day 382: Break Time

Many times those of us who have grown up as Managers in companies don't like or don't understand work rules that come from the government or collective bargaining agreements. We become conditioned to think it is unproductive or wasteful to have prescribed break or meal times. A few years ago, the Governor of California sought the removing of break times for government workers. While the numbers on a piece of paper can certainly reinforce that we can remove these and save money, no one pushes back on the fact that with a little break one can come back to the job and be more productive. That is because those of us who are in management don't allow ourselves to take formal breaks but if the truth be told there is plenty of time throughout the day on the phone for personal reasons, checking Facebook, rolling back in the chair and staring out the window, or shooting the breeze with someone else about something that has nothing to do with work. Breaks are just part of the way we work, whether prescribed or not, because that is human nature that we all must be refreshed to keep up our energy level and have the stamina to complete the day or the job at hand. The Bible tells us how to be and stay refreshed. Proverbs 11:25 says; "The generous prosper and are satisfied; those who refresh others will themselves be refreshed." In our work what this can say to us is that when we go on break, don't go on break for ourselves, but go on break for others. Find the person in the office who is most down that day and seek them out and offer to go for a walk, have a cup of coffee, or just sit and talk for a few minutes. When you are sure that they are refreshed then go back to the office and see how you feel. Do this a few times and you will know what it feels likes to have a break time that produces real results.

Reference: Proverbs 11:25 (New Living Testament)

day 207: Rest Periods

In most states there are labor laws that dictate the rest periods or "breaks" that certain employees must take throughout their work day. If someone is an hourly paid or classified as a non-exempt (means not exempt from overtime regulations)employee they, in most states, are regulated to take a break somewhere in the first half of their day, a lunch break, and a break somewhere in the second half of their day. These regulations originated from the days of assembly line and factory work when someone would be required to stay at their piece of machinery the entire day without a break whatsoever. As if someone in management didn't think that that would catch up with them dome day? Organized labor found an opening to gather support by the rank and file to fight against this and establish laws to mandate something as human as a rest break. These kinds of topics always make me wonder about the relationship between capital and labor and why, since capital is also made up of people, that there is a leaning on labor until a breaking point is reached, until almost an inhumane breaking point is found, and then everyone comes to their senses only through the law or regulation. It is one of those oddities to me of this thing we called work. We are all called to rest at some point. Even God modeled rest on the seventh day after the work of creation was completed. Work is laborious (ala labor). Work wears us down. Work takes a physical and mental toll on each of us. Work adds to us problems that we feel like we cannot solve on our own and places burdens and weights on our shoulders and around our necks. Work can overtake us and push us to a point where we are doing inhumane things to ourselves with lack of sleep, increased stress and red-lined physical capabilities. We then let all of this permeate into the other areas of our lives and before long we are suffering in our relationships with loved ones and also spiritually. We need a rest period. And you know what? God gives it to us. He says in Matthew 11:28: "Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest." Jesus then goes on to say, "Take my yoke upon you. Let me teach you, because I am humble and gentle, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke fits perfectly, and the burden I give you is light." What a cool co-worker God wants to be. He asks us to take a rest period and let Him take over for us. Today you may be readying for a day where you already feel totally burned out, stressed and weighed down, even before the day starts. Try something new today...start the day with a rest period with God. Give Him 30 minutes of your time to refresh you in His word, strengthen you in prayer, and invigorate you with His spirit. See if today that rest period at the start of the day doesn't make a difference later on in how you make it through the day.

Reference: Matthew 11:28 (New Living Testament)