What A Preacher and the World’s Most Famous Brewer Can Teach Employers About Today’s Employment Crisis
What does a brewer from 200 years ago know about handling the workforce during the current work crises? You’d be surprised.
One day Arthur Guinness, founder of the world-famous Guinness Brewery, was in coversation with his friend, evangelist John Wesley. John Wesley lit up the British Isles with his fiery preaching in the late 1700s. At one point in the conversation, Wesley told Guinness:
“Having, First, gained all you can, and, Secondly saved all you can, Then give all you can.”
Wesley then challenged Guinness to see his status as a business owner as a way to bring about social good. This caused Guinness to begin to see his brewery as a means for a higher good- not just a means of making money, but as a way to change a nation. Guinness realized he had a God-given responsibility to take care of those who had been entrusted to him- his many employees who kept his famous brewery operating.
Guinness caught a vision to treat his employees generously, and therefore, impact the culture around him. Here are a few things he changed as a result:
- He raised employee pay by 20% across the board
- He provided medical and dental care for employees and families, including retired employees and widows of deceased workers
- There were retirement plans funded by the company that did not require any employee contribution
- A savings fund for employees to take out housing loans, so they could pay the company back without interest
- An onsite library (which back then was a huge deal, as books were scarce and many working-class people didn’t have access to books that today we take for granted)
- Help with college for employees, but also for their entire families
- Paid “Excursion Days” (back then, having paid vacation was absolutely unheard of)
This was the middle of the Industrial Revolution, where employers were beginning to treat employees like a cog in a machine. The kind of employment reforms Guinness implemented were so different, that many criticized him and called him foolish.That didn’t deter him. He believed if his employees were doing well, society would do well.
And the good vibes didn’t stop with Arthur. It became part of the family business.
After Arthur died, his sons took over and kept this vision of generous employment going. He taught them “think in terms of generations to come”, and they did.
When the Great Famine hit Ireland, who did society turn to? The Guinness company. They built new houses for their employees to make sure they had a place to live, and gave their employees enough food to make it through each day.
During World War 1, the Guinness company promised any of their employees who enlisted that they would have their jobs back when they returned, and also gave them half of their pay while they were fighting in mainland Europe, so that their families could survive.
Many argue that the Guinness family saved Ireland many times in a row. If it had not been for this family of brewers, the nation might not have survived the past 200 years. Guinness often did more for the country than the government did.
Let that sink in- the Guinness company often did more for the people of Ireland than the government did.
Is this a knock on the Irish government? Not at all. The government is in place to draft, enforce and evaluate law.
In an Industrial Age, the employers and the churches must provide the social safety net that ensures a thriving society- not the government.
Not only that, but when the marketplace needed reform in the US, where did these reformers look? Ireland. Guinness. They realized not every titan of industry had to operate in the cut-throat manner of many American business tycoons.
So what does that have to do with employers in 2021? Everything.
If you are an employer, what would it look like for your business to be a force for good right now?
Executives like Elon Musk are already trying to figure out how to help, but you don’t need to lead a multi-billion dollar corporation to make a difference.
You don’t even need to do what Guinness did.
But you can ask yourself, “What is one way my organization can make a difference right now?”
Just one thing. Start there.
I recently spoke with a restaurant owner that used to not provide free meals for her employees. Now, she does. She said it is a small price to pay to make sure her employees know they are valued.
I know another business owner who routinely brings his entire workforce out to baseball games, movies, and all sorts of other activities. It is a relatively easy way to show appreciation to the people who work for him.
I recently talked to a man who has been hired by mutliple businesses to be a “workplace chaplain”. Essentially, he gets paid to see how employees are doing, and if he can support them in any way. “Isn’t that what HR is for?” you might ask. But who does HR turn to? This guy told me that at one of the businesses he serves, the HR person told him she has no one else to talk with at the company, and has never felt more cared for than she does right now.
I know one business owner who invested in home offices for his employees so they could have a much better work-from-home experience.
So what is one thing you can do to improve the lives of the people who work for you?
Years from now, what you will want to say you did during this time?
Mr. Rogers always used to say “look for the helpers”. How can you help your employees during this time?
Maybe a loss of profits worries you. Guinness used to tell people that:
“you cant make money from people unless you are willing for people to make money from you”
Might this be a time where generosity will hurt a little?
What if we stopped waiting for the government to fix the problems? What if business owners truly saw it as their job to make sure their employees are taken care of? What if they didn’t treat their employees like numbers on a spreadsheet, and instead showed them immense value and appreciation for making their business function?
I am not telling you how to run your business, or how to handle this crisis. I am just asking that we lean into some voices from the past. I am just a preacher imploring you to take seriosuly the position God has given you as a free-market leader who has the power to make a difference immediately. It is literally up to you.
How will you steward all that God has given to you? How will you answer for it all at the end of your life?
I hope you make the same determination that Guinness did- to put his employees before himself. You never know the kind of world-changing impact the small decisions you make now can have for years to come.
