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FORGIVENESS@WORK

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“The video clips were a good way of demonstrating the advantages of forgiveness. The frequent recap of the key points solidified those points in the memory. Jon has a good clear teaching style. I don’t really have any suggestions here as the course was informative, interactive and well-organised—nothing to improve in my view!” [from a City Law Firm]

Forgiveness@Work is designed to help you work for the healing of fault lines between goodwill and grievance. Without goodwill, grievance can lapse into resentment. Without grievance, goodwill can lapse into denial. But Forgiveness@Work can help you work for healing by humanising others (goodwill) while holding them accountable (grievance).

Forgiveness@Work is derived from The Relationships Course, which was delivered to respective departments within Schroders and Man Group during the noughties. (At one point it also served as a module on the Birmingham Business School MBA.) Grounded in the psychology and philosophy of forgiveness, some of its thinking—is forgiveness forgetting?—was published academically, demonstrating further thought leadership. 1

Yet, despite its heritage in the workplace, Forgiveness@Work is also pertinent for life outside of work. And despite its faith-based heritage, Forgiveness@Work is designed for those with no faith at all, so it exists in two editions: with Bible content conspicuous or discreet.

“[The seminar] proved to be very popular at BP’s Sunbury campus.”

“[The seminar] proved to be very popular at BP’s Sunbury campus. A number of people attending the course were having issues with relationships at work and needed the help to address unforgiveness. The material was really thought-provoking and inspired us to a new approach to forgiveness—to invite change in ourselves and others. It involved interaction but also gave individuals a chance to work through issues in private.”

Forgiveness is not making someone pay when we are wronged. It cancels the debt they owe us to right that wrong.

Forgiveness is not making someone pay when we are wronged. It cancels the debt they owe us to right that wrong. 2 And when communicated, forgiveness invites perceived perpetrators to better themselves. 3 So forgiveness can remain private—something that we do ‘under our skin’—or it can be made public. It has both ‘intra-’ and ‘inter-personal’ dimensions. 4

If this is what forgiveness is, then there are many things that forgiveness is not. The things that forgiveness is not serve to structure the seminar.

  • Forgiveness does not deny the past. Forgiveness is not (necessarily) forgetting. 5
  • Forgiveness does not deny feelings. (Anger can be a galvanising agent of change.) 6
  • Forgiveness does not deny time. (It takes time for anger ‘against’ someone to become anger ‘for’ positive change.)
  • Forgiveness does not deny justice. It does not deny duty of care. (So it does not negate workplace grievance procedure, which can provide the channels for forgiveness to flow. Therefore, there is a duty of care to make sure that such procedures are in place). 7
  • Forgiveness does not deny boundaries. (Forgiveness is not reconciliation.) 8

This seminar is facilitated by Jon, who has a certificate in counselling and a background in marketing. It can run as either five 30-minute sessions, which make it ideal for lunchtime workplace groups, or a one 3-hour session. A 45-minute one-off taster session is also available. All formats illustrate forgiveness by drawing on Rafael Yglesias’s screenplay for Les Misérables (dir. Bille August, 1998).

  • I. Forgiveness: Past and Feelings—forgiveness is not making someone pay when we are wronged. It cancels the debt they owe us to right that wrong. It does not deny the past, and it does not deny feelings.
  • II. Forgiveness: Time and Justice—forgiveness does not deny time and it does not deny justice.
  • III. Justice: Three-Fold Assertion Messages—if justice means making right, then three-fold assertion messages invite justice insofar as they invite change.
  • IV. Justice: Grievance and Disciplinary Procedures—if forgiveness is like a liquid, then grievance and disciplinary procedures can be the channels of justice that help it to flow.
  • V. Forgiveness: Boundaries—forgiveness does not deny boundaries.

Together, the two editions (with Bible and nigh without) and three formats (five short sessions, one long one, or taster) give six possible ways of configuring the course:

Conspicuous Discreet
Five 30-minute sessions
One 3-hour session
45-minute taster
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