Integrity Ideas are practical actions toward implementing a bigger WHY for the organization.  We believe some are critical (and necessary) steps in the RENEW/RE-ALIGN/RE-IMAGINE/RESTORE process.  Others are just ideas to be considered if they feel like a good fit based on what leaders prayerfully discern is best for stewarding the organization toward its WHY.

Because “Choose the Better ‘T’ of Trust (vs Track)” is at the heart of creating (and tracking serves to undermine) a culture that prioritizes relationships, community, human dignity and flourishing, we believe choosing the better T is essential to leading with faithful integrity through business a better way toward Biblical flourishing.

Integrity Ideas are specific actions a leader can consider during the Re-Align step of Integriosity^®–actions that will begin to Re-Align the organization with Biblical beliefs, principles and priorities.  You can find more Integrity Ideas at Integrous | Integrity Ideas (integriosity.com)

INTEGRITY IDEA: Choose the Better “T” of Trust (vs Track)

In a world that has shifted to increased remote and hybrid work, “Choose the Better ‘T’ of Trust (vs Track)” is about cultivating an organizational culture in which employees do not need to be tracked, which starts by trusting God rather than tracking employees.  We believe trusting God will help lead to engaged employees who can be trusted.

The “T” of Tracking

In what some have called productivity paranoia, many employers are using Employee Monitoring Software (EMS) to track the activity of remote workers. In July 2024, the Wall Street Journal reported that “the share of companies using some kind of electronic work-surveillance system surged during the pandemic, reaching nearly 50% in 2023.”

In an article published by Psychology Today titled “The Dangers of Confusing Activity With Productivity“, Anna Katharina Schaffner Ph.D. examines uses of EMS tracking as well as employee responses.  She notes that, in addition to tracking mouse and keyboard activity, websites visited, and documents opened, some software takes random screenshots of employees.  She also describes products on the market designed to help monitored employees fake activity, such as a “mouse jiggler”.

Exploring the motivation behind use of EMS tracking, Schaffner concludes (emphasis added):

In spite of the fact that most research confirms that working from home and hybrid working enhance employee productivity, engagement, and well-being levels . . ., ever more employers are fearful of losing control over how their employees spend their working hours.

An article published by the BBC in 2022 mentioned a Microsoft survey of 20,006 global knowledge workers that found “85% of leaders say the shift to hybrid work has made it hard to be confident that employees are being productive.”  Comments by a professor of behavioral science at the University of Chicago Booth School of Business seem to support a truism we have quoted many times (from John Hayes–“We tend to overvalue the things we can measure, and undervalue the things we cannot”):

Time is the most common metric of productivity because it’s simple to measure.  It’s easier to track a worker’s time in the office than their quality of ideas.

In what the WSJ articles describes as a “productivity-tracking arms race“, EMS systems are getting more sophisticated to detect employee attempts.  In fact, the article reported that Wells Fargo “fired more than a dozen employees in its wealth and investment management unit for allegedly simulating keyboard activity to create the ‘impression of active work.’”

Problems with Tracking

Choosing the “T” of tracking is problematic from a scientific as well as a Scriptural perspective.

Dr. Schaffner makes several important secular observations:

The growing use of employee monitoring software (EMS) is based on a confusion of activity with productivity.

EMS ignores research on worker productivity, engagement, and well-being and can destroy morale and retention. . . . By assuming that all workers are lazy time-thieves, it treats staff like naughty children who need to be closely monitored and disciplined.

[T]he knowledge that every minute we move away from our screens will be logged and potentially contested will make us even more reluctant to take proper, restorative breaks. All research on the secrets of human productivity and flourishing tells us that taking proper breaks is essential for working and performing well. 

While EMS may well generate a short, fear-induced spike in productivity, in the long run, its effects will be counterproductive. 

The WSJ article cites a Glassdoor survey of 2,300 professionals that found 41% of respondents said monitoring of their work devices made them feel less productive.

In his book Carrots and Sticks Don’t Work: Build a Culture of Employee Engagement with the Principles of RESPECT, Paul Marciano warns that “carrot/stick” initiatives should not “create circumstances under which good people will be tempted to break the rules.”   EMS tracking appears to tempt a significant number of people to try to beat the system.  According to the WSJ article, a provider of an EMS solution examined an anonymized sample of 1,000,000 workers at 5,000 corporate clients and estimated that 8% of workers were “faking work activity on their machines“.

Marciano also points out that “carrot/stick” initiatives are typically created “in response to incompetent supervisors unable to motivate their people“.  Workers not being as productive at home is likely a reflection of low worker engagement, and Gallup has found that “managers account for 70% of the variance in team employee engagement.”

For those reasons alone, a secular leader should rethink EMS tracking even from the perspective of business as usual and Profit as Purpose, and a faithful leader should reject EMS tracking as poor stewardship of the organization and its people.  But for a faithful leader seeking to lead with faithful integrity through business a better way toward Biblical flourishing, the reasons to reject EMS tracking are more profound.

EMS tracking is built upon, and reinforces, a business as usual culture that aligns with principles of the kingdom of the world such as Profit as Purpose, Scarcity, Self-Interest and a “Can We” rather than a “Should We” approach to decisions.  It is about seeking control in the face of fear.  For the Purpose of Profit, it relies on the Scarcity and Self-Interest assumptions to manipulate human behavior through fear.  Technology usually represents a “You Can”, but it takes humans to evaluate the “Should We”.

Leading in alignment with Biblical beliefs, principles and priorities means creating an organizational culture that reflects the Golden Rule, the commandment to love your neighbor and the reality of Imago Dei, which calls for treating people with dignity and respect.  It also calls for implementing a “Should We” rather than a “Can We” culture, and it calls for trusting God.

Treating staff “like naughty children who need to be closely monitored and disciplined” is unloving and the opposite of treating them with dignity and respect.  It is not how any leader or manager instituting EMS tracking would want to be treated.  It de-humanizes those monitored rather than Humanizes People, and we would argue it “uglifies” rather than Beautifies the World.  Operating contrary to God’s commands does not Glorify God.

As we warned in post #151 (Integrity Idea 018: Use Tech “WHYsely”), a “Should We” analysis requires faithful leaders to take the time to assess whether a technology is aligned with the WHY of the organization and put in place policies that ensure a WHY analysis is part of any technology decision.

If the organization’s WHY is profit, then perhaps the “Should We” answer for EMS tracking is “yes” (unless the detrimental bottom-line impact on employee morale outweighs the bottom-line benefits of monitoring).  If the organization’s WHY is centered on Humanizing People, Beautifying the World and Glorifying God, then the answer is certainly “no”.

The “T” of Trusting

“Choose the Better ‘T’ of Trust” recognizes that leading faithfully through business a better way toward Biblical flourishing requires trusting in God’s commands.

You may be thinking, “Wait a minute–I thought the ‘T’ of Trust would be about trusting the employees?“.  It is, and it isn’t.  The Bible is pretty clear that we shouldn’t trust people.

Put no trust in a neighbor; have no confidence in a friend. (Micah 7:5)

It is better to take refuge in the Lord than to trust in man. (Proverbs 118:8)

Thus says the Lord: “Cursed is the man who trusts in man and makes flesh his strength, whose heart turns away from the Lord. (Jeremiah 17:5)

It is also very clear that God wants us to be “trustworthy” (a topic to which we devoted post #218 (Integrity Idea 047: Be Trustworthy)) and that God can be trusted.

Trust in relationships is critical.  Stephen Covey says, “Trust is the glue of life. It’s the most essential ingredient in effective communication. It’s the foundational principle that holds all relationships.” We believe efficient commerce, customer loyalty, employee engagement, healthy relationships, and a cohesive community require trust.

We believe God calls faithful leaders to trust employees as an act of love, an act of recognizing dignity and an act of showing respect.  Our friend William Paul Young observed, “Trust is the fruit of a relationship in which you know you are loved.”  In Carrots and Sticks Don’t Work, Marciano says the key to employee engagement is captured in the acronym RESPECT, with “T” representing “Trust”. He writes:

Of all the RESPECT drivers, none saves as much time as trust.  I have seen supervisors who so distrust their employees that they spent the entire day looking over their shoulders.  Not only is micromanagement a complete waste of a supervisor’s time, but it actively suppresses the productivity of the employees.

So, the “T” of Trust means a faithful leader seeking to lead with faithful integrity through business a better way toward Biblical flourishing must trust God that if the leader obediently trusts employees as an act of living out the Golden Rule, Imago Dei and the commandment to love your neighbor, they will respond by being trustworthy.  Consider these two wonderful affirmations:

The best way to find out if you can trust somebody is to trust them. (Ernest Hemingway)

Few things help an individual more than to place responsibility upon him, and to let him know that you trust him. (Booker T. Washington)

And even if it doesn’t (because the world is broken and people are broken), the faithful leader can rest in their obedience and in God’s promises in Romans 8:28 and Matthew 6:33:

And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose. (Romans 8:28)

But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you. (Matthew 6:33)

CONTINUUM: Practices

The Integriosity model organizes “heart change” along six Covert-Overt Continuums.  There is nothing magic about these categories, but we believe they are helpful in thinking about practical execution of a Re-Imagined Purpose, Re-Imagined Values and a Re-Imagined Culture.  The Continuums are Prayer, Proclamation, Policies, Practices, Products, People.

Each Continuum represents an area in which leaders can begin to think about, plan and institute Re-Alignment changes to the heart of the organization.

“Choose the Better ‘T” of Trust (vs Track)” is on the Practices Continuum.  It involves practices the organization can adopt to affirm its commitment to Biblical flourishing and the Biblical principles of Imago Dei, the Golden Rule and love your neighbor, to reflect and reinforce a culture that prioritizes relationships, community, human dignity and flourishing, and the bigger WHYs of Humanizing People Beautifying the World and Glorifying God.

COVERT-OVERT RATING: Highly Covert

The Integriosity model breaks the Covert-Overt Continuums into six gradations–from Highly Covert to Highly Overt–that we believe are helpful in beginning to pray and think about what is most appropriate for an organization at a particular moment in time.

Most Integrity Ideas will have one place on the scale.  Some can vary depending on how they are implemented.   “Choose the Better ‘T’ of Trust (vs Track)” is Highly Covert (an action that would be taken by a secular company), because EMS tracking backfires even on secular measures by undermining employee engagement.  “Choose the Better ‘T’ of Trust (vs Track)” could also be Overt if the faithful leader chooses to explain the practice in terms of the organization’s WHY and Biblical beliefs, principles or priorities.

STAKEHOLDERS SERVED: Employees

When we categorize faith-based actions, we also consider the stakeholders principally impacted by the action: Employees, Customers/Clients, Owners, Suppliers/Vendors, Community and Kingdom.

“Choose the Better ‘T’ of Trust (vs Track)” principally serves Employees by treating them (and equipping them how to treat each other) in accordance with Imago Dei, the Golden Rule, and the commandment to love your neighbor.

IMPLEMENTATION

On one level, implementing “Choose the Better ‘T’ of Trust (vs Track)” is pretty straightforward.  Don’t utilize EMS tracking.  Don’t monitor, surveil or micromanage.

On a deeper level, “Choose the Better ‘T’ of Trust (vs Track)” requires cultivating an organizational culture of Shalom that reflects and reinforces the bigger WHYs of Humanizing People, Beautifying the World and Glorifying God.  It is an organizational culture in which people do the right things, in the right ways, for the right reasons.

It requires working through the steps of RENEW, RE-ALIGN, RE-IMAGINE and RESTORE and cultivating a culture that lives out the Golden Rule, Imago Dei, and the commandment to love your neighbor.  It requires an intentional hiring process to ensure that employees understand and are prepared to pursue enthusiastically the organization’s bigger WHYs.  It also requires ensuring that managers are trained to maximize employee engagement–eliminating any basis for distrust and building foundations for trust.

Most of all, it requires faithful leaders who trust God and pray for wisdom and discernment.  Trusting God means trusting God’s process, timing, and outcome:

• Process: God’s process is often counter-intuitive and counter-cultural.

• Timing: God’s timing often seems excruciatingly slow.

• Outcome: God’s best outcome for a business (the “all these things” promised in Matthew 6:33) may not be the world’s best outcome.

Of course, praying for a particular process, timing and outcome is NOT praying for wisdom, and ignoring God’s wisdom to pursue your own process, timing or outcome is NOT wise.

“Choose the Better ‘T’ of Trust (vs Track)” reinforces a business a better way culture that Humanizes People, Beautifies the World and Glorifies God by prioritizing relationships, community, human dignity and flourishing in alignment with beliefs, principles and priorities of God’s Kingdom.

PERSONAL NOTE (from PM):  This post was inspired by a motto my wife Lisa has lived by in raising our children–“The best way to trust your children is to trust your children.”  To test whether she (and Ernest Hemingway and Booker T. Washington) is right, you need only meet our amazing James and Annie.

ESSENCE:  Integrity Ideas are specific practical actions a faithful leader can consider in leading faithfully through business a better way.

INTEGRITY IDEA: Choose the Better “T” of Trust (vs Track)

COVERT-OVERT CONTINUUM (six Continuums for action):  Practices

COVERT-OVERT RATING (several levels from Highly Covert to Highly Overt): Highly Covert

STAKEHOLDERS SERVED: Employees

In a world that has shifted to increased remote and hybrid work, “Choose the Better ‘T’ of Trust (vs Track)” is about cultivating an organizational culture in which employees can be trusted and do not need to be tracked, which starts by trusting God rather than tracking employees.  In what some have called productivity paranoia, many employers are using Employee Monitoring Software (EMS) to track the activity of remote workers. “Choose the Better ‘T’ of Trust (vs Track)” recognizes that leading faithfully through business a better way toward Biblical flourishing requires trusting in God’s commands by creating an organizational culture that reflects the Golden Rule, the commandment to love your neighbor and the reality of Imago Dei, which calls for treating people with dignity and respect.  It requires trusting employees as an act of love, an act of recognizing dignity and an act of showing respect. We believe trusting God by trusting employees will help lead to engaged employees who can be trusted. EMS tracking is built upon, and reinforces, a business as usual culture that aligns with principles of the kingdom of the world such as Profit as Purpose, Scarcity, Self-Interest and a “Can We” rather than a “Should We” approach to decisions. By contrast, “Choose the Better ‘T’ of Trust (vs Track)” reinforces a business a better way culture that Humanizes People, Beautifies the World and Glorifies God by prioritizing relationships, community, human dignity and flourishing in alignment with beliefs, principles and priorities of God’s Kingdom.

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