Religious Employers Are The New Scam
The Nigerian labor market is not palatable, even though workers tolerate all forms of insolent activities; most employers are either a devil in disguise, filled with terror, and wickedness, or an angel in disguise, the one who has the blade of life and death in their hands; the officiating ministers of God on earth.
If your employer doesn’t fall into any of the above descriptions, then his DNA isn’t Nigerian.
In Nigeria, religion calls the shots, while our culture provides the dread. However, both the two of them are obsolete. Employers are the modern Moses, with the ten commandments of the company listed in their hands. Their companies have tagline similar to churches’ tagline, and Bible verses. They have company policies like, “thou shalt not go on dreads, or use tinted hair”, “no form of curvy, or cleavage showing dress is acceptable, wigs aren't exempted either”, “no heavy make up”, and other laws on how to dress, what to wear, and who you should talk to at work.
Religion, the real dagger destroying many businesses, is the best strategy employers use in manipulating people, and unfortunately, they get away with it. A lot of organizations have embedded their vision, and mission to fit into their religiosity. They have praying hours, fasting day, tithing account, sowing account, thanksgiving account. These aren't ways to love God, acknowledge the sovereignty of God. Even God doesn’t task his angels with funny, and frustrating actions.
Why do employers do that? Why do they choose to be a modern Moses who visited Mount Sinai, or Elijah who called down fire, or Samuel who heard God’s voice? They would say, “God is a merciful father, yet consuming fire”. How would God bless you with an idea, yet destroy the company if you, or any of your staff disobeys his laws? What a ridicule on God’s nature?
Most Nigerian employers are religious bigot, like the Pharisees, they have scurrilous tongues, pointing fingers, and a mindset that they can deterge their employees of their sins, so the good Lord can bless them. What an audacity? I wonder how God would react listening to a Nigerian employer shoving a new policy down his staff’s throat with the statement, “When I was praying yesterday, God told me…”I bet God would turn to his son, and say, “Look at the people you died for.”
I have come to realize that companies with taglines like, “In God we trust”, “God is the giver of all knowledge”, “We are nothing but pencils in the hands of the creator”, or “God’s word is my shield and buckler”, are merely religious.
They neither have concrete business knowledge, nor sound knowledge of what is expected of a believer. God doesn’t want you to use bible verses as your business tagline, or make your employees uncomfortable. If God had wanted those positions in your company, it would have been stated in his word.
Although, every employer chooses their policy, but it is quite unfortunate that policies created from religion, or culture does no employee any good.
Like the school owner adjacent my house, she is a pastor in a popular denomination in Nigeria. She is such a wonderful Christian, quick to greet her neighbor, she is the literal example of the bible verse, “Follow peace with all men, and holiness, with which no man can see God.”
She allows poor children attend her school; these are children whose parents do not deem it fit to pay even the most affordable school fees in my area. Parents walk into her office on a daily basis, begging her in the name of God to have mercy on them, and allow her children to attend classes. This would be the case for two terms, after which these children would stop attending her school, to another school, where the parents would pay the fees without begging. This may sound biblical, at least the good Samaritan was a nice man, and even Jesus mentioned giving to the needy, a few times while he was on earth, why then should this woman do something lesser? Unfortunately, her good works wouldn’t pay her staff’s salaries, and this doesn’t make her staff unreligious, or sinners when they demand their salaries, or stop working.
Every day, we see, and hear of different stories of employers, like the Sadducees, who are quick to remove the clog in the eyes of others, yet they have clogs in their own eyes. The men who are registrars in heaven, they have a bucket list of what annoys God and pleases him. Bosses who are quick to remind their staff that servants should be loyal to their employers, they are quick to forget that loyalty isn't for the employees alone. After all, what is good for the goose, is good for the gander.
When next you are in an interview with a prospective employer, and he says, “God is our source here, and we honor God more”, this could mean that, “If you miss the devotion hours, even for good reasons, 10% of your salary would be removed.” Perhaps, employers should state their stands without mincing words during interviews. But, we know this may never happen, because religion causes more fear, and gives nobody freedom.
