day 205: Buddy Program

One of the places I worked had at the time of the companies founding, established what was called a "Buddy Program". The Buddy Program was designed to help assimilate and orient new employees when they joined the company. The thought was that if you had a buddy from day-one who you could call on for questions or advice that you would be more successful at entering the company and that you would be a lot less lonely in those early days. If you were a buddy you were given a booklet of lunch coupons to take your new employee to lunch and introduce him/her to other people, etc. It became somewhat of an honor to be someone's buddy and I can remember years later when the veterans of the company would talk about the infancy days of the organization; they could actually name who was who's buddy and the buddies got a lot of credit for the success of the people who were still with the company. One woman used to brag about how she was the buddy of the current CEO when he joined the company...nearly 20 years earlier. It was a program that worked because it was based on the simple fundamental principle that everyone needs a friend at work. We all need friends at work, I would say even more so than anywhere else outside of our homes. Work can be a place where friendship can be distorted and what feels like a friend on the surface is not really a friend but only someone who is there with you when things are going well, but the minute there is a problem they are gone or hanging with another set of people. True friends at work are hard to find. As ones who are in pursuit of living out our purpose in our jobs, being a true friend to others is part of what we need to be doing. In James 2:23 the best of all friendships is modeled for us. James says this about the relationship between Abraham and God: "And the scripture was fulfilled that says, "Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness, and he was called God's friend." Sometimes it is hard to fathom that God wants and needs friends. But He does. He wants us to be His friend as much as He desired the friendship of Abraham. He also looks to us to model His way with others so us being friends with others falls into the shadow that He cast for us to follow. Today at work you already know someone who needs a friend. It could be any circumstance on the job or at home that has someone down and feeling lonely or frustrated. It may be that you know someone who is going through a rough patch in their career or job search and by you just taking the time today to drop them an email or a phone call, or a visit, offering your help and support, as a friend and as a buddy, will make all the difference in the world to them. Our culture today is all about "friending" one another on social networks. See if you can go one step further today and truly be a buddy to someone who needs one.

Reference: James 2:23 (New Living Testament)

day 13: The Power of Buddies

Work is hard enough, much less having to go it alone each and every day. My heart has always gone out to the person who comes to work each and every day, works extremely hard, does a good job but has no friends at work. They sit alone in the cafeteria or eat their lunch outside on a bench reading a book or magazine. They are never seen to be in the company of others when not in a meeting or some forced to be together time. Time at work doesn't have to be all friends and games but having others around you in the office who are like-minded and who you can share the trials and tribulations of the day with is a good thing. We are told this in Ecclesiastes 4: 9-10, "Two people are better off than one, for they can help each other succeed. If one person falls, the other can reach out and help. But someone who falls alone is in real trouble." Makes simple sense doesn't it? It will be hard to find purpose in your work for yourself if you don't have "buddies" that you can talk to openly about how you are feeling and doing on the job. I have found that just knowing that there are others in the company who share my same faith is a tremendous assistance in the tough times. When the going gets tough, just to be able to email or talk to them in a context that is higher than the office politics can be a moment of rejuvenation and positive energy. We are surrounded in work by people who would rather see us fail than succeed. If those people are the only people we can reach to when we do fall, then we can expect to go all the way and hit the bottom. Your job will be more satisfying, rewarding and fruitful if you seek out and cultivate a relationship with some "buddies" and before long you might find yourself laughing off the little stuff and standing stronger on the big things knowing that you have others around you who want and will help you succeed.


Reference: Ecclesiastes 4: 9-10 (New Living Testament)