Justice @ Work – Restoration

I had dinner at an amazing restaurant in Charlotte, NC on Saturday. The King’s Kitchen employs solely the “unemployable” and devotes all its profits to feeding the poor in Charlotte. The employees are typically people trying to reenter the workforce after prison, or addiction recoveries or other major problems, or else at-risk youth. It was opened by a local master chef (Jim Noble) earlier this year and is an amazing picture of the merging of gifts, talents and resources for God’s Kingdom. Appropriately it is a “Soul Food” restaurant – providing far more for the soul than the eponymous Southern cuisine. See http://www.kingskitchen.org/ for more information and, if you’re ever in Charlotte, visit – you’ll find that the service in particular is quite outstanding!

Chef Noble was determined to combine his great culinary and restaurant management skills with his passion for justice. Unfortunately I just missed the opportunity to meet him – a broadcaster friend had interviewed him and been blown away by his faith-driven passion for the marginalized in society.

It raises for me a really significant question of justice in the workplace – that of restoring those who have in some way failed in their duties to society. Our faith is all about restoration isn’t it? Without God’s mercy and grace we wouldn’t have a chance. Paul’s letter to the Romans is particularly clear on this point, but really it is one of the key messages of the whole of Scripture. Who are we, then, to deny restoration to those who have failed in the workplace?

It isn’t always that simple though. How do we balance business risks against grace? If someone has failed in the past, aren’t we risking our company’s money by giving them another chance? I recently supported the hiring of an attorney who had been suspended by the state bar association, had gone through all his required rehabilitation steps, and was trying to reenter the legal profession. Unfortunately, he isn’t performing well at all. There was a risk that doesn’t seem to be paying off – does that make my decision wrong?

In a more general sense, we face this challenge all the time. In a way it is related to the question of forgiveness, which I’ve written about elsewhere (http://faithatworkplace.blogspot.com/2010/08/love-work-keeps-no-record-of-wrongs.html). We face the same tension of our business responsibilities and our desire to show love to the individual. As managers we have a responsibility to our employers, our employees and ourselves to do everything we can to coach through challenges, to address performance issues and to overcome weaknesses before we give up on someone. As colleagues, peer coaching is equally important (and often terribly underestimated in value).

Bottom line – nobody, thank God, is beyond redemption. But redemption may involve a change of job or responsibilities. For those staff at The King’s Kitchen, who are doing such an amazing job, restoration means a completely new career, a new way of living. For us as managers and colleagues, the same may need to be proposed and made to happen. Even if we are forced to part ways with an employee because there is no alternative in our company for them, the approach must be one of helping them to see and seek true restoration in a different environment. In our loving actions and prayers, may we be able to help!