The Economy and Feeling Desperate

My husband works in sales for a large furniture company. Sales have become sluggish as people spend less money on non-necessities. The sales force is paid on a commission basis. The company sets a minimum sales figure that the salespeople are supposed to hit each month. If a salesperson doesn't hit the minimum dollar amount for a certain number of months, that sales person is let go. I understand the reason, insurance and other benefits are a huge expense for the employer.

Many sales people (not my husband) have had several months of consistently low sales figures. Today, someone accused my husband of breaking company policy by taking another employees sale. The employee, who I will call X, told the manager that my husband had stolen X's commission by lying to the customer about X. X has had a checkered career with the company and could have been fired last month due to consistent poor sales figures. X called the guest at home, which is against company policy, and told the customer to tell my husband that X should be paid for the sale.

When my husband spoke with the guest on the phone, the customer stated that she had upset the X. My husband turned the call into a conference call so the manager could hear what X had told the customer. After the manager learned all of the things that had occurred, my husband was awarded the commission and his reputation remained untarnished. The accusations that X had made could have gotten my husband fired.

Our state has been in a recession for 8 years and there are very few businesses hiring. I understand that X is in fear of losing his job. What I have a hard time understanding is the cruelty and willingness to destroy other people. I know that we are all sinners, and that our society has a "Me at any cost" mentality, but blatant cruelty and dishonesty always blind-sides me.