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The Friendly Landlord

By Bais HaVaad L'Inyonei Mishpat of Lakewood

Picture this: You come home one Sunday afternoon ready for an afternoon of relaxation, and suddenly notice your landlord sitting there on the couch right in the middle of your living room. With his shoes off, and feet up on your glass coffee table, he lowers the volume on his headphones and lowers your Sunday paper just long enough to give you a short hello, and then goes back to reading.

"What are you doing here?" you ask in a polite tone trying to mask your annoyance. He coolly puts down the paper, pulls the property deed from his pocket and indignantly replies, "Excuse me, but if you read carefully you will see that this house belongs to me." As your blood-pressure sores to new heights you contortedly respond "I know the house belongs to you, but since you rented it out to me, you gave up your right to use it anytime you wish. I would appreciate if you would leave as soon as possible."

The case is crystal clear. The landlord is clearly in the wrong, and each moment he remains in the rental property without permission, he is stealing from his tenant. Yet, in essence, the same is true in the case of employment.

The Rambam (Sechirus 13-7) compares an employee who uses his time on the job for his own purposes, to wrongfully using that which he does not own. When an individual hires him/herself out to work for an employer, he is in essence "renting" out his capabilities, efforts and strengths. Therefore although in essence his body and all of his strengths are his own, when he accepts the job he relinquishes his rights to use them for his own benefit. For him to use his working hours to surf the net, play solitaire, or conduct a lengthy conversation with a friend (that is not business related) is not acceptable, just as our friendly landlord has no right to use the rented apartment.

It is important to note that there are acceptable leniencies regarding this sensitivity. Anything which is clearly "common practice" is permissible since it is understood that the employee was hired under those assumptions.

For example, even though prolonged non-business related conversation is forbidden, one may say hello and greet a fellow employee in the hallway, speaking in a relaxed way which expresses common courtesy.

Another example of this is that, according to the halacha, a worker's obligation to his  employer may absolve him from having to recite the fourth blessing of Birkas Hamazon. However, today the custom is to recite it. Therefore one who does recite this blessing has not made improper use of his work time. Similarly, today a normal "coffee break" is also considered acceptable, as long as it is in the realm of "the normal customary activity." However, anything more than the "Minhag"(custom) must be limited.