Our digital, hyper-connected world has intensified the human condition called FOMO. In New York City, where I live, we feed FOMO the old-fashioned way–we watch each other and read billboards in subway cars. Throw a line of people in our path, and we are instantly curious and afraid we are missing out. As long as humans have been living near each other, we have been comparing ourselves to each other and wondering if we are missing out.
I’m writing to deliver bad news: You are already missing out. This is the inescapable conclusion I am forced to draw from VOCA’s current Life@Work Study. Every year, we ask respondents about their biggest challenges at work and how they face them. This year’s research revealed a clear pattern: most people don’t utilize spiritual resources when facing a work-related problem. So, if you are like most workers, you are already missing out. Let’s look at the data, why this is less than the ideal, and then explore alternatives so you don’t have to miss out.
The Data
Conclusion: very few workers today utilize a spiritual resource or practice when facing a work-related challenge.
Below is a chart depicting the top people or resources we turn to when facing obstacles at work.
What do these results tell us?
Most of us turn to someone at work for problems at work.
I’m more likely to turn to myself or nothing than a faith resource.
Self-identified religious people do not see their faith as a source of strength, help, or guidance when facing a work obstacle or problem.
These numbers vary somewhat by generation.
Generation | % who turn to a faith resource | % who identify as religious* |
Boomers | 46% | 96% |
Gen X | 13% | 62% |
Millennials | 7% | 52% |
Gen Z | 3% | 44% |
*These percentages are of the VOCA sample, not necessarily the US population.
Another way to read this is that over half of religious boomers turn to faith when challenged at work, but only 3% of religious Gen Z workers rely on their faith to get them through challenges at work. So, most of us miss experiencing God’s wisdom, strength, and guidance when facing work challenges.
A Sub-Optimal Way to Work?
Why is this a problem? Some of us may wonder, “What’s the big deal? Work is work. It’s not a place of faith or religious activity.” Besides, people who approach their secular work through the lens of faith risk some things that most of us would do well to miss out on:
Being a nutcase: Aren’t people who pray about everything a little odd, not quite in touch with reality? They ramble on and on about the spiritual significance of everything.
Being the center of the universe: Aren’t people who think God cares about the mundane details of their lives a bit self-obsessed? Can God really care about our regular jobs? Isn’t he worried about the poor, wars, and church workers?
Being disappointed: Most of us have sincerely asked God for something, really ‘had faith,’ and it didn’t come to pass. Are we just setting ourselves up for unmet expectations by bringing work topics online with our higher power?
It’s not a very attractive list. However, people have also used faith as an excuse for their lack of wisdom and hard work. They have used faith ideas and language as a club to bully their work peers. Seasons of doubt and disappointment are very real, particularly in traditions that promise great life outcomes for those who pull all the right faith levers. I’m not advocating that kind of irresponsible approach here.
And yet, there are risks to the “keep-work-at-work” approach as well:
The burden of maintaining a double life: When we toggle between two universes, it is a burden. Our private, family life includes this supernatural being who cares and shows up for us. Our work life is an atheistic landscape where we are alone in a cold and harsh ecosystem. Maintaining the dichotomy takes energy and hides aspects of our lives from the important people we are traveling with.
Stuck in a bubble: When we don’t go outside the work world for answers, we risk being stuck in a thought bubble where perspective is limited. It’s called groupthink. And it will almost always lead to a morally, ethically, or relationally damaging pattern.
Stuck in an unsafe hierarchy: It is healthy for workers to turn to bosses and colleagues when they face work challenges. It is unhealthy for them to only turn to bosses and colleagues. Every workplace is a transactional pecking order. People have varying degrees of power. People stay because the net gains outweigh the loss of leaving. It is unlikely that anyone you work with is completely safe. Even a close friend may want you to stay or stay at your level so they can be with you rather than wanting you to flourish by advancing in ways that take you away from them. Faith resources and faith communities provide an outside perspective that, in many cases, is truly safe.
While there are risks to processing work through the faith lens, there are significant risks to avoiding this approach. If work is where you spend most of your waking hours over your lifetime, what could you miss out on as you spend years in a space where you function as if God is absent?
The Promises of Faith for Facing Work Challenges
In this section, we unpack the foundations, practices, and benefits of bringing work-related issues to God through spiritual practices.
The Foundation
Three core components of biblical wisdom drive us to bring all of life to our heavenly Father. First, the whole world is his (Psalm 24:1), and every aspect of the universe is destined for unity under Christ (Colossians 1:15-20). Second, God cares for us and our everyday concerns (1 Peter 5:7). Finally, we are called to envision our lives as his servants, doing everything we have to do as if doing it directly for him (Colossians 3:23).
The Practices
In his famous tract, Practicing the Presence of God, Brother Lawrence advocated a simple flow in which we invite our creator into the details of our daily work.
Ask for wisdom about everything you have to do. These are quick, thought-provoking prayers offered before each task.
Pray for grace to follow the wisdom you are given. Grace is God’s strength for you internally and his favor or blessing on the task externally.
Offer prayers of gratitude as each task is completed or progress is made.
Brother Lawrence was indeed a monk. However, most of his duties were helping in the kitchen and cleaning the monastery, which were not very “spiritual” tasks. He learned and advocated a way of experiencing God in our work’s mundane, common, and “unspiritual” dimensions.
The Benefits
How does our work change when we engage in this process of finding God in our daily work? We find three benefits: emotional, tactical, and spiritual.
Emotionally: God promises to give us peace (Philippians 4:6-7) and strength (Psalm 18:29) when we live as an open book of dependence before him.
Tactically: God promises to give us wisdom when we ask (James 1). This means we will have insight and clarity about what to do (See Daniel and his friends in Daniel, Chapters 1-6). We will know things only God can reveal as we pursue our work.
Spiritually: We will experience the power of an integrated life. We will find in our daily work the good works God has planned in advance for us to do (Ephesians 2:10).
The End of YAAMO
This whole movement towards integration reminds me of a couple I knew, both doctors and academics, who began to walk this road. They had already embraced a sense of wonder in their medical craft–most physicians will tell you there is rarely a straight line between treatments and outcomes. This mystery opened them up to the divine in their work. And as they embraced these kinds of practices, the more challenging parts of their jobs–dealing with people and institutional politics–took on the shine of a fresh opportunity. Working spiritual rhythms and perspective into their daily approach to work brought more transformation and joy than years of church attendance.
How about you? Are you already missing out on what God is offering you on the job? What shifts in your thinking and modifications of your practices could revolutionize the way you experience your work?
Don’t miss out on the wisdom, strength, and joy that could transform your work life. Schedule a free consultation with one of our coaches today to explore how you can overcome challenges, align your purpose, and thrive in your career.
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