all the burdens that brings. In such a situation, it might be better that your employer knows that way you’re free to act. If your employer is OK with it, your situation improves; if not, you may have to make other arrangements.

Your Employer’s Policy On Outside Business Ventures Makes All The Difference

Some employers are fine with outside work activities—they see it as your time, your life. Others prohibit it, but this usually happens only in certain job capacities where outside business activities could compromise your full-time job. Still others, probably most of them, allow you to work outside—at least superficially—but generally discourage you from doing it. Where your employer falls on this list is what really matters.

If your employer has no position on it, you have no problem at least from an official standpoint. Still, you may not want your employer to know. For one thing, any time there’s any issue about your performance on your job, it might be assumed that your side business is the reason why. Other times, your loyalty to the company may be questioned. And during layoffs, you may be one of the first to be let go under the assumption that you have other means of survival.

If your employer prohibits outside work activities, having one could get you fired, but beyond that there may be ethical or faith based issues on your part. How do you feel about keeping your job under false pretenses? You’ll be working outside of your employer’s rules—and thus violating them. In extreme circumstances, this could even result in civil actions.

The biggest issues will be with employers who don’t officially condemn side businesses, but don’t support them either. This is the gray zone, and it’s probably most employers. If you know they’ll try to discourage your business, it may be best not to tell them on that basis alone. You don’t need the stress of your employer putting pressure on you in addition to all the other complications of juggling a full time job with a side business.

If the side business you have is a very public one—like a blog—it will be very difficult to keep that hidden no matter what your employer’s position is, or what your desire to conceal it may be. You may consider using a pseudonym if secrecy is a concern.

What Is The Purpose Of Your Side Business?

One mitigating factor to all other considerations is your reason for having your side business. Specifically what that reason is may determine whether you tell your employer or not. There may be more, but I’ve come up with three reasons that could affect your decision:

To generate extra income. You’re trying to earn extra income because maybe what you earn on your full time job isn’t enough to cover your expenses or financial plans. This will be an ongoing situation because the side business isn’t intended to replace the job, but to supplement your income. You probably intend to keep your job, so it may be best to disclose what you’re doing. It can be better to be upfront about it, rather than risking an unexpected discovery and all the problems that may bring.

Preparation for career switch. Running a business as a side venture while collecting an fulltime paycheck is one of the lowest risk ways to go into a new business. If your plan is to start and develop the business into a full time venture that will replace your job, you may not want to tell your employer about it. Your enthusiasm for your business combined with your declining interest in your job could lead to an earlier termination than you hoped for. You’re mostly buying time, and secrecy can be your friend.

Anticipation of a job loss. If you have strong reason to believe that your job is in jeopardy anyway, you may want to throw caution to the wind and let the boss know what you’re doing. Since the job will be lost in time anyway, you need to use the time beforehand to fast forward the progress of your business. Secrecy will probably not be an advantage if that’s the case.

There’s no solid advice here. Everything depends on individual circumstances, such as those listed above, or even your own motivations, resources or potential job prospects should the worst happen.

If you have a side business and a full time job, are you better off coming clean and letting them know, or keeping quiet about it?

5 Ways to Get a Job After Long-term Unemployment

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The financial meltdown that began in 2007/2008 hasn’t just eliminated jobs, its destroyed careers entirely. Millions of people have been unemployed for six months, a year, two years or even longer. Extended unemployment benefits that initially allowed up to 99 weeks have been cut back to 73 weeks, and unless the program is restored, benefits will be cut back again by the end of this year.

If you’re one of the people who lost their career during or since the meltdown, or if you’re facing the prospect of disappearing unemployment benefits and you need to get back into the job market after a long layoff, you’re facing an uphill fight. There’s fierce competition for jobs, little chance of on-the-job training and no small number of employers who are reluctant to hire the unemployed.

But here are some strategies that could help you get back into the job market, if only gradually.

Get A Part-Time Job

If you’ve been unemployed for a long period of time, getting back into the job market will be like starting over. It’s very much like when you were a teenager looking for your first job. You have to start somewhere, and a part-time job is a way to ease in gradually.

No, a part-time job isn’t like a full-time job—you probably won’t have benefits and you’ll get nothing close to a living wage. But here are a few things a part-time job can do for you:

  • Working part-time will get you out, about and circulating, and meeting people who might help you find a full-time job
  • It will provide you with a current work reference when you apply for jobs
  • A part-time job could turn into a full-time job down the road
  • A part-time job can be an opportunity to earn-and-learn your way into a new field
  • Earning money in any kind of job improves self-esteem, and that’s something that probably needs to be rebuilt after a long period of unemployment
  • When you apply for full-time jobs elsewhere, you’ll have something to put in that ever present little box that asks “Present Occupation?”

Working part-time won’t be the answer to your career problem, but view it as a necessary and temporary step on the road to something better.

Do Volunteer Work

One of the biggest problems with being unemployed for a very long time is that you can get out of the work routine entirely. It’s not just a time management issue either—there’s a psychology to working that can get lost when you haven’t done it for a while. A good way to get around that is by doing volunteer work. You can do this at churches, charities and even hospitals and schools.

Even though you won’t be paid for the work you do, it can get you back “into the groove”, giving you a place to go everyday and something other than your unemployment status to think about. And much like a part-time job, it gets you out meeting people and making new contacts, and might even turn into a paying job at some point.

Look Into Temporary & Contract Assignments

This is an area that’s gotten tougher in recent years—it’s been degraded by the same factors that have weakened the overall employment picture. Even so, it’s still worth looking into.

Even if the assignments are sporadic, they will place you on the inside of potential employers where you can get valuable contacts who might help you get a job. Also, many companies are now hiring primarily by temp-to-perm, giving them an opportunity to see potential employees in action.

{Learn all you need to know about the contingent workforce.}

If nothing else is happening, give it a try—when you’re unemployed, doing something is always better than doing nothing.

Work For Small Businesses

Everyone wants to work for large employers; they pay more and offer more comprehensive benefits. As good as that sounds, it also creates a traffic problem—too many applicants for too few jobs. As a result, large employers can be very selective when it comes to hiring and they don’t look too kindly on the unemployed.

If you’ve been out of work for a long time, look for small businesses instead. I’m talking small as in no more than five to ten employees. You won’t get anything close to top dollar, and benefits will probably be out of the question, but small businesses do have their advantages, and they aren’t minor.

Small businesses can’t draw in the top talent—sometimes they can’t get any talent at all! And being closer to the ground, small business owners are likely to be more sympathetic in regard to your long period of unemployment. If you have a skill set that matches their needs, and there’s a good personality fit, you can get hired much more quickly than you could at a large employer.

While you’re working at the small business, you’re getting new experience and training that could translate into a better position somewhere else later on.

When All Else Fails, Try Working For Free

This is similar to volunteering, only you’re doing it with for-profit businesses instead of charities. Most organizations have plenty of work that needs to be done—they just can’t afford to pay anyone to do it. That’s an opportunity for you!

Find out what jobs a business needs done that they can’t afford to pay for, and offer your services to do it for them. This will work better with small employers than with large ones, and there are several ways you can play this:

  • You can use it as a chance to show your worth to the business—if they see how good and reliable you are working for free, they may decide they can’t live without you, and make you an offer for a paid position
  • While working for free at a business you’re also building contacts and an important referral who may be able to help you land a paid job elsewhere
  • After completing one unpaid assignment, they may call you back again—for pay!
  • By troubleshooting at one business, you can start doing the same at others on a paid basis; as you build “clients” you’re beginning to develop your own business—self-employment could be the ultimate solution to your career problem.

Working for free won’t be easy, but is a chance to start making things happen, and that’s what you need to do when you’ve been out of work for a long time.

Have you gone through a very long unemployment? What did you do to get back into a job?

photo credit: FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Harold: A Picture Of Work Ethic And Integrity At Coldstone Creamery

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After a wonderful surprise dinner outing on Valentine’s Day, my husband let me choose dessert and I wanted something from Cold Stone Creamery.  Upon walking in, there was a lengthy line.  This is not too unusual for Cold Stone and so we joined while continuing to laugh and talk.  Upon further observance, there was only one person behind the counter. ONE PERSON! ALONE!

At this point, my heart sank a little, but I did not want that to ruin my evening.  Then, we were observing how meticulously (code word for ‘way too slow for me’) he was preparing the ice cream concoctions.

For the next 25 minutes, or so, we watched this employee listen to some really unique requests, prepare each person’s order, place each item in the freezer until the total order was complete, and change gloves at regular intervals (YES!!!!).  He did all this with perfect calm and diligence.

The only thing that had me ready to pull my hair out was that 1 person was ordering 3 or 4 different items, so when we thought we were getting closer; it was really just slow, painful torture!

When it was finally our turn to order, we could see better the extra care he was taking with the order.  He was more generous with some of the ingredients than others had been in the past, and he made sure the orders were well assembled and presentable.

Upon leaving we asked his name and thanked him for doing such a fine job under the circumstances.  As we walked out, we noticed the line was longer than when we joined it.

Khaleef here: I was very impressed with this Harold’s work ethic. He didn’t show any disappointment or frustration as he listened to people who had multiple orders, or even as more and more people came through the door.

When we asked him why he was working alone on the biggest date night of the year, he simply said that his coworker didn’t show up. That’s right, he was left to work a busy night by himself because his teammate decided not to go to work, and didn’t even call to tell anyone!

However, instead of using that as an opportunity to complain, he simply thanked us for our compliment about his hard work, and he moved on to the next customer. I’m sure that most of us would have been complaining to each customer about our (insert insult here) boss for not scheduling enough people, our coworker for not showing up, or even the previous customers who had multiple orders!

I can also imagine most people rushing through each order, and not taking the time to do the job properly.

I really hope someone in a position of authority at Coldstone Creamery sees this and rewards Harold for his hard work. Of course I won’t mention the exact location or number of the store in a post, but if a Coldstone GM wants to know, I’ll gladly tell them via email.

Contentment

Watching Harold work under undesirable conditions reminded me even more about our need to be content with what we have and where we are. Anything less is a slap in the face to a sovereign God!

Here are a few articles that I (and others) have written about this subject:

photo by Yu’s Story

Your Turn

  1. Have you ever been extremely impressed by the way someone works? Especially if the position pays close to minimum wage.
  2. How do you motivate yourself to work as hard as you can, even when it feels like you’re not appreciated?
  3. Are you ever tempted to give a weak effort at work?

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