When Does "Work" Become "Abuse"?
There is no perfect job and there is no perfect employer; there is no perfect company/organization, nor is there a perfect employee. But Laban's behavior has been referred to as "abuse" and God has told Jacob to flee. Here are some parallels between Jacob and Laban's employer/employee relationship and some of the employment situations we frequently see in our culture today:
Laban pays Jacob the bare minimum, not what Jacob deserves to make.
It seems like this is frequently the case when it comes to employment; employers have a tendency to want to do the bare minimum to keep their employees around, only offering to up the ante when they fear that an employee (or employees) will leave if they don't.
Laban becomes very wealthy while Jacob can't even provide for himself or his family.
This is what we refer to as "income disparity" or "income inequality". Jacob had received no tangible increase in his wages for roughly 14 years when he first threatened to leave Laban's employment. I do not think it is any coincidence that it has been roughly 14 years since Congress last approved an increase in the Federal Minimum Wage and we are now experiencing The Great Resignation.
There is a difference between the "win-win" situation of Jacob's first 7-years of employment and the second 7-years of employment which were only a "win" for Laban.
There will always be a place for small and/or family-owned businesses in our economy (and we should probably be doing far more to support and protect them!), and there will always be exceptions to who must pay/receive the federal minimum wage. But, regardless of the size of the business, church, or non-profit organization, I can't really think of a valid reason for not paying a minimum and/or living wage when it is within your ability to do so, and this includes keeping wages low in order to save money or pay down debt. I may really desire more margin in my budget, a bigger emergency fund, or to pay off my mortgage, but paying my childcare provider a sub-living wage in order to accomplish any of those other things is accumulating wealth at someone else's expense.
And, please allow me to be blunt here: there is absolutely no excuse for paying someone in a minority group less than you would pay a white male for doing the same job just because you can get away with it. Doing so boils down to one of two things: it's either discrimination or it's greed - neither of which is Godly.
Laban becomes wealthy at Jacob's expense. He is reaping the rewards of Jacob's labor while failing to share any of the profits.
This is what we refer to as the "wealth gap". When you have business owners, stock holders, CEOs, and upper management making six figures, while their employees can't even comfortably afford housing, transportation, childcare, or food, that is abuse. When higher ups own multiple homes while some of their employees are struggling to afford one home, that's abuse.
Laban repeatedly changes the terms of employment. At one point, Jacob complains, "... he has cheated me, changing my wages ten times."
People make the mistake of thinking of compensation strictly as wages, but in this story, as well as in today's society, compensation is the entire package of wages and benefits. Employers frequently make changes to health care, hours worked, paid time off, etc., which all affect the overall package and can greatly impact overall compensation, and frequently, employees are given no say in the matter - or even advance notice about the change. If they don't like the new terms, they have no choice but to leave the company or live with the changes - even when it means an overall reduction in their compensation.
Laban has unrealistic expectations and the expectations keep changing; no matter what Jacob does, it is never enough for Laban.
There are many employers who pay employees very well, but there seems to be this expectation that the employee should basically be at their beck and call, available whenever or wherever needed, even at the expense of their families or their physical, mental, and emotional well-being.
I have heard of companies striving for better "work/life balance", so they change the required work week to 36-40 hours per week. The problem is, they don't add to staff or change any of the expectations for their employees. As a result, employees are expected to complete the same amount of work in less time and frequently for less pay. While the company is bragging about their "work/life balance", behind the scenes, employees are putting in extra time off the clock because they can no longer meet the expectations.
Companies may pay employees very well, but hire fewer employees, expecting them to do the job of 2 or 3 people. I raise my eyebrows a bit when someone says they are expected to "wear many hats" because it is frequently "code" for being expected to do the jobs of 2 or 3 people while getting paid for one!
Laban takes advantage of Jacob's integrity and work ethic.
Reliable and loyal employees should be rewarded for their work ethic; not penalized for it or taken for granted. We have seen this during the pandemic as well; when new employees are being hired at higher wages than the employees who have been with the company a long time, you can expect a high rate of turn-over.
Laban overvalues his own contributions, while undervaluing Jacob's.
We pay CEOs 6 figures, while paying those who are actually doing the work minimum wage because CEOs want to believe that their contribution brings so much more value to the business than the people who are actually doing the work, when, in reality, as we've seen during the pandemic, the business is completely dependent upon employees at the ground level. We've seen restaurants having to close several days a week or businesses having to reduce their hours because, regardless of how great their senior leaders might be, they can't actually get front-line employees to come in and do the work.
Laban uses his position of power and authority to take advantage of Jacob.
Jacob probably feels pretty helpless to do anything about his situation as Laban is his only source of income.
Laban manipulates (you might even say "gaslights") Jacob.
Laban says one thing, but does another. He praises Jacob and tells him how well he is doing, and promises to pay whatever wage Jacob sets, but he never follows through on his promises. He credits Jacob with making him a wealthy man, but then turns on Jacob in the end and accuses Jacob of being the dishonest and disloyal one.
I have heard of companies where they offer one thing verbally - or even in writing, but the culture at the company dictates otherwise. There is a recent trend in which very demanding fields will offer "unlimited vacation time/paid time off", but the reality is that because of the corporate culture within the organization, no one dares take any time off for fear of the repercussions if they do.
Laban acknowledges God - repeatedly - and credits God for his success and wealth. But while Laban knows the morally right thing to do, he repeatedly fails to do it.
You can acknowledge God, you can consider yourself a Christian, you can have a successful business, and you can even credit God for your success, while still failing to follow God and do the morally right thing. Christians may claim they are "being good stewards of what God has blessed them with" when, in actuality, they are failing to fairly compensate their employees. There are plenty of verses in the Bible about employers paying their employees fair wages, and Christians, especially, are supposed to be characterized by a spirit of generosity. If anything, Christians should be paying above and beyond what is considered fair by cultural standards whenever possible.
Laban makes decisions based entirely upon profit.
Employers can claim they are doing this as wise business owners (or, in "Christianese" - "good stewards"), but this typically boils down to fear or greed. God will typically require people to do the morally right thing, even if that requires great financial risk/sacrifice, and He will typically supernaturally reward them for doing so. It requires faith to pay your employees generously when you have your own financial obligations to meet, but you have to believe and trust that, in the long run, God will bless you for it.
Laban refuses to do the right thing; God has to supernaturally intervene.
Let's face it, left to their own devices, most employers are not going to do the right thing out of the goodness of their hearts. A brief United States history lesson is all that is needed to illustrate this point. Employers have rationalized and justified slavery, perverse child labor practices, blatant discrimination based on race, gender, or a variety of other factors ... the list can go on and on. Without laws protecting employees from exploitation and abuse (like passing a federal minimum wage that's adjusted each year for inflation), we will have employers doing whatever they can legally get away with.
© I Lift My Voice, 2022.
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