Work Is Worship

This is good article to share which I just read this morning.

An environment of dedication creates value for all

I am always struck by the fact that the Arabic word for work and worship is the same: Ibadah.

Work was never supposed to be drudgery, but an uplifting activity, giving meaning to life and dignity to workers.

Islam recognises that every person must strive to do their best and in these circumstances, work will truly be an act of worship.

Islam also recognises that doing business is a blessing because it allows us to meet other people and create value in so doing.

Effort is essential, however.

One of the reasons why gambling is haram is that the reward does not reflect effort and so it undermines the character.

For employees to realise their potential at work, two things are needed: a favourable environment, and the will to work, which I take for granted.

We need three things to create a favourable working environment: we should respect our employees for their skills and the diversity of their ideas; we should reward and recognise people for the work they do rather than compensating them; we should imbue their work with meaning by providing a ‘line of sight’ to the purpose of the organisation as a whole.

Treat people with respect and dignity

Frederick Taylor’s principles of scientific management and Henry Ford’s development of mass production lowered costs dramatically, making products affordable for the masses.

But at a terrible price: the de-skilling of work, and the treatment of workers as costs to be minimised rather than as assets to be invested in.

Wherever possible in the Anglo-Saxon world, capital was used to de-skill work, to reduce the company’s dependence on people and their workers’ implicit knowledge.

The Japanese resisted this Anglo-Saxon approach to workers.

They valued the skills and judgment of their workers, looking to them to provide ideas and take responsibility for achieving levels of quality that Anglo-Saxon firms have found hard to emulate.

The success of Toyota is in large part the result of the company empowering its employees to take personal accountability for the quality of every car they make.

But it is more than that; it is also the fact that Japanese managers do not differentiate themselves from workers.

When Japanese companies first came to Britain, they did away with separate dining rooms and executive washrooms; they wore the same clothes as the workers; they knew how the job was done; they spent time with the workers on the factory floor.

Even today, the top management of Toyota does not drive luxury limousines; they do not pay themselves obscene salaries, unlike their counterparts at GM or Ford.

Don’t compensate; reward and recognise instead. We spend most of our waking lives working.

If we do this without enjoying what we do, we have to be compensated for this misuse of our time and creative energies, which is why I dislike the word ‘compensation’.

Compensation means “money that is paid to someone in exchange for something that has been lost or damaged or for some inconvenience”.

What I find distressing about the use of the word ‘compensation’ is the underlying assumption that people do not want to work and derive no pleasure from a job well done – the result of the philosophies of Taylor and Ford discussed earlier.

It totally ignores the idea of Ibadah.

I much prefer the terms ‘reward and recognition’ because they are positive, energising ideas, whereas compensation is a negative one, encouraging minimalist thinking.

Every job matters when there is a ‘line of sight’.

There is an old story about a visitor to a quarry who watched two men at work cutting blocks of stone.

Although they were doing exactly the same work, one man was sour-faced and slow; the other was happy and productive.

The visitor asked the sour-faced man what he was doing.

He answered, “I am cutting blocks of stone”.

When the second man was asked the same question, he answered “I am building a palace”. The first man had no idea of the broader purpose or of where he fitted into the scheme of things.

The second man was energised by his sense of purpose; he understood where he fitted into the scheme of things and his work was worthwhile.

As long as people know where they fit and how they contribute to the mission of their company, they will feel their job matters; they make a difference and they will enjoy coming to work.

It does not matter how small their job is.

To conclude, employees who enjoy their work create satisfied customers; they are unpaid ambassadors promoting the company to their families and friends.

Employees who do not enjoy their work create dissatisfied customers; they are paid terrorists complaining about the company to anybody who will listen.

An environment where work really is worship creates value for all.


John Zinkin is CEO of Securities Industry Development Corp (SIDC). He believes that people should put the soul back into business.

Friday January 9, 2009
Whose Business Is It Anyway? By John Zinkin