Consequences of Mistakes or Wrongdoing at Work

The next three entries in the Rule of St. Benedict address various types of mistakes or wrongdoing by monks. The consequences vary with the degree of seriousness. 

If you remember from past passages in the Rule, this is typical for St. Benedict. He understands the importance of consequences, but is careful never to either overdo or underdo the response to any wrongdoing. Businesses can learn a lot from this measured approach.

Of course, these days a term like "wrongdoing" would likely bring a puzzled look. We live in world that hardly recognizes - if it does at all - right and wrong. And when wrong is recognized, we can bet the culprit will feel no shame or remorse. Shame, guilt, remorse, all have been jettisoned. Still, the fact is, people do things that are wrong, both practically and morally. 

Whether dealing with the practical mistakes and mess-ups or the moral slips (if you work at a company that has some ethical standards), a manager needs to clear and specific: Exactly what was done; what damage was caused; what the consequence will be based on the level of wrongdoing.

With that in minds, let's get a sense of how St. Benedict teaches his abbots to deal with mistakes and wrongdoing.

We begin with "one who for a serious fault is excommunicated from oratory and table." So the monk's already messed up. He's already paying a price. What's that price?

"At the hour when the Work of God (Divine Office) is being performed in the oratory, let him lie prostrate before the door of the oratory, saying nothing, but just lying there with his face to the ground at the feet of the brethren as they come out of the oratory. And let him continue to do this until the abbot judge that he has made satisfaction for his offence. When at the abbot's bidding he has come into the oratory, let him throw himself first at the abbot's feet and then  before the rest of the brethren, asking them to pray for him."

Recall that the monks day basically consists of ora et labora (prayer and work). St Benedict doesn't hold back when there's mistake in ora. Here's an example:

"If anyone make a mistake in the recitation of psalms, responsory, antiphon, or lesson, and do not make humble satisfaction there before all, let him undergo greater punishment, because he would not repair by humility the fault that he committed through carelessness. But boys for such faults shall be whipped."

Whipped? Well, just try to remember that it wasn't until fairly recently that corporal punishment became "taboo" - even for parents. That wasn't always the case. So if you were jarred by that last sentence, it's because you're a product of your times - just as St. Benedict was a produce of his.

Now for more practical mess-ups:

"If anyone...be it while serving or in kitchen, store-room, bakehouse, garden, or anywhere else, whall commit any fault, or break anything, or lose anything, or fall into any transgression whatever, and do not come at once of his own accord to confess his offence to the abbot and  community and do penance for it, but it become known through another: let him undergo greater punishment..."

Being as thorough as he is, St. Benedict even mentions what is essentially personal sin. He's careful to handle that in a separate, and more appropriate manner:

"...However, should the matter be a secret sin of the soul, let him tell such a thing to the abbot alone, or to a spiritual father; for they know how to cure both their own wounds and the wounds of others without disclosing and publishing them."

If we study these passages, we'll get a good sense of why it's important that mistakes and wrongdoings at work ought not be allowed to pass. They damage the enterprise. They damage the worker as well, and can in both a practical and spiritual sense.

Managers probably shouldn't walk around seeking slip-ups on the part of workers. If they're so slight that they need to be "discovered," they may not be worth calling attention to. Unless they could lead to bigger problems, we don't want to make a mountain out of a mole hill. On the other hand, when they become manifest based on the degree of gravity, there should always be a reasonable consequence, one that considers the nature and degree of the offensive act. 

Reading these entries in the Rule, we see that St. Benedict knew how to identify the degrees of offense and appropriately match the consequence to that degree. His care and expertise makes the consequences of mistakes and wrongdoing fair and equitable. We can do the same in the workplace if we're responsible for running the business and/or managing others. While imposing consequences can be uncomfortable for both boss and worker, if done fairly and equitably there's no reason this should upset the steady stable operation of the business.