Years ago, I heard a story on CBC about early fur trappers. They lived isolated lives, far from family and friends. Often they had no family connections so some of these men would leave their modest estate to the Hudson’s Bay Company. That always seemed sad to me that those men had no lives and no connections outside of their employer.
With estimates that one third of churches will be empty due to lack of congregations, our generation is not seeking community in the same way our parents and grandparents did. We do not look to religion, service clubs, United Way to be the centre of our giving lives the way we did 60 years ago.
In a well documented research study and follow-up blog post, Imagine Canada makes a compelling argument that corporations are becoming the new community hubs for giving. In fact, their research found that almost a third of employees would accept less pay if the company does community work the employee believes in.
This alarms me and is likely to lead to less, not more community connection.
A company’s prime directive is to increase shareholder value. That’s what I learned in business school when I did my MBA. In addition, companies tend to focus in areas related to their line of business. For example, the classic example is Tom’s Shoes where they connected their business to ensuring footware for all. But what if the corporate approach is not what the people want or need? Tom’s Shoes' paternalistic model drove local shoe makers and cobblers out. It did not teach people to make shoes or incubate their micro-businesses. But it sure had a lot of cute videos that made North Amercan consumers feel good.
What about that corporate employee willing to accept lower wages to underwrite corporate charity efforts? With 50% of employees working on contract, the old model of lifetime employment is clearly out the window for employers.
What happens when an employee, who is very invested in their company and the company’s good works, gets laid off? Now, that employee is doubly isolated because they have lost their livelihood, the community they have built, and they have lost a major source of meaning in their life.
The idea of companies taking centre stage in community building through engagement in charity is dangerous. Concentrating community, social good, and employment all in the same, unreliable group of employers has the potential to do more to weaken community ties and social good over time than build them.
Ann Rosenfield is the editor of Hilborn Charity eNews with an MBA who has seen too many long-serving employees get laid-off.
