Accountable or Entitled?
“Whatever you do, work at it
with all your heart.”
Colossians 3:23 (NIV)
Before my retirement in 2018 I had a 35-year career as a health care provider for a large academic medical center. During that time our institution experienced several cycles of income fluctuations. When our income exceeded our expenses, the hospital prospered for that season, hired new personnel, and invested heavily in infrastructure. Conversely, new legislation; supply chain disruptions; expensive new drug therapies and technologies; along with payer mix and reimbursement changes frequently brought significant challenges to the hospital’s bottom line.
During those revenue downturns, I was often handed my job description and asked, “How does your job add value to our mission?” I wasn’t offended by either the question or the process. Instead, I was grateful for the opportunity to evaluate my own work and present an argument that my work mattered to the bottom line of our organization. It was a matter of accountability, not only for me, but also for our institution’s leadership.
By contrast, only one half of the United States two million federal employees responded to Elon Musk’s email request for a bulleted list of five things done in their work during the previous week. Some doubted Musk’s authority to ask such a question. Others raised legitimate privacy issues. Many questioned the DOGE initiative and what would be done with the information provided. Others rushed to court, filed multiple lawsuits against the Trump administration, and whined about the hardships of physically returning to their offices. As a taxpayer, it appeared that the folks who responded to Musk’s email request were accountable, while those who refused were entitled.
My Daddy was a Great Depression and World War II survivor who never got over the privilege of having a job. He worked as a steelworker for 34 years and was often out of work due to union strikes or economic recessions. During those hard times, Daddy learned to build cabinets and decks; remodel homes; pump gas; drive a florist delivery van; or serve as a handyman. He once told me not to worry about him having a job and declared, “Baby, I can stand on the street corner of 3rd Avenue and 20th Street, direct people to the post office, and have a job.” Daddy insisted on giving an honest day’s work for an honest day’s pay. No task was too great, and no job was too small. Daddy was not only accountable; he was grateful for both the opportunity and the income.
Reflecting on my four decades as a healthcare professional, here are some of the “best practice” employee principles I learned over the years. Many of these lessons were learned the hard way, but all of them were valuable and I am grateful for those who both taught and modeled them.
Deliver an excellent work product. Avoid coasting or doing just enough to get by.
Make sure you always bring value to the table. Don’t be afraid to grow your job skill set and keep learning.
Avoid office gossip, grumbling, and complaining.
Minimize distractions, especially social media.
Have a “can do” attitude. Don’t just find and report workplace problems; propose possible solutions and think “win-win.”
Stay humble with personal successes and be quick to give credit to others when possible.
Be accountable, not defensive or divisive.
Be thankful for your job knowing that God is ultimately the Giver of every good gift. (James 1:17)
This side of heaven a lot of our work will be filled with “thorns, thistles, and toil” (Genesis 3:17-18). That’s one of the consequences of the Fall and living in a broken world. (Genesis 3) We can take comfort in knowing that God can use our work to provide for our needs; bring good to others; and glory to Himself. In the process, God often uses our work to sanctify us and conform us more and more to the image of Christ who came, not to be served, but to serve.” (Mark 10:45)
In his Parable of the Talents (Matthew 25:14-30) Jesus teaches that all of us will ultimately face an accountability day before the Master and give a report of our stewardship. Those who worked well and are found faithful will hear the words, “Well done, good and faithful servant.” Those who didn’t will be judged and declared as “wicked, lazy, and worthless.” (Matthew 25:26, 30)
Boaz prayed a prayer of blessing over Ruth the Moabite as she gleaned grain in his fields. It is one of my personal favorite prayers: “May the Lord reward your work and your wages be full from him.”
(Ruth 2:12 NASB)