Playing a more important role in the workplace in modern society, Christians have to face many real pressures and challenges. For example, will they compromise or stick to their values and beliefs while facing unspoken rules and "gray areas" in the workplace?
A few days ago, Mr. Li Xiaobo, who has many years of workplace experience, shared a speech with the title "Personality Ethics and Economy: How to Face the Compromise of Workplace Ethics?" in a lecture held on the platform named "Born by Love".
Appointed as the managing director of Hong Kong EBS Business System Co., Ltd. and the Shenzhen SVT Soft Valley Technology Co., Ltd., Li, with the burden of serving in the workplace, he has helped and trained many Christians in the workplace over the years.
Based on his own experience, Li shared the principles and methods for facing and dealing with the problem of "being unable to do good" encountered by Christian workers.
Below are excerpts from this lecture.
Question 1: What is the most important quality that an employee needs?
Mr. Li Xiaobo: We first explore the relationship between personality ethics and economics from the perspective of the character. Ask you a question: "As a candidate, what do you think is the key to your boss hiring you?" Then there is a similar question: "If you are a boss, what quality would you value most in employees?"
It is the character that excellent companies look for when recruiting, though others are also important, such as outstanding business ability, interpersonal connections, resources, good image, or good eloquence.
Just imagine, as a boss, will you hesitate to choose a candidate excellent in one aspect who is not very honest, or too tactful, or will do everything to achieve his goals? Do you worry that he is not a person of integrity, or is likely to do things that are detrimental to the overall interests of the company for the sake of performance? Most companies and bosses may consider this.
Question 2: How do we identify "gray areas" in workplace activities?
Mr. Li Xiaobo: Though people yearn for integrity, unfortunately in reality the phenomenon of moral decline in the workplace abounds, with business ethics facing extreme challenges. Judges and lawyers are getting busier, especially those dealing with economic lawsuits. Unconsciously, people are in a gray area, so what moral standards should we Christian employees or business owners follow to make choices and decisions?
In order to find the spiritual motivation to make the right choices, we first need to understand three categories of business ethics:
1. The moral value of the services and goods provided in commercial business. For example, whether the goods and services provided are fraudulent.
2. The conduct of business people and institutions, like whether there is tax evasion.
3. The impact of business activities on society. Such as whether it has a bad impact on the community, whether it contributes to environmental pollution, or whether it produces wrong values.
After understanding these categories, we can probably judge whether our business activities are unethical.
In addition, the following are some common "grey" phenomena, such as false advertising, unfair compensation, time theft, industrial espionage, price fixing, lying, harmful products, the disparity in executive pay, insider trading, sexism, gender discrimination, and bluffing (fraud).
In the face of the above-mentioned phenomena, Christians who behave "differently" will inevitably be excluded, lose customers and orders, or even be unable to work in a certain industry. It is still difficult for us to "keep being ourselves" in such an environment.
Question 3: Faced with the decline of workplace morality, we have to make a choice: follow God or be secular?
Mr. Li Xiaobo: I would argue that Christians can survive, or have a foothold in the workplace by rejecting temptation, eating and drinking, kickbacks, and all kinds of "gray" behaviors. As the director of the southern China region of a listed company, I was sent to Shenzhen to start a business from scratch. From the very beginning, I let people know that I was a Christian, insisting that I would not eat, drink and be merry, take advantage of others, or make superficial efforts. But I will try my best to help customers get favorable prices and provide high-quality products and services. In this case, I am the first in the business with a growth rate of 20%-30% every year, rejecting excessive rebates which sometimes were even higher than my annual salary. These situations had happened many times, and my deeds influenced some people around me. My business manager joined me in worshipping the Lord, becoming a staff member in the church.
A male believer once encountered such a problem: foreign customers intended to visit his friend’s factory which was shabby but produced good products. Worried that the customer would not cooperate after seeing the factory, his friend let him take these customers to other factories. He refused as he was willing to recommend his good products to customers, but unwilling to lie for the factory. He felt that even if he was temporarily misunderstood by his friend, he could not deceive customers. His friends later forgave his "ruthlessness". Another male Christian who was to inherit his family business made clear to the people around him his identity as a Christian and his principles of handling affairs that he would completely eradicate the company’s illegal operations, even if he would lose business and suffer the loss of profits.
Question 4: How can we follow God?
Mr. Li Xiaobo: In the book of Kings, the standard for evaluating a king was what he did was right or evil in the eyes of the Lord. Therefore, it is very important to understand God's will to follow Him. But how can we?
1. The most direct way is to judge by the "Ten Commandments", which we can use to develop the code of business conduct.
(1) Put God first. See if you care more about other things than Him.
(2) Do not worship idols. It is easy for people to create an idol (sex, money, power) to worship, so you should be careful.
(3) Do not misuse the name of God. You can’t give God the "glory" in exchange for inner peace after doing unquiet things after prayers.
(4) Keep the Sabbath and do not let work occupy your thoughts. The Sabbath is important, as without God man may pursue money and fame and even live in sin. Especially asking us to observe Sabbath, God does not want us to be isolated from Him in our work and business.
(5) Respect parents and elders. Love and respect for family members can reduce crime.
(6) Don't kill people. It is very common to isolate others and indirectly deny others in the workplace, which harms them.
(7) Do not commit adultery. Be loyal to your spouse, so you can’t engage in sex to boost work performance in the workplace or increase sales with a sexy look.
(8) Do not steal. You can’t take something that belongs to someone else. If you fail to pay for workers’ wages or your debts, you are stealing from them.
(9) Do not give false testimony. You should tell the truth, both in advertising and sales.
(10) Don't be greedy, or envious and jealous of others. This is the innermost one of the Ten Commandments, which is related to the human heart and needs practice. You must satisfy yourself with the love of God, instead of indulging your unhealthy desires.
While obeying the Ten Commandments does not guarantee that a person will always do the right thing, it does ensure that he will make the right choice more often. A male believer said, "When we do things according to God's will and the principles of faith, even though we may lose some business, we can have a clear conscience. In the church, we do not need to repent, but enjoy the gathering, which is one of the joys in our lives."
If we love God, we see God above all else.
2. Consequence orientation is the second principle. What is consequence orientation? That is to make decisions based on goals or outcomes.
In other words, the greatest good decides what is right.
Following God's words, Abraham decided to sacrifice Isaac as a burnt offering, which seemed to be incomprehensible and against his own interests and humanity. It is the greatest good to obey God, so Isaac experienced rescue.
Rahab lied to her own people because with confidence she saw the kingdom of God which she was willing to die for. This is the greatest good, which must be related to God's expectations. Some people may say that if I take the kickback which I think will not affect the company's interests, I can do more tithing. This is wrong since God does not lack your contributions.
Consequence orientation has the advantage of emphasizing people’s responsibilities and being committed to human well-being. The downside is that we often cannot clearly predict the possible consequences of certain actions.
When it is difficult to define the greatest good, we can also use the following quizzes to make choices:
3. Psychological test
(1) Sleep test: Can I sleep well at night if I do this?
(2) Mirror test: If I do this, will it be uncomfortable to look at myself in the mirror?
(3) Child test: If I do this, will I be embarrassed to tell my child?
(4) News test: If I do this, am I afraid that the news will be discussed in public?
"The Holy Spirit has put conscience in us, and if you are uncomfortable, then please stop what you are doing. Jesus generalized the law into two principles: love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, and mind, and love your neighbor as yourself. Love is our code of conduct, as it can prevent us from sinning. Loving your family, you will stay away from extramarital affairs. Loving the church, you will stop complaining about pastors and staff workers to avoid disputes. If you love God, you will not dishonor the name of Christ by doing something that grieves the Holy Spirit," he concluded.
- Translated by Abigail Wu
身处在现代社会，基督徒在职场中扮演的角色越来越重要，同时也不得不面对许多现实的压力和挑战：当面临职场潜规则、“灰色地带”时，基督徒是妥协还是坚持自己的价值观和信仰？
日前，有着多年职场经验的李晓波老师就“品格伦理与经济：如何面对职场伦理的妥协？”这个话题在“因爱而生”平台举办的一场讲座中展开分享。
李晓波老师任香港EBS商业系统有限公司董事总经理、深圳SVT软谷科技有限公司董事总经理。李晓波老师拥有多年职场经验，因为对职场服事有负担，多年来也帮助和培训了许多职场基督徒。
这一次，针对基督徒在职场中遇到的“无法行善”的困惑，晓波老师结合自己的经历分享了面对和处理这些问题的原则和方法。
以下是当天讲座的要点摘录：
问题1：职场最重要的是什么？
我们首先从品格的角度来探讨品格伦理和经济的关系。先向大家提出一个问题：“作为一个应聘者，你认为老板录用你的关键是什么？”接着还有一个相似的问题：“如果你是一个老板，你认为聘请员工的关键顺序是什么？”
通常我们可能会认为我能够被录用是因为我某一方面的能力，比如我的业务能力突出，我在某个领域有人脉有资源，或者符合某个岗位的要求，比如形象好、口才好……这些的确都是很重要的，但是真正优秀的企业招聘员工首先看重的是品格。
可以试想，作为一个老板，你在面试中看到应聘的人可能某一方面很优秀，但是如果他的表现不太诚实，或者过于圆滑世故，或者行为举止中表现出他为了达到目标可以不顾一切，你会不会犹豫？你会不会担心他不是一个正直的人，你会不会担心他很有可能为了业绩作出有损公司总体利益的事情？一般的企业和老板应该都会考虑这一点。
问题2：如何分辨职场活动中的“灰色地带”？
人们渴望正直的人品，但遗憾的是，现实中职场上道德沦丧的现象比比皆是。商业伦理在这个社会受到极为重大的挑战。法官和律师越来越忙，尤其是打经济官司的法官和律师。不知不觉人们就处在一个灰色地带，无论作为员工还是企业主，作为基-督徒的我们每一天都面临选择，那么我们要按照怎样的道德标准来做选择和决策？
为了找到属灵的动力帮助我们做正确的选择，首先我们需要了解商业伦理的三个范畴：
1， 商业活动所提供的服务与商品在道德上的价值。比如提供的服务与商品有没有欺诈性质。
2， 商业人士与机构的行为操守，如常见的有无偷税漏税。
3， 商业活动对社会所产生的影响，比如是否对社区造成坏的影响、是否造成环境污染、是否产生错误的价值观等。
了解了这几个范畴后，我们大概可以判断出我们从事的商业活动是否有悖道德。
此外，我列举了一些常见的“灰色”现象，如：1，虚假不实的广告；2，不公平的补偿金；3，偷窃工作时间；4，产业间谍；5，价格垄断；6，撒谎；7，有害产品；8悬殊的高管薪资；9，内线交易；10，性别歧视；11，年龄歧视；12虚张声势（欺诈）等等。
面对上面所提到的各种现象，如果基督徒表现得 “与众不同”，难免会遭受排挤，会损失客户和订单，甚至无法在某一个行业开展工作。我们在这样的环境中想要“保守自己”不得不说还是很难的。
问题3：面对职场道德的沦丧，我们要做一个选择：跟从上帝还是流于世俗？
我想说基-督徒在职场中拒绝诱惑、拒绝吃吃喝喝、拒绝回扣以及拒绝各种“灰色”行为也是可以存活的，或者说可以立足的。 我自己曾经在一个上市公司做中国南区总监的时候，被派到深圳从零开始开展业务。一开始我就让人知道自己是基督徒，明确自己不跟别人吃喝玩乐、不拿别人的好处、不做表面功夫。我不跟客户搞“关系”，但是我会尽力帮助客户取得优惠的价格，并且提供优质的产品服务。这种情况下，我做到业务第一名，甚至每年都保持20%-30%的增长额。我也拒绝过高额的回扣，当时有客户给的回扣甚至是高于自己的年薪的，这样的事情不少。我也影响了身边一些人，后来我的业务经理也跟着我一起信主，他也成为教会的服事同工。
一位主内弟兄曾遇到过这样的问题：他的朋友有很好的产品，但是工厂条件比较破旧，有国外客户要来工厂视察。朋友担心客户看过工厂不想合作，就想委托他带国外的客户去其他工厂参观。他拒绝了。他相信他朋友的产品是好的产品，他愿意把他的产品推荐给客户，但是不愿意为工厂撒谎。他觉得即便暂时被朋友误解也不能做欺骗客户的行为。后来他的朋友也谅解了他的“无情”。另外一位弟兄在家族企业中是要继承家族企业的，他对周围人明确自己作为基-督徒的身份和处事原则，宁可损失业务，损失利润也坚持杜绝公司违规操作现象。
问题4：如何跟从上帝？
《列王纪》中评价一个王的好坏标准是他行耶和华看为正还是看为恶的事。因此明白上帝的心意很重要，那如何明白上帝的心意进而跟从祂？
1、最直接的办法是通过“十诫”来判断，下面我们透过熟悉的“十诫”来看职场准则：
（1）将上帝放在首位。查看自己对其他事物的关注是否超过祂。
（2）不要崇拜偶像。人很容易为自己造一个偶像（性，钱，权）加以崇拜，要小心。
（3）不要滥用上帝的名。 不要操纵上帝帮我们做不平安的事，再把“荣耀”归给上帝来换取内心的平安。
（4） 要守安息日，不可让工作成为一切。安息日很重要。安息日是上帝特别让我们去守的，祂不要我们在工作中、生意中完全与祂隔离。没有上帝，人就整天在世界里，在追逐金钱名利里面，也就是在罪里面。
（5）要尊重父母长辈。持守对家人的爱和尊重可以减少犯罪。
（6）不要杀人。职场中孤立别人，间接否定别人很常见，这也是对人的伤害。
（7）不要犯奸淫。要对配偶忠贞；职场中不要有身体交易，不以诱惑人的形象来促销。
（8）不要偷窃。不拿理当属于别人的东西，不付工资或者欠债不还都属于偷窃。
（9）不做虚假的见证。务必说实话，广告和销售都是如此。
（10）不要贪心，不要羡慕嫉妒眼红别人 。不要贪心这是十诫中最内在的一条，和人心有关，需要操练，要因爱上帝而满足自己。不要去放纵自己不健康的欲望。
虽然遵守十诫不能保证人永远都会做正确的事，但是可以确保人做正确的选择更多。有一位弟兄如此说：“当我们坚定地按上帝的旨意，按信仰准则做事，尽管会损失一些生意，但是我们可以坦然无惧，我们到教会去的时候，我们不是去忏悔，而是去享受聚会，这是生命中的一个乐趣。”
如果我们爱上帝，我们会看上帝比一切都重要。
2、后果取向是第二个原则，何谓后果取向？即根据目标或结果做决定。
换句话是根据最大的善来决定什么是对的。
亚伯拉罕听神的话决定把以撒献为燔祭。这看起来是无法理解、违背自己的利益也违背人伦的事情，但是顺服上帝是最大的善，所以以撒经历死而复活。
喇合对本国人撒谎是因为她看见上帝的国，她是信心的人，她愿意为神国献身，这是最大的善。最大的善一定跟上帝的期许有关。有人可能会钻空子说，我拿了回扣对公司利益也没有影响，我还可以多做十一奉献不好吗？这是错误的，上帝并不缺你的奉献。
后果取向优点是强调人需要负责任，并致力于人类的福祉。而缺点则是我们往往不能明显地推测出某些行动可能带来的后果。
当我们很难界定最大的善的时候，我们也可以利用下面这几个小测试来做选择：
3、心理小测试。
（1）睡眠测试：如果我这样做，晚上能否睡得安稳？
（2）镜子测试：如果我这样做，照镜子看自己会不会不舒服？
（3）孩子测试：如果我这样做，会不会不好意思告诉自己的小孩儿？
（4）新闻测试：如果我这样做，是否害怕会上新闻被舆论讨论？
圣灵已经把良心放在我们里面，如果你感到不平安，那么请你停止你正在做的事。耶稣将十条诫命融为两条：尽心尽性尽意爱主你的神和爱人如己。爱是我们的行为准则，爱可以阻止我们犯罪，如果爱家人，就会远离婚外情；如果爱教会，就会停止对牧者同工的抱怨，避免造成教会纷争；如果爱神，就不会让基督的名受辱，就不会做让圣灵担忧的事。
讲座| 品格伦理与经济：如何面对职场伦理的妥协？
Playing a more important role in the workplace in modern society, Christians have to face many real pressures and challenges. For example, will they compromise or stick to their values and beliefs while facing unspoken rules and "gray areas" in the workplace?
A few days ago, Mr. Li Xiaobo, who has many years of workplace experience, shared a speech with the title "Personality Ethics and Economy: How to Face the Compromise of Workplace Ethics?" in a lecture held on the platform named "Born by Love".
Appointed as the managing director of Hong Kong EBS Business System Co., Ltd. and the Shenzhen SVT Soft Valley Technology Co., Ltd., Li, with the burden of serving in the workplace, he has helped and trained many Christians in the workplace over the years.
Based on his own experience, Li shared the principles and methods for facing and dealing with the problem of "being unable to do good" encountered by Christian workers.
Below are excerpts from this lecture.
Question 1: What is the most important quality that an employee needs?
Mr. Li Xiaobo: We first explore the relationship between personality ethics and economics from the perspective of the character. Ask you a question: "As a candidate, what do you think is the key to your boss hiring you?" Then there is a similar question: "If you are a boss, what quality would you value most in employees?"
It is the character that excellent companies look for when recruiting, though others are also important, such as outstanding business ability, interpersonal connections, resources, good image, or good eloquence.
Just imagine, as a boss, will you hesitate to choose a candidate excellent in one aspect who is not very honest, or too tactful, or will do everything to achieve his goals? Do you worry that he is not a person of integrity, or is likely to do things that are detrimental to the overall interests of the company for the sake of performance? Most companies and bosses may consider this.
Question 2: How do we identify "gray areas" in workplace activities?
Mr. Li Xiaobo: Though people yearn for integrity, unfortunately in reality the phenomenon of moral decline in the workplace abounds, with business ethics facing extreme challenges. Judges and lawyers are getting busier, especially those dealing with economic lawsuits. Unconsciously, people are in a gray area, so what moral standards should we Christian employees or business owners follow to make choices and decisions?
In order to find the spiritual motivation to make the right choices, we first need to understand three categories of business ethics:
1. The moral value of the services and goods provided in commercial business. For example, whether the goods and services provided are fraudulent.
2. The conduct of business people and institutions, like whether there is tax evasion.
3. The impact of business activities on society. Such as whether it has a bad impact on the community, whether it contributes to environmental pollution, or whether it produces wrong values.
After understanding these categories, we can probably judge whether our business activities are unethical.
In addition, the following are some common "grey" phenomena, such as false advertising, unfair compensation, time theft, industrial espionage, price fixing, lying, harmful products, the disparity in executive pay, insider trading, sexism, gender discrimination, and bluffing (fraud).
In the face of the above-mentioned phenomena, Christians who behave "differently" will inevitably be excluded, lose customers and orders, or even be unable to work in a certain industry. It is still difficult for us to "keep being ourselves" in such an environment.
Question 3: Faced with the decline of workplace morality, we have to make a choice: follow God or be secular?
Mr. Li Xiaobo: I would argue that Christians can survive, or have a foothold in the workplace by rejecting temptation, eating and drinking, kickbacks, and all kinds of "gray" behaviors. As the director of the southern China region of a listed company, I was sent to Shenzhen to start a business from scratch. From the very beginning, I let people know that I was a Christian, insisting that I would not eat, drink and be merry, take advantage of others, or make superficial efforts. But I will try my best to help customers get favorable prices and provide high-quality products and services. In this case, I am the first in the business with a growth rate of 20%-30% every year, rejecting excessive rebates which sometimes were even higher than my annual salary. These situations had happened many times, and my deeds influenced some people around me. My business manager joined me in worshipping the Lord, becoming a staff member in the church.
A male believer once encountered such a problem: foreign customers intended to visit his friend’s factory which was shabby but produced good products. Worried that the customer would not cooperate after seeing the factory, his friend let him take these customers to other factories. He refused as he was willing to recommend his good products to customers, but unwilling to lie for the factory. He felt that even if he was temporarily misunderstood by his friend, he could not deceive customers. His friends later forgave his "ruthlessness". Another male Christian who was to inherit his family business made clear to the people around him his identity as a Christian and his principles of handling affairs that he would completely eradicate the company’s illegal operations, even if he would lose business and suffer the loss of profits.
Question 4: How can we follow God?
Mr. Li Xiaobo: In the book of Kings, the standard for evaluating a king was what he did was right or evil in the eyes of the Lord. Therefore, it is very important to understand God's will to follow Him. But how can we?
1. The most direct way is to judge by the "Ten Commandments", which we can use to develop the code of business conduct.
(1) Put God first. See if you care more about other things than Him.
(2) Do not worship idols. It is easy for people to create an idol (sex, money, power) to worship, so you should be careful.
(3) Do not misuse the name of God. You can’t give God the "glory" in exchange for inner peace after doing unquiet things after prayers.
(4) Keep the Sabbath and do not let work occupy your thoughts. The Sabbath is important, as without God man may pursue money and fame and even live in sin. Especially asking us to observe Sabbath, God does not want us to be isolated from Him in our work and business.
(5) Respect parents and elders. Love and respect for family members can reduce crime.
(6) Don't kill people. It is very common to isolate others and indirectly deny others in the workplace, which harms them.
(7) Do not commit adultery. Be loyal to your spouse, so you can’t engage in sex to boost work performance in the workplace or increase sales with a sexy look.
(8) Do not steal. You can’t take something that belongs to someone else. If you fail to pay for workers’ wages or your debts, you are stealing from them.
(9) Do not give false testimony. You should tell the truth, both in advertising and sales.
(10) Don't be greedy, or envious and jealous of others. This is the innermost one of the Ten Commandments, which is related to the human heart and needs practice. You must satisfy yourself with the love of God, instead of indulging your unhealthy desires.
While obeying the Ten Commandments does not guarantee that a person will always do the right thing, it does ensure that he will make the right choice more often. A male believer said, "When we do things according to God's will and the principles of faith, even though we may lose some business, we can have a clear conscience. In the church, we do not need to repent, but enjoy the gathering, which is one of the joys in our lives."
If we love God, we see God above all else.
2. Consequence orientation is the second principle. What is consequence orientation? That is to make decisions based on goals or outcomes.
In other words, the greatest good decides what is right.
Following God's words, Abraham decided to sacrifice Isaac as a burnt offering, which seemed to be incomprehensible and against his own interests and humanity. It is the greatest good to obey God, so Isaac experienced rescue.
Rahab lied to her own people because with confidence she saw the kingdom of God which she was willing to die for. This is the greatest good, which must be related to God's expectations. Some people may say that if I take the kickback which I think will not affect the company's interests, I can do more tithing. This is wrong since God does not lack your contributions.
Consequence orientation has the advantage of emphasizing people’s responsibilities and being committed to human well-being. The downside is that we often cannot clearly predict the possible consequences of certain actions.
When it is difficult to define the greatest good, we can also use the following quizzes to make choices:
3. Psychological test
(1) Sleep test: Can I sleep well at night if I do this?
(2) Mirror test: If I do this, will it be uncomfortable to look at myself in the mirror?
(3) Child test: If I do this, will I be embarrassed to tell my child?
(4) News test: If I do this, am I afraid that the news will be discussed in public?
"The Holy Spirit has put conscience in us, and if you are uncomfortable, then please stop what you are doing. Jesus generalized the law into two principles: love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, and mind, and love your neighbor as yourself. Love is our code of conduct, as it can prevent us from sinning. Loving your family, you will stay away from extramarital affairs. Loving the church, you will stop complaining about pastors and staff workers to avoid disputes. If you love God, you will not dishonor the name of Christ by doing something that grieves the Holy Spirit," he concluded.
- Translated by Abigail Wu
Lecture: How Should Christians Face the Compromise of Workplace Ethics?
