Part 1 - THE PROBLEM:
Merriam
Webster defines a slave as, "a person who has lost control of himself
and is dominated by something or someone else." No wonder many
employees, shackled to their jobs with little freedom to control their
day-to-day work or their career, feel like slaves.Employees are
"dominated" because what they do, when they do it, and where they do it
are controlled by their employer. They are like slaves because their
employer controls their time and their space. Many employees live in a
state of perpetual anxiety about losing their jobs. Indeed, research
shows that more than half of all employees feel insecure in their jobs
and inhibited about expressing their views openly.
Technically, of course
,
employees are voluntary workers and are legally free to leave whenever
they please. In practice, however, this is not the case for most people.
The job market today is extremely tight and the prospect of finding a
job elsewhere is daunting. The slave analogy is also relevant because
employees do not feel management cares about their well being or gives
them the authority to make their own decisions. Research conducted by
Discovery Surveys also shows:
Less than half of employees believe that management shows a genuine interest in their well being;
Half don't trust the information they receive from management;
Only 58 percent feel that they have the decision-making authority they need; and
Only one-third feel that they are involved in decisions that affect their day-to-day work.
Many employees live in a perpetual state of anxiety because they lack what psychologists call "the perception of control." Psychological studies have shown that the perceived control over one's destiny has more of an influence over anxiety than does the actual control.
Black's Law dictionary defines employee as "A person in the service of another under any contract of hire, express or implied, oral or written, where the employer has the power
or right to control and direct the employee in the material details of
how the work is to be performed." By that definition, we begin to see
how similar the modern day employee is to the servants and slaves of
times past.
Technically, of course
Less than half of employees believe that management shows a genuine interest in their well being;
Half don't trust the information they receive from management;
Only 58 percent feel that they have the decision-making authority they need; and
Only one-third feel that they are involved in decisions that affect their day-to-day work.
Many employees live in a perpetual state of anxiety because they lack what psychologists call "the perception of control." Psychological studies have shown that the perceived control over one's destiny has more of an influence over anxiety than does the actual control.
Black's Law dictionary defines employee as "A person in the service of another under any contract of hire, express or implied, oral or written, where the employer has the power
Part 2 - History of the employee.
Where did the idea of employment come from?
During
biblical times, people were self-employed, contract laborers, or
servants obligated to a long-term service. A contract laborer is seen in
the parable of the field hands who were hired to harvest grapes
(Matthew 20:1-16). Servanthood, or slavery, was generally entered
through some obligation: a person might have incurred too much debt and
had to sell his services to meet his obligation, he might have been on
the wrong side of a battle and was captured, he might be learning a
trade as an apprentice, or he might be earning something that he could
not normally afford, such as Jacob's fourteen years of service to Laban
for the right to marry Rachel (Genesis 29:15-30). The length of service
lasted until the obligation was fulfilled. It could last a few years or
could be a lifetime of service.
Most of the Bible's comments on employment focuses on servants or slaves. Outside of self-employment, it was the most common form of labor; and it was the main form of labor that kept the employer (the master) tied to his employees (servants). A master had to supply his servants the basic necessities of food, clothing, and shelter. Servants became a part of the master's household. Now as you might suspect, when men
are involved there were a wide variety of masters; some took good care
of their servants, but many did not. Slavery was modified throughout
Europe during the medieval times into what is known as 'serfdom', which
simply gave the 'serfs' slightly more rights and protection than slaves.
Serfs differed from slaves in that slaves could be bought and sold
without reference to land, whereas serfs changed lords only when the
land they worked changed hands. However, slavery in the United States
existed as a legal institution on American soil before the founding of
the United States in 1776, and remained a legal feature of American
society until the passage of the Thirteenth Amendment to the United
States Constitution in 1865. During the rise of the Industrial
revolution, the plantation owners became plant owners, and many slaves
were transferred from plantations into plants. The same rich people who
had been slaveowners now became company owners and CEO's, and they used
slaves to mass-produce goods in order to boost their bottom line. As
slavery was abolished, these rich men were forced to hire help, at a
cheap cost of course, in order to continue to grow their company and
yield more profits. Thus the transformation of slave into employee
began.
Most of the Bible's comments on employment focuses on servants or slaves. Outside of self-employment, it was the most common form of labor; and it was the main form of labor that kept the employer (the master) tied to his employees (servants). A master had to supply his servants the basic necessities of food, clothing, and shelter. Servants became a part of the master's household. Now as you might suspect, when men
Part 3 - The comparison.
Is employment really similar to slavery?
Let's
compare the similarities between the modern-day employee and the slaves
from 300 years ago:
A. The farmer supplied all the slaves with accommodation.
B. The company pays all the employees a salary to pay for their accommodation.
A. The farmer supplied all the slaves with food and other household
necessities.
B. The company pays all the employees a salary to pay for their food and other household necessities.
A. On all the major holidays like Christmas and Easter the slaves receive a day or two off from working
B. On all the major holidays like Christmas and Easter the employees receive a day or two off from working.
A. The farmer supplied the slaves with medical care when needed.
B. The Company supplies all the employees with medical aid for when a doctor is needed.
A. If a slave broke the rules or ran away, the farmer would punish them with lashes, verbal abuse or take away their necessities like food.
B. If the employees break the rules or stay away from work the company will punish them with written warnings, hearings or even pay deductions so that the employees can't afford to pay for their necessities like food.
A. The farmer would occasionally supply the slaves with some refreshments and a party to keep them happy and motivated.
B. The company will occasionally supply the employees with some refreshments and a party to keep them happy and motivated.
A. The slaves were controlled by the fear of not being able to survive away from the farm.
B. The employees are controlled by the fear of not being able to survive away from the company.
I'm not saying that all employment is seen as slavery. There are certain industries where employment is a necessity like hospitals, banks, etc. But modern day slavery still exists and they are in the industries where people are hired for their skills. All of us have our own unique skills and most of us are being enslaved for it. Many people will argue that slavery does not exist not only because of the existing laws, but, moreover, because they don't actually see people shackled, whipped and forced to work. Considering our modern lives, however, in light of the definition given by Webster's Dictionary, slavery does affect us all, and applies to many of the practices in which most of us engage. Many in our society are slaves to jobs, slaves to car
payments, slaves to credit cards, and slaves to rents or mortgages in
much the same way as the slaves of the past. This type of "modern"
slavery may be, to an extent, self-imposed, but still fits the
definition, and shows yet another way the face of slavery keeps altering
its appearance to remain alive. Americans need to understand this or
they will continue to enslave themselves and continue to promote the
general acceptance of that which they believe does not exist.
A. The farmer supplied all the slaves with accommodation.
B. The company pays all the employees a salary to pay for their accommodation.
A. The farmer supplied all the slaves with food and other household
B. The company pays all the employees a salary to pay for their food and other household necessities.
A. On all the major holidays like Christmas and Easter the slaves receive a day or two off from working
B. On all the major holidays like Christmas and Easter the employees receive a day or two off from working.
A. The farmer supplied the slaves with medical care when needed.
B. The Company supplies all the employees with medical aid for when a doctor is needed.
A. If a slave broke the rules or ran away, the farmer would punish them with lashes, verbal abuse or take away their necessities like food.
B. If the employees break the rules or stay away from work the company will punish them with written warnings, hearings or even pay deductions so that the employees can't afford to pay for their necessities like food.
A. The farmer would occasionally supply the slaves with some refreshments and a party to keep them happy and motivated.
B. The company will occasionally supply the employees with some refreshments and a party to keep them happy and motivated.
A. The slaves were controlled by the fear of not being able to survive away from the farm.
B. The employees are controlled by the fear of not being able to survive away from the company.
I'm not saying that all employment is seen as slavery. There are certain industries where employment is a necessity like hospitals, banks, etc. But modern day slavery still exists and they are in the industries where people are hired for their skills. All of us have our own unique skills and most of us are being enslaved for it. Many people will argue that slavery does not exist not only because of the existing laws, but, moreover, because they don't actually see people shackled, whipped and forced to work. Considering our modern lives, however, in light of the definition given by Webster's Dictionary, slavery does affect us all, and applies to many of the practices in which most of us engage. Many in our society are slaves to jobs, slaves to car
Part 4 - Our society
What we've been trained to believe.
In
our society, we have been trained to become employees. We are taught to
get a good education, go out and find a good job and work at that job
until your old and grey, at which time you'll be released from your
duties with a few years of life remaining and just enough money to get
by on. Most of the time, however, we only hear about the first half of
that scenario, and never seem to think about the second. As many of us
know, the system in corporate America has been set-up to keep the rich
rich, to keep the poor poor, and to keep all those in the middle right
in the middle. Otherwise, if we were all given the chance to become
financially independent, there would be no employees to serve others and
to make the rich man's company grow. That's why the majority of
employees are paid just enough to get by on, but never enough to be able
to quit or retire early. Many of us know this, but most of us do
nothing about it. We just accept it as the way things are, and continue
to work for others because we're forced to believe that is what we must
do, and we believe this is the only way to have a sense of security. Do
you truly feel secure knowing you'll have to work until the age of 65,
just to retire and live a meager existence until you die? Is this the
way you feel God intended for our lives to be? ..or do you see how this
system was set-up by the corrupt world we live in and primarliy only
benefits the rich? So what can we do about it?
Part 5 - Time for a change!
Are you ready to go from servitude to financial independence?
So,
here's the big question. Are you ready to make what could be the most
dramatic change of your life? Most people are not willing to take a
chance to get what they really want out of life. Unfortunately, it is
those same people who will be stuck at their job for nearly all their
lives, and end up nearly broke by the time they retire. Popular surveys
show nearly 98% of people are either dead or dead broke by the age of
65, and many continue working after that because social security just
doesn't pay enough for their expenses. If you want change, you have to
make a change. If, over the next five years, you keep doing the same
thing you've been doing for the last five years, what makes you think
your situation will change for the better? If you really want financial
independence, and you know you will never get it from your J.O.B. (which
stands for just over broke), then it's time to retrain your mind from
that of an employee to that of an entrepreneur. It's time to do what you
have to do to get the financial and time freedom that you deserve.
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