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I believe that the book of Proverbs is the best management and employee relations book ever written. I’d like to look at five different proverbs and how they relate to our jobs. I encourage you to make Proverbs a daily reading habit. There are 31 chapters, so it’s easy to read the chapter that corresponds to the day of the month. I’ve been doing that for several years and find the practical advice has been most beneficial in my life.
Let’s look at Proverbs 22:10. It says, “Drive out the mocker and out goes strife; quarrels and insults are ended.” Another translation reads, “Drive out the scoffer and contention will go out. Even strife and dishonor will cease” (NASB).
Have you ever worked with a person who was a mocker and a scoffer? That’s the person who makes fun of others, who ridicules people and organizations, who is arrogant and causes problems seemingly on purpose. When there’s a mocker in the group, the work environment can be pretty miserable.
This proverb says that by getting rid of a mocker, you get rid of strife. For those who are in management positions, it’s good to remember that there are times when the best thing you can do is to let an employee go. Now, I hope that doesn’t sound cruel, but a person who is intent on offending others—and some people are—can have very detrimental effects on an organization.
Of course, as Christians, we still must care about people regardless of how unlovable they are. And though we can never change people, the Holy Spirit can, so we shouldn’t give up praying for them. But that doesn’t mean we allow them to ruin the working environment for everyone else. Remember, the workplace is not a rehab center or a counseling office. You should help people when possible, but you don’t hire people to reform or change them; you hire them to do a job.
My experience tells me that many managers need to bite some bullets for the good of the organization, and drive out the mockers and the scoffers that are disrupting the workplace. It’s some good advice found in Proverbs.