
“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.
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).
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 |