By Filings on
Christian Living
Theology of Work
Workplace Ethics

“My regional manager has tasked me with identifying employees who can be replaced by our new digital kiosks. Should I object? … Should I seek out some other alternatives? How can I think about this as a Christian?” - TGC

Discussion

Wed, 01/12/22

Some good thoughts in the article, but some major points are missing. 1) Having a job is not a right. If your skills aren’t needed anymore, the company doesn’t owe it to you to keep you on the payroll. 2) What’s good for people in general vs. for the few here that are going to get fired? Answer: what helps the largest number of people the most is if the companies that provide employment thrive. Within ethical limits, the company should do what helps it provide the best value to consumers and thrive against competitors. Should the “ethical limits” include not replacing humans with tech? Sometimes, yes. In companies where there’s a huge and unnecessary salary gap between the lowest workers and the highest level of management, the case can be made for shifting costs around in a way to keep these folks employed: retrain them, or maybe—in the case in the example—keep humans in that role and turn it into a brand distinctive: “We’ll never make you talk to a machine” could be a good sales pitch for some markets.

But on the topic of upper management compensation, freedom does mean there’s going be competition for the most talented people in those roles, and that competition is going to drive up salaries. So it goes back to the earlier question: what helps employers thrive?

Views expressed are always my own and not my employer's, my church's, my family's, my neighbors', or my pets'. The house plants have authorized me to speak for them, however, and they always agree with me.

Thu, 01/13/22

If one manages employees …

decisions (even hard ones) have to be made.

Imagine the auto assembly line without robots