Mufti Menk – Dealing with Difficulty #11 Workplace

			As
		

			salam o alaikum, Warahmatullahi Wabarakatuh. Those who work for us need to be paid. They have
families, they have responsibilities, they have duties, they are human beings like us. They have
commitments, they need to be paid by us. They need to be paid a salary based on what work they're
doing, based on the hours they are fulfilling, based on the experience they have. And also based on
how much you have, did you know that SubhanAllah. So if you've been blessed with a lot, and you're
paying someone the bare minimum, you're actually not doing what is ideal, even though you may have
given them their dues. So it's important to pay someone in a way that they're happy. I'm happy, I'm
		

			offering you a job, I give you my dedication. Literally, I work from eight to five, and I have so
much to look after, you're going to help me look after my children. Look after my duties and
responsibilities, my family, perhaps you make it easier for me, I will offer you a much better deal.
Do you know that those who pay their workers well and on time, have greater dedication, and their
companies all their in their own lives, they achieve a lot more than those who have workers who are
unhappy. Imagine a company, whatever company you have, and everyone is upset because they're not
being paid? Well, they need to do a side hustle in order to survive.
		

			Where's their dedication? It's split between two How can you force them not to work for someone
else, or not to have a side hustle when you have not even met half or a quarter of their duties and
responsibilities towards those whom they live with, or towards whatever they have.
		

			But if you are paying them well, and they are able to fulfill their duties and have a little bit of
change, perhaps they will give you 100% Then if they don't give you 100%, you have a right to pick a
bone with them. You have a right to tell them listen, I'm paying you Well, I expect you to work
hard. It's not easy dealing with the difficulty of the employer employee relationship. Because if
I'm an employer, while I need to make sure I'm disciplined and I want my work done, I also need to
be kind and generous. And to strike the balance between the two is not easy. When I get too
friendly, they might not work properly, they might take advantage of it. And if I'm very hard and
		

			harsh, they might not like it. So to strike the balance you need to have the correct teaching. Allah
Almighty teaches us through the blessed lips of Nabi Muhammad sallallahu alayhi wa sallam never to
burden those who work for us with something they cannot do. I mean, if I tell someone, can you pick
up these rocks from here and take them there? I need to ask myself, Is this person capable of doing
it? Or do they need help? They need help, I should help them or I should get them another person to
help. Sometimes the job is for two people to do and you've just employed one. Learn to pay. When you
pay someone Allah will bless your business because it his sustenance is written through your
		

			business. Look at it that way. The Prophet Muhammad peace be upon him teaches us to pay on time,
because
		

			when we don't pay on time, what happens?
		

			All the responsibilities of this person who's also a human, all their responsibilities happen to be
affected because of your delay. So pay them two days in advance. For example, if you tell them
listen, I'm going to pay you on the 30th of every month or the first of every month, if you can pay
them on the 29th without saying I'm going to be paying you on the 29th they still know it's the
first and you keep paying them on the 29th you will be blessed even more because you're being
considerate. It's not your duty, but it's a means of earning blessings, making them happy. Learn to
give a little token now and again. Learn to say words of appreciation. Many of us would those who
		

			work for us.
		

			We always quick to reprimand them when they haven't done things properly. But, but when they've
excelled and they've done things good. We are very very miserly with our good words and compliments.
Learn to compliment them well done. Very good. I see. I really see how you did this and I'm very
impressed. Thank you so much. Another thing you need to consider.
		

			Sometimes these people are the ones who are bringing in the cash. They bringing in the money they're
working for you. The man is earning for you $100,000 A month. I'll give you an example of a slightly
bigger company. He's bring
		

			In you $100,000 a month, is it fair to pay him $500 and tell him you know what, that's your salary,
when if he were to leave you and open his own company, he would be raking in perhaps half of what
he's raking in with you, or maybe even more, because he will be more dedicated. So pay
proportionately, if a person is doing a bigger job, and they bringing in much more, give them a
little bit, offer them some form of an incentive, maybe not a base salary, but perhaps a bonus. That
look if you bring so much or you work so much, when we achieve and our turnover is much more and I
know you've played a role in it in sha Allah, I will give you some bonus, when if you don't want to
		

			mention exactly what it is now, and again, you can give them so there's a base salary with something
above it. In this way you build a relationship with those whom you have employed. And those who are
your employers, fulfill your job, do it properly and thoroughly. Give it your all, if you're
dissatisfied. Raise it in a respectful way, listen, I can't survive with the amount of money you're
giving me Please can you give me an increment and be reasonable about it? Because sometimes, maybe
you're spending too much. Or maybe you have a problem where the job does not bring in that amount of
money. For example, if you're a helping hand in the houses, and you're getting a salary better than
		

			that of the average helping hand in your area, and then you come in to ask for more, it might not
look so right. But what are you offering for the for them? In return for that? Or are you going to
be working so hard that they can give you from their own pockets. And this brings me to another
point regarding the employer, try and talk to your employees to find out some of the problems they
have. You might be able to help them in one or two of them. Why not? After all, they are working for
you. So it's very important to have a relationship because they are human beings. They have
families, they have circles of people, they have responsibilities, they have medical bills, and so
		

			many other things to pay.
		

			Not only Don't delay, pay them, well treat them well speak good with them. All these are the
teachings of Allah subhanho wa taala, both in the Quran. And in the Sunnah of the Prophet Muhammad
peace be upon him, Musa alayhis salam was employed by his father in law, he was working in a family
business. But he worked so well that there is no mention of any negativity for the 10 years that he
worked there SubhanAllah. And there were no complaints from the other side as well or we would have
known them, they would have been mentioned. But he probably took the business from strength to
strength Subhanallah being an OB of Allah, obviously that is expected. But can we say that about
		

			ourselves that we have taken this business from strength to strength, and hamdulillah May Allah
Almighty use us to do good. Also, we need to make sure that when a person is unwell, we give them
the rest that is required. If Allah gives you a break, when you're unwell, from fasting, and at
times from your other obligations, Allah gives you a bonus, where you don't have to stand for prayer
you can sit down, you can lie down and so on. These are pillars of Islam that Allah discounts for
those who are unwell. And you as an employer, I do not want to give a break to those who are unwell,
or you you're not even the Lord of the Worlds if the Lord of the worlds can discount that which is a
		

			pillar of faith, because of health reasons. And surely, we can also look into helping those whom we
have employed when they are unwell. This is how we will deal with the difficulties. And this is how
we will avoid a lot of it and solve a lot of it. Speak respectfully. Sometimes.
		

			We have children who come to our businesses or those who work in our houses, interact with our
children, and our children are so rough with them, they treat them like slaves. That is dangerous.
You need to stop that you need to watch it sometimes it happens behind your back. You need to
understand put a stop to that teach your children from a young age to speak with utmost respect to
those who are employed by you or by them. Because a day might come when your children couldn't be
employed by the children of those whom you employed, it can happen it has happened. And if that day
comes, who knows what type of Recompense they will give. May Allah Almighty make it easy for us to
		

			navigate through the difficulties of the employer employee relationships, and SubhanAllah. We ask
Allah to make us the best of employers and to make us the best of employees. I mean, Akula colada,
or SallAllahu wasallam or Baraka ala Nabina Muhammad
		

			All