一年有12個月，很多人的工作和時間表在夏季都有明顯的改變。公司經常會發現員工的注意力被放暑假待在家的孩子分散，許多員工很期待休假，希望能好好享受必要的休息、放鬆時光。無論原因為何，人們都能暫時脫離平日的行程表獲得休息。

在某些文化中，例如歐洲，上班族可以在夏季休長假，公司的經營效率會變慢或突然暫停下來。隨著工作的節奏和動能減緩，人力暫時變得不足。如何最有效率地利用這段時間成為一大課題。

一般來說，學生或員工結束休假的時刻是重新出發的絕佳時機。你可以在這個時候和員工約談會面，和他討論未來幾個月的工作願景。那時就是你的團隊重新喚起活力、再次聚焦的時刻。這些產能的「減產期」和「高峰期」一樣重要。

為你的團隊提供機會，幫助成員記得他們工作的意義，能使你的組織在未來更有生產力。聖經幽默的描述那些失去工作焦點的人：「聚集的人紛紛亂亂，有喊叫這個的，有喊叫那個的；大半不知道是為甚麼聚集。」（使徒行傳19章32節）雖然這段經文不是在講述工商人士，但它描述的內容可以符合所有因為過於忙亂，而忘記自己大使命和目標的企業團隊。

有一種誘惑叫做為忙而忙。這讓人聯想起有的老闆在辦公室巡場時會大喊：「不要光站在那裡！做一點事！錯事也好！」可悲的是，這可能會徒然浪費精力，反倒使生產力，無預期的降低。

正如聖經舊約中的一段經文所說：「凡事都有定期，天下萬務都有定時。…栽種有時，拔出所栽種的也有時；…拆毀有時，建造有時；…撕裂有時，縫補有時；靜默有時，言語有時。」（傳道書3章1-7節）向前邁進有時——暫停下來回顧過去的成績，並展望未來的願景有時。

我們看到這個主題：「重新出發是必要的」在聖經中反覆出現。例如，在花了很多年建造方舟，經歷大洪水之後，諾亞需要重新出發。我們在創世記9章1節中看到他領受此恩典：「神賜福給挪亞和他的兒子，對他們說：『你們要生養眾多，遍滿了地。』。」這意味著全人類字面意義上的重新出發。
 
你的組織可能不會經歷大洪水或者重大災難，非常安於每日的工作。如果你覺得該是你的團隊重新出發的時候了，不要等，今天就安排一個會議吧！在會議中思考「我們為什麼在這裡？」以及「我們要去哪裡？」。

版權所有2019  非傳統商業網路(前身為純全資源中心)。節錄自和Rick Boxx的純全時刻，這本刊物主要是從基督徒的角度來探討職場上正直這個主題。如果希望知道更多關於這個事工或是想訂閱每日純全時刻，請上這個網站: www.unconventionalbusiness.org. Rick Boxx最新出版的書提供用五個關鍵的神的方法來建立企業。

反省與問題討論

1. 你的組織是否經常有人請年假或事假，或因為學生放寒暑假，要在家陪伴孩子而休假？你或你的公司通常如何會如何回應？
2. 你認為「重新開始」，也就是特地花時間放慢速度，重新評估一直在做的工作以及未來的計劃、展望和目標的價值是什麼？
3. 你是否經歷過類似於聖經中使徒行傳19章32節所描述：人們顯然很困惑，甚至到了「大半不知道是為甚麼聚集」地步的狀況？如果有，那是什麼樣的感覺？
4. 如果你覺得是應該在工作業務上，甚至是個人生活上重新出發的時候了，你能夠如何開始呢？

備註：如果你手上有聖經並希望閱讀更多和這個主題相關的信息，請參考下面的經文：
箴言10章4-5節
10:4 手懶的，要受貧窮；手勤的，卻要富足。
10:5 夏天聚斂的，是智慧之子；收割時沉睡的，是貽羞之子。
箴言12章27節
12:27 懶惰的人不烤打獵所得的；殷勤的人卻得寶貴的財物。
箴言14章23節
14:23 諸般勤勞都有益處；嘴上多言乃致窮乏。
傳道書3章17節
3:17 我心裏說，　神必審判義人和惡人；因為在那裏，各樣事務，一切工作，都有定時。
傳道書3章 22節
3:22 故此，我見人莫強如在他經營的事上喜樂，因為這是他的分。他身後的事誰能使他回來得見呢？使徒行傳21章34節
21:34 眾人有喊叫這個的，有喊叫那個的；千夫長因為這樣亂嚷，得不著實情，就吩咐人將保羅帶進營樓去。
以弗所書5章15-17節
5:15 你們要謹慎行事，不要像愚昧人，當像智慧人。
5:16 要愛惜光陰，因為現今的世代邪惡。
5:17 不要作糊塗人，要明白主的旨意如何。
 

IS THIS A GOOD TIME FOR A RESTART?

By Rick Boxx

A calendar year has 12 months, but during the summer months many of us experience a notable change in work demands and schedules. Businesses often find employees distracted with their children being home for the summer, taking their annual break from school. Many workers are eagerly anticipating vacations for times of much-needed rest and relaxation. Either way, they receive a break from the daily demands of work.

In some cultures, such as in Europe, during the summer months work staffs can take extended holiday breaks from their regular work routine. “Business as usual” slows, or comes to a sudden halt. With this slowdown in the pace and momentum of the work, business teams become shorthanded temporarily. A question then becomes how to use this time most usefully.

In a general sense, the conclusion of a school year or time for staff vacations can serve as an excellent time for a restart. This might involve meeting with your staff as they are available, casting vision for the coming months. It becomes a time for reenergizing and refocusing your team. These “down times” can prove to be as important as the periods of concentrated productivity. 

Offering your team an opportunity to remember why they are there can help your organization in being more productive in the future. The Bible gives a humorous description of people who lacked any focus for their activity: “The assembly was in confusion: Some were shouting one thing, some another. Most of the people did not even know why they were there”(Acts 19:32). While the context was not about people in business, it could describe corporate teams who have become so busy they have forgotten their overall mission and goals.

There is a temptation to insist on being busy for the sake of being busy. This brings to mind the boss who ran through the office shouting, “Don’t just stand there! Do something! Even if it’s wrong!” Sadly, this can be result in waste of effort and energy, and unintended lack of productivity. 

As a passage in the Bible’s Old Testament states so well, “There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under heaven…. A time to plant and a time to uproot…a time to tear down and a time to build…a time to tear and a time to mend…a time to be silent and a time to speak” (Ecclesiastes 3:1-7). There is a time for moving forward – and should be a time for pausing to review how far we have come and where we hope to be going.

We see this theme, the recognition of times when starting over is necessary, recurring in the Bible. For instance, after spending many years building an ark and then experiencing the great flood, Noah needed a restart. We see him receiving it in Genesis 9:1, “Then God blessed Noah and his sons, saying to them, ‘Be fruitful and increase in number and fill the earth.’” This signified the time for mankind’s literal restart.

Your organization might not have just endured a great flood – or a major calamity – but a lull in the usual work routine should be welcomed. If you sense it is time for a restart with your team, don’t wait. Schedule a meeting today! Review questions like, “Why are we here?” and “Where are we going?”

Copyright 2019, Unconventional Business Network Adapted with permission from “Integrity Moments with Rick Boxx,” a commentary on issues of integrity in the workplace from a Christian perspective. To learn more, visitwww.unconventionalbusiness.org. His latest book, Unconventional Business, provides “Five Keys to Growing a Business God’s Way.”

Reflection/Discussion Questions

1. Does your organization usually experience a time during the year when staffs are depleted by annual vacations or holidays, or workers restructure their days to accommodate children at home because the school year has ended? How do you or your company usually respond?
2. What in your view is the value of a “restart,” taking time to slow down and re-evaluate the work you have been doing as well as your future plans, goals and objectives?
3. Have you ever experienced something similar to what was described in the Bible, where people were obviously confused, even to a point where, “…the people did not even know why they were there”? If so, what did that feel like?
4. If you sense it might be time for a restart in your business – or even for a restart in your life personally – how do you think you could you go about doing that? 

NOTE: If you have a Bible and would like to read more about this subject, consider the following passages: Proverbs 10:4-5, 12:27, 14:23; Ecclesiastes 3:17,22; Acts 21:34; Ephesians 5:15-17

26