The sign greeted me as I entered the local restaurant. “Looking for a job? We’re hiring!” I have seen similar signs posted across our community as well as in nearby states. “Help wanted,” Position vacant,” or “Now hiring” are signs that communicate a critical need faced by many businesses that find themselves short-handed these days. There are plenty of jobs, but few workers.
According to a report from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, nearly 4.3 million people quit their jobs this past January, which follows a record year where close to 48 million exited their jobs in 2021. While that is a lot of departures, it also means that there are a lot of job openings.
The workplace can be a stressful place. Teachers are facing the challenges of keeping students healthy and safe in the classroom. Health professionals are navigating the pressures of keeping up with the demand for services. Many nursing homes are struggling to find enough staff to provide quality care for residents. Even churches strive to find clergy and staff to carry out the work of ministry.
There are various reasons for what has been called the “Great Resignation.” Whether burnout, lack of childcare, need for more flexibility or higher pay, many workers are simply looking for something new. The pandemic prompted people to reflect and consider what is most important in life. Perhaps, many employees came to the conclusion that life is too short to stay in a job where they did not feel energized or fulfilled.
Recognizing that more than half of our life is spent at work, the late Thich Nhat Hanh, a Vietnamese Thi?n Buddhist monk, author and poet, wrote, “The way we live our lives and the way we earn our living is crucial to our joy and happiness.” His book, “Work: How to Find Joy and Meaning in Each Hour of the Day” invites readers to find meaning in each work day.
Interestingly, the Harvard Business Review reported that nine out of 10 employees would be willing to make compromises such as lower compensation in order to pursue meaningful work. Lately, I’ve been thinking about what makes work meaningful. Over the past two years, I’ve listened to many stories of people who are asking the same question.
People find work meaningful when they are able to see a purpose beyond themselves. They want to make a difference and have a positive impact on their community. The student learns, the patient heals, the equipment is fixed, the crop is harvested. Not all work has tangible results, but if employees believe they are making a difference in the world, they feel a certain satisfaction or fulfillment.
Work is meaningful when people are able to connect their values, talents and passions to the needs of the world. In order to make this connection, they have to know what is important to them and let those priorities guide them towards meaningful work. Theologian Frederick Buechner notes that the word “vocation” is from the Latin “vocare,” which means to call. Buechner writes, “The place God calls you is the place where your deep gladness and the world’s needs meet.”
I recently met a woman who had been working for a company in Atlanta for more than 30 years. I expressed interest in her work and asked her what she enjoyed about it. She was quick to say that it wasn’t so much the work itself, but the people with whom she works. She found meaning in working with a team. Work is meaningful when coworkers develop teamwork, trust and connection.
In Benedictine spirituality, work is meaningful when we continue the creative work that God wants done. Benedictine writes, “Work is co-creative. Keeping a home that is beautiful and ordered and nourishing and artistic is co-creative. Working in a machine shop that makes gears for tractors is co-creative. Working in an office that processes loan applications for people who are themselves trying to make life more humane is co-creative. We work because the world is unfinished and it is ours to develop.”
There is much work to be done in the world today, and in order to make progress, it will require people with many different talents and skills to step up and commit to serve for the greater good.
The Rev. Becky Evans Glass is executive director at Peninsula Pastoral Counseling Center in Newport News. She can be reached by email at beglass@peninsulapastoral.org
