My work is not my religion

In 2019, Derek Thompson, an American podcaster and journalist, wrote an article at the Atlantic that expressed the new term, namely workism. In a nutshell, workism is the belief that employment is not only necessary for financial production but also the centerpiece of an individual’s life purpose. Moreover, workism tends to claim work as a new religion for people, and, to be more specific, for Americans. As cited from factcompany.com, in 1990, about 90% of Americans identified as Christians, 5% were categorized as belonging to another religion, and the rest had no religion affiliation (PEW Research, 2022). Fast forward to today: 63% of Americans identify as Christians, around 8% categorize as belonging to another religion, and 29% state they have no religious affiliation at all.

“Some people worship beauty, some have political identities, and some worship their children. But everybody believes something. Workism is among the most potent of the new religious competing for congregants,” said Thompson. One significant point and concern of Thompson regarding the phenomenon is that workism at the end of that might influence an individual’s personal life. To be more specific, people’s personal value is affected by their work value.

Photo credit to quora.com

Akin to this thesis, Carla Costa Sandine and Susan Byrnes emphasize that personal value, as an internal value, is more significant than external value, for instance, the workplace’s value. The value that comes from individuals has a bigger impact. “For example, inclusion, kindness, and fairness are my values. As a communications leader, those values guide me. One tangible aspect is that when I see people grow, it excites me,” Susan said. “And these values I embodied into my organizational values,” she added.

Speaking of value as a core factor, Carla noted that to implement our value, we have to grow a firm mindset. “Since the beginning, I knew that my position as communication personnel was not always going to be easy. I will face something, though, and then I should believe that I am strong enough to handle that,” claims Carla. Furthermore, to maximize our work, people should approach it holistically. “Think about the strategy to create a better environment for society and have clear objectives,” Carla concluded. Individuals’ values, objectives, and mission drive change, and the workplace is one of the venues through which this occurs.

Either Carla or Susan oftentimes received testimonies about the persona of a communications person. “You should be an extrovert”; “You should be keen to speak all the time”; “You should be a very remarkable public speaker," etc. In fact, both are introverts. On many occasions, work situations demand that they be “somebody else." It is challenging, and if you can get back to Thompson, this is how workism works in a nutshell. However, for both Carla and Susan, being authentic about ourselves is way more than important. Our personal values have to lead the way. In short, I would say you can believe in anything as your "religion,” including your work. However, keep in mind that your job is not everything; it is not your life, and define who you are. Just be enough with that.

“Our true work is not our job; that is what we do, not what we were created to do. Our true work is to look after each other, to protect each other, and to be of benefit to one another,” stated Bill Gates.