Work ethics - how to help the unemployed!!

Did you know that the word WORK is mentioned 359 times in the Bible and some of the verses in Proverbs on this subject are spot on!!!
Proverbs 14:23
All hard work brings a profit, but mere talk leads only to poverty.

I am thinking of maybe writing some things down in a leaflet that may lead to a seminar on motivating people into work - we hear so much at the moment about this course and that, that the Government are initiating to help people who are long term unemployed back into work - some people of course are not ready for it and some are, but are they coming at it from the right direction? and are they putting as much effort into creating new jobs!! Motivating people to think about working again that haven't work for a long time, for one reason or another, is a very difficult job. 

I think we have to look at what the Bible says about work too, as it does have a lot to say on this subject, but for now I just want to share some of my observations having work with a lot of unemployed people. The pro's and cons of working :-

The advantages to working and having a job are immense. Working gives people a purpose, something to get out of bed for. Work gives you a chance to develop and use your God given gifts and skills. It means you can earn a wage to live on. It also produces in people a sense of pride, good pride, a sense of achievement. It also means that you can give back into something that may be small but completes a bigger picture. Stacking shelves at ASDA may not be someone's live ambition or vocation in life, but without the shelves being stacked no-one would buy anything and ASDA would fall apart!! At West End Impact for example I put great value on anyone that does any cleaning because if the place was not clean and tidy it would not be the welcome place it is for the 250 that come in each week. It would therefore not attract so many visitors. We get rewarded and a good feeling when a job is well done. We try to make sure that each volunteer in very appreciated in all that they do and therefore it creates a great working atmosphere!!

The cons of not working on the other hand are immense. People lack enthusiasm for life and when they have things handed to them on a plate they get a sense that the world owes them everything. They don't know how to give out and expect a lot. They lose all sense of achievement, they start to get a low self esteem because they aren't giving anything back into society. They don't get that sense of 'Job well done!!' They don't feel that sense of reward when being paid for a job they have done to the best of their ability, and they don't develop their gifts and learn new skills. This, of course, leads to a sense of no purpose which leads to depression. They are not interacting with others in the work place so loneliness sets in. There is no sense of providing for themselves or their families. This all leads to a no hope mentality. There is no thoughts of being a small part of something bigger and their is no sense of maybe doing things better and learning new skills so that you can get a better job. It's not how we were made and therefore it leads to all sorts of problems - I am of course not suggesting that people who can't do a certain job push themselves into something unmanageable in their circumstances but what I am saying is everyone has a part to play in society. If you are mum, you are playing a massive part in society and you don't even get paid for the amazing job you do or a dad or a career!!! These are the people who deserve to be paid a £100 an hour and their work often doesn't even get recognised but instead gets taken for granted!! 

So how do we motivate people back into work, show them how important it is and show them the great advantages of working. Oh and make sure if you do work to get the work play balance right to. That's also very important but that's another subject!!!