By Caitlin Donovan
From lusting after a coworker to excessive pride, George Abraham’s new book “The Seven Deadly Work Sins Against the Golden Rule” depicts the sins that could cost you your career.
The book recently had the honor of receiving the Books and Authors.Net Award for Literary Excellence, being picked as “The Best Business Book of 2007.” The book promotes the idea that one should always strive to follow the Golden Rule. When it is not followed in the workplace, you’re probably dealing with one of Abraham’s Seven Deadly Work Sins.
Modeled after Dante’s Inferno, the book explains seven sins that occur frequently in the workplace. In order of least sinful to most sinful these include lust, gluttony, greed, sloth, wrath, envy, and finally, pride. Each chapter is dedicated to a different sin, in which Abraham provides various real-life stories to help the reader understand where he is coming from.
In the first chapter, Abraham discusses various forms of lust. He defines lust as, “the desire for immediate gratification from the flesh or from visible things.” When most people hear the word “lust,” their minds immediately assume that the story involves sex. Abraham points this out and then proves that not all stories of lust are racy.
Chapter two describes gluttony, which is defined as the “Second Sin of Excess.” Abraham goes on to explain that in the workplace, gluttonous indulgences include overeating, excess consumption of alcohol at company functions, smoking at work, gossiping and hoarding company resources. This chapter involves stories that pertain to various types of gluttony.
Abraham describes greed in chapter three. Putting it wisely he writes, “Often people think of Greed as solely related to money, but it is more expansive. Greed can manifest itself in the pursuit of more money or more power. Sometimes material Greed and power Greed are interwoven.” Abraham again gives examples and describes this sin in great depth and detail.
Chapter four discusses sloth. Abraham describes sloth as the “middle sin.” That is to say that sloth is “unwillingness to act, often characterized by procrastination, indecision or just ignoring a problem altogether.” He provides helpful hints in this chapter about not procrastinating, getting the job done and listening to your co-workers’ ideas. He encourages us to take initiative and be open to other ideas rather than just our own thoughts. The topic of whining and complaining comes up in this chapter along with the helpful hint that your boss and your corporation may not be open to your “free speech.”
The fifth sin is the sin of emotional temperance, or wrath. Wrath is generally described as having anger towards your boss or co-workers, and vice versa. This anger may cause you to act irrationally, and thus suffer immediate termination. Abraham offers the advice that if you find yourself being constantly angry at work, make a choice to get some help with your anger, as it could mean losing your job.The sixth sin is envy, or jealousy of the heart. Abraham provides helpful insight into the minds of the envious further in this chapter.
The seventh, worst and final sin is pride, or excessive love of oneself. In this chapter, each of the characters had pride of themselves or their work and consequently, fell on their faces. To get his point across, Abraham says, “Remove the mote of pride from your eye. Your ego will only cloud your leadership vision. Humility and gratitude will make for clearer sight.” Excessive pride can affect every aspect of life.
As far as helpfulness goes, Abraham’s book covers all of the dos and don’ts about the corporate world. “The Seven Deadly Work Sins Against the Golden Rule” is even being considered as a supplement for a business course at a California university.
“This book was actually designed to reach younger people, before they get their first job,” Abraham said. “Without knowledge of ‘unholy’ politics at work, they can often be victimized or, worse, become perpetrators of transgressions against the Golden Rule, a universal Moral Compass.”
Book Cover (Dr. George Abraham)
Dr. George Abraham (Dr. George Abraham)