The Duties of Employees

Duties of Employees.—(a) Justice.—Workers are bound to give a fair return in quantity and quality of labor for the pay they receive, and to be loyal to their employer as regards his person, reputation, and property. Hence, it is unjust to loaf or come late or leave early, to turn out work too slowly or of an inferior grade, to damage machinery or property, to waste food or provisions, to act as a household spy or informer, to try to extort what is not due. (For a consideration of the worker’s obligation to join unions see “Catholics in Labor Unions” by Francis J. Connell, C.SS.R., American Ecclesiastical Review, Vol. CXVI, no. 6 June, 1947, pp. 422 ff.)

(b) Charity.—Workers should be willing even at the expense of some right or of some slight loss to help an employer who is in grave necessity; for example, it would be uncharitable for farm hands to stop work promptly on time when this will cause a serious damage to the farmer’s crop, or for a cook to leave on her free day when her mistress is very sick and will be left alone.