Based on materials by the Jewish Association for Business Ethics (JABE.org)
The Issue
Many people are aware of the duties that employers owe their employees, like the obligation to provide a safe working environment. But what responsibilities does an employee owe an employer, other than doing one's work in an honest manner? The following reflects the Jewish perspective.
Work as Hard as Possible
An employee’s first and foremost responsibility to his employer is to work as hard as he possibly can for his employer’s benefit. One must be extremely careful not to waste any of his time whatsoever. This is exemplified by Jacob, who told his wives: "I have worked for your father with all my strength and as hard as I possibly could".
The duties of an employee are reflected in Jewish law in the example of a person working in a tree on behalf of a householder. Although the householder would have to come down to pray, it is not necessary for his employee to do so since going up and down the tree wastes the householder’s time. An employee is also required to be careful with his employer’s time to such an extent that he is permitted to omit the last part of Grace after Meals during his hours of work.
An employee is not allowed to take on extra work after he finishes his regular work if the result of him doing so is that he is unable to perform his regular work properly the following day. Obviously, if the employer agrees, or if the employee is working overtime for the same employer, he is permitted to do so - even if his daytime performance will be adversely affected.
An employee is explicitly forbidden to do any work "on the side" for anyone else during the hours of work for which he is paid by his primary employer.
An employee who has a succession of late nights on account of social or other private events may find that this affects the way he performs one’s duties during the day. This is seen as a form of theft from his employer.
Employer’s Property for Personal Use
An employee may not use any of his employer's property for personal use without first obtaining permission from the employer. Accordingly, an employee may not use the office telephone, copier, stationery or office equipment for non-office use.
If the employer does not explicitly permit personal use, such use is still prohibited even though it is well known that many employees do indeed use the employer's property without permission when he is not looking. The fact that "everyone does it" does not in any way create a "Minhag HaMedina" (general custom and practice) that such use is permitted. However, if the employee knows that the employer permits such use, even if only reluctantly, he may do so.
If the employee is unsure about how his employer feels about personal use of business property, but is unwilling to ask him directly, he should act upon the following principles.
- If he has no qualms about using business property for personal use in the presence of his employer and does not attempt to hide this from him, he may do so.
- If however he is afraid to do this in his presence, or even if he is merely uncomfortable or embarrassed to do so in his presence (and he does not know that the employer actually permits this), he should refrain from using business property for personal use.
Religious Obligations
An employer must provide an opportunity for an employee to fulfill his minimum religious obligations. The employer, however, need not expect that his employee will demand anything beyond that amount.
In general, in the context of the employment relationship, common practice takes precedence over any other understandings. Accordingly, the relationship between the employer and employee depends entirely upon the normative practices that exist within the place of employment.
