Beer that changed the world

What if I told you the beer you’re drinking has changed the lives of thousands of employees? In my work, I research for companies who have changed the world by changing their workplace. This beer company blew me away. 

Guinness has been around since 1722. It has survived wars, famines, plagues, depressions, and recessions yet has thrived through it all, but most of all it completely shifted the culture in the city of Dublin and transformed poverty. 

When I heard this, I had to know how. 

Like every great company they began with the values they would stand firm on: generosity, integrity, social responsibility, but what struck me is the action this company took to go beyond words on a wall. The owner of Guinness and his family actually sought to improve the conditions of the people in his city of Dublin.  

As the family business was passed down from generation to generation, the company expanded throughout Europe, the West Indies and Africa. The company was in full expansion under Benjamin Lee Guinness who chose the Irish harp as the company’s emblem which turned their beer into a symbol of national pride and created a 400% increase in the company’s market share.

I need to stop for a moment here. I don’t know about you, but when I read that it reminds me that it is truly possible for companies to create culture in their cities and communities. If you ever wonder if your company can change the world, just look to Guinness to remind you that you CAN!

“The best service out of a man is to let him feel that he is appreciated and cared for.” Benjamin Lee Guinness. Here was the most prominent business man of the community making people his priority. He was known to interact with every person in the brewery, no matter what role.

In 1886 Dublin began to experience contaminated drinking water, unhygienic living spaces, disease, and death. Guinness responded with a program to completely reform the living conditions of their 3000 employees. They even personally visited their homes. Their program included education for children, educational lectures, an exercise program, education around hygiene, cooking classes, post natal education for mothers, housing, and opportunities for community gatherings. By 1928 the company had full coverage for medical and dental for their employees as well as an onsite clinic of doctors, nurses, dentists, pharmacists, and a massage therapist. They also provided pensions, funeral expenses, banking, sports, concerts, educational lectures, libraries, and tuition for professional development! On top of it all, Guinness employees received wages 10-20% higher than the regular worker in Dublin.

“The Guinness culture for nearly two centuries changed the lives of Guinness workers, transformed poverty in Dublin, and inspired other companies to understand that care for their employees was their most important work.” - Stephen Mansfield

I don’t know about you, but when I read this I am inspired. I long to see companies follow suit to:

• Realize that the shifting of culture happens when business CREATES a better world for people.
• Make people centre and not profit. Profit always follows.
• See opportunities to expand and grow in ways we never thought possible.

Your workplace can change the world. To this day the Guinness story inspires companies to be the leaders in their cities creating the change we all want to see.

“Never underestimate the power of a small group of committed people to change the world. In fact, it is the only thing that ever has.” ~ Margaret Mead