I remember being in the org, and how everyone went on and on, about how we had a better work ethic than the rest of the world. That seemed like a big thing then, and I really believed it.
But now as an adult that's been ousted for a few years, I can look in retrospect, and I've noticed that JW's aren't as flexible with their work schedules.
I briefly dated this lady, that manages an Aldi's in a neighboring town. We where talking about this very subject. One of her employee's, is a JW, and he wants off three days a week. For the meetings. He doesn't finish his job on closing, and just has an over all poor work ethic. She thinks he has a problem with women in authority, and says that he walks around with a superior air about him. He thinks he's better than everyone etc.
She sent me an email yesterday, (not sure why she wrote me the email) but she told me that he is getting fired Tuesday, which is tomorrow. They just can't handle his poor work ethics anymore.
I can't remember having poor work ethics, but then again, I guess I ended up being the rebel eh?
But now as an adult that's been ousted for a few years, I can look in retrospect, and I've noticed that JW's aren't as flexible with their work schedules.
I briefly dated this lady, that manages an Aldi's in a neighboring town. We where talking about this very subject. One of her employee's, is a JW, and he wants off three days a week. For the meetings. He doesn't finish his job on closing, and just has an over all poor work ethic. She thinks he has a problem with women in authority, and says that he walks around with a superior air about him. He thinks he's better than everyone etc.
She sent me an email yesterday, (not sure why she wrote me the email) but she told me that he is getting fired Tuesday, which is tomorrow. They just can't handle his poor work ethics anymore.
I can't remember having poor work ethics, but then again, I guess I ended up being the rebel eh?
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Re: Work ethic
Mon, February 25, 2008 - 10:06 PMI feel that my work ethic is one of the few positive things that came from
my past as a Witness. Now, instead of viewing the quality of my work as
a reflection on my God or my organization, I view it as a reflection on the
degree to which I am connected with my own divinity.
I can see,though, how it would be inconvenient for managers who make
schedules to have to work around all the meetings and the time off for
the field ministry. Nevertheless, I am all for flexibility of scheduling, so if the
Witnesses create some more elasticity, maybe I can be a beneficiary thereof,
too. :)
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Re: Work ethic
Wed, February 27, 2008 - 3:15 PMI spent 35 years in the org. I respect the organization for encouraging people to be diligent and work hard. However, I found I got my good work ethic from my parents not the org. my dad was Catholic and a work ahololic, my mom was a total witness over acheiver, regualar pioneer blah blah blah blah. I also found that individual's interpretation of what "working hard" means to be very wide and vast. I was an elder for about 5 years before I left, and I spent a lot of time helping people with their problems. It was very frustrating at times to have people complain about how hard work was when they were working 8 hours barely, and I was putting ten or twelve in the same day and then at their house in the evening to help them. On more than one occasion I recall telling people that I felt they were lazy and that they wanted things to be too easy. On the other hand I know a lot of JW's that really do work hard. They go the extra mile because they know that at times their schedule isn't as flexible as other workers, so they need to be valued in other ways. That's how it lived for me. Remember too that tho Org keeps people ignorant by discouraging higher education, which at times sets a bad precedent from a young age to not put one's best effort in to what they are doing. I am incredibly smart, (150+IQ). I spent most of my time in high school trying to make sure no one knew how smart I was. So I would slack off on assignments, ace all the tests and get B's & C's in school. That allowed me to keep my parents and my teachers & counselors off my back. I think a lot of witness kids do that, and for some of them, that routine becomes a habit that does not serve them later in life. My $.02
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Re: Work ethic
Thu, February 28, 2008 - 1:47 PMI can identify with you Thomas,
although witnesses do encourage a good work ethic and like you said discourage higher education forcing many of them to work harder, not smarter in order to make ends meet. I really feel I got my work ethic from my father, who is not and has never been a Witness, he's a non-practicing Catholic, and a Latino man, so very very hard working, and he does have a degree, that the military paid for when he came back from Vietnam.
It was when I enrolled in community college and had to miss Tuesday night meetings, because as an unmarried single woman, I have to work full-time to support myself and take classes at night, that wheels started to turn in my mind about the odd fact that witnesses discourage higher education.
I was feeling a lot of pressure to just find a man, so that I could quit my job and pioneer. And was being made to feel like at the ripe old age of 21, I was running out of time or something. Haha, so funny now, to look back on it.
What was I thinking taking college courses? Perhaps, I was not taking full advantage of the theocratic ministry school? haha.
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Re: Work ethic
Fri, February 29, 2008 - 10:08 AMI didn't finish college, but when I did go, I was also discouraged. I was "wasting my time."
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