Giving Brantley a job is admittedly his best feature, because throughout the rest of the film Howard is motivated mostly by selfish reasons. Like for example his affair with Christie, and deal with Davenport that could lead to pretty much everyone but himself and a select few losing their jobs.
http://www.freewebs.com/demonictoys/

Wife Was No Saint Either Having Her Separate Sex Toy

Maybe you weren't paying attention. He gave him a job in the mail room yes, but a minimum wage job, so it's not as if he extended himself.
He also cheated on his wife constantly, kept a mistress and misled her about his intentions with her, all while running his wife's company into the ground. Perhaps if he spent more time attending to his job and family, he wouldn't have been ousted at the end.
It is bad to drink Jobu's rum. Very bad.