Workplace Heaven or Hell?
by Moshe Kranc

"I once ascended to the firmaments. I first went to see Hell and the sight was horrifying. Row after row of tables was laden with platters of sumptuous food, yet the people seated around the tables were pale and emaciated, moaning in hunger. As I came closer, I understood their predicament. Every person held a full spoon, but both arms were splinted with wooden slats so he could not bend either elbow to bring the food to his mouth. It broke my heart to hear the tortured groans of these poor people as they held their food so near but could not consume it. 

Next I went to visit Heaven. I was surprised to see the same setting I had witnessed in Hell — row after row of long tables laden with food. But in contrast to Hell, the people here in Heaven were sitting contentedly talking with each other, obviously sated from their sumptuous meal. As I came closer, I was amazed to discover that here, too, each person had his arms splinted on wooden slats that prevented him from bending his elbows. How, then, did they manage to eat? 

As I watched, a man picked up his spoon and dug it into the dish before him. Then he stretched across the table and fed the person across from him! The recipient of this kindness thanked him and returned the favor by leaning across the table to feed his benefactor. 

I suddenly understood. Heaven and Hell offer the same circumstances and conditions. The critical difference is in the way the people treat each other. 

I ran back to Hell to share this solution with the poor souls trapped there. I whispered in the ear of one starving man, ‘You do not have to go hungry. Use your spoon to feed your neighbor, and he will surely return the favor and feed you.’ ‘You expect me to feed the detestable man sitting across the table?’ said the man angrily. ‘I would rather starve than give him the pleasure of eating!’ 

I then understood God’s wisdom in choosing who is worthy to go to Heaven and who deserves to go to Hell."

Rabbi Haim’s parable applies as much to the corporate environment as to any other social setting. Companies all start with the same basic circumstances and conditions. Yet some companies are heaven to work in, while others are sheer hell. 

The difference, as Rabbi Haim astutely points out, lies in how the people treat each other. If employees cooperate and seek to help each other succeed, then coming to work every day is a pleasure. If, on the other hand, they lack respect for each other’s abilities and spend their time looking for ways to shift blame, no one will enjoy showing up for work. 

As Luciano de Crescenzo observed, "We are all angels with only one wing; we can only fly while embracing one another." 

Most people will readily recite for you the list of fellow employees and injustices making their lives miserable at work. But ask them about how they may have contributed to the pollution of the atmosphere at work, and you will get only blank stares in return. They see clearly how they suffer from a hellish environment, but not how they contribute to creating it, how their own attitudes and behavior may help create someone else’s hell. 

There are no managers in Rabbi Haim’s firmament — each person chooses his own mode of behavior. So where do the managers belong — in Heaven or Hell? 

That, of course, depends on the manager. Some encourage an atmosphere of cooperation and trust, while others foster back-biting and blame-shifting. Either way, a manager helps shape the organization’s atmosphere through words and gestures, reward and punishment, and decisions on hiring and firing. In many cases, the only difference between Heaven and Hell is the manager. The right manager can transform a hellish work environment into a heaven.

In Today’s World  
Psychologists Richard Wagner and Robert Sternberg have developed tests that predict managerial success. Here is a question from one of their tests:

Wagner and Sternberg find that good managers tend to pick (b) and (e); i.e., they would target communication and empowerment, while poor managers tend to pick (c), replacing team members. A good manager knows that the very same people that make up an under-performing team can, with the right motivation and communication, become a winning team. To paraphrase Rabbi Haim: there is no difference as far as the setting or the circumstances. The only difference is the way the people act towards each other. 

The press tends to revere macho bosses who rely on fear and intimidation in the workplace. Fortune magazine regularly publishes a list of the toughest bosses. Frank Lorenzo, whose unrelenting fights with employees and unions destroyed Eastern Airlines, was hailed by the business press as a genius. When Al Dunlap, nicknamed "Chainsaw Al" for his massive layoffs at Scott Paper, was named CEO of Sunbeam, the press applauded the move and Sunbeam’s stock price rose by 60%. 

But results prove that management based on fear and intimidation ultimately does not work. It discourages necessary communication, demoralizes employees, and drives the best people out of the organization. Dunlap was fired from Sunbeam after a massive accounting fraud, and Lorenzo lost his job at Continental Airlines because of his "scorched earth" policy towards employees. 

The evidence is indisputable — companies that put their employees first and create a positive work environment outperform those that don’t.To cite one study, the 100 Best Companies to Work for in America, selected for their favorable treatment of employees by Fortune magazine, also outperformed the Standard & Poor 500 Index by 12% and yielded higher return to shareholders over a three-year period than the broad-market Russell 3000 Index.

Moshe Kranc (pronounced Krantz) has worked in high-tech for over 25 years, most recently serving as VP of Research and Development for Jerusalem Venture Partners Studio. He was part of the Emmy-Award winning team that developed the scrambling device for DirectTV and holds five patents in areas related to pay television and computer security. Storytelling is part of Moshe’s heritage. He is a descendant of Rabbi Jacob Kranc, the renowned Magid of Dubno, known also as "the Jewish Aesop". He lives in Jerusalem, Israel. Kranc’s website is www.hasidicmanagement.com. The Hasidic Masters’ Guide To Management is available online at: www.devorapublishing.com (they offer free shipping in the continental U.S.),Amazon.com, bn.com, or can be ordered through any major trade or Judaica bookstore. Devora’s phone number is 800-232-2931.

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