When the Tyson company was founded in 1935, Founder John Tyson added to the core values “we strive to honor God and be respectful of each other, our customers, and other stakeholders.” Today, this core value is still present, but it is no longer broadcasted on the company website. Instead, the company promotes how its other core value is to be “faith-friendly.” While respect for different viewpoints is important, this represents a shift in the Tyson company’s relationship with its founder’s faith.
According to Business Insider, since 2000 the company has employed some 120 office chaplains to offer “compassionate pastoral care” to employees. According to Karen Diefendorf, the director of Chaplain Services at Tyson, the company realized that people cannot entirely separate what goes on at home from their performance at work. The chaplains are there to provide a listening ear and show compassion. The majority of chaplains are ordained clergy with some kind of specialized training. These individuals are placed throughout the company to provide care to employees for whatever is going on in their lives.
In the company video that introduces the department, one of the chaplains says, “I do not preach or teach my own beliefs. I just respect their beliefs and look for how I can use that higher power in them to empower them, to serve them, to solve their issues.” Again, respecting, loving, and having compassion for everyone regardless of belief is an extremely important thing. It is what we are called to do as Christians. However, we are also called to share the gospel. Tyson used to know this, but recently they seem to have lost sight of how the Good News of Christ is the ultimate solution to people’s problems, rather than “coexist” inclusivity.
Tyson used to be a Christian company and perhaps they still are…but with these recent shifts away from fully acknowledging God, one has to wonder if they are a true Christian company today.
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It seems that they realized being overtly Christian no longer offers them much benefit. Despite this dilution, it's still cool to see their unique approach for caring for their employees. Innovating in that sphere can build much brand loyalty.