Category: Unsolved Problems

More Work, Less Reward?

The New York Times published an article in July called “Work and Reward: The Great Disconnect.” *  Basically, the article’s argument is that people tend to assume that harder work will bring them more renumeration, but that, even if ever true in the past, this is becoming less and less true today. This leads to an overall sense of discouragement:…

Fat people earn less and have a harder time finding work. What does the faith at work movement have to say to them?

We ran into this somewhat disturbing story at the website of the BBC recently: Even when they’re able to do the job competently, obese people routinely face discrimination in the workplace. While discrimination against employees because of their sex, age, race, ethnicity, sexual orientation, religion or disabilities is illegal in a growing number of countries, including the UK, many businesses…

What Henry David Thoreau Can Contribute to a Theology of Work

Jonathan Malesic, one of our bloggers, recently sent out a note alerting his mailing list to a paper he’s written for the Journal of Religious Ethics on resources from Thoreau for dealing with the “suckiness” of work (TGR’s term, not Malesic’s). The paper is behind a paywall, but if you belong to an academic institution you may have access to the…

What Christian Vocation Looks Like for the Elderly

The faith and work movement can tend to celebrate the entrepreneurial, which by extension often means celebrating the young (because, after all, they’re usually the ones with the energy to start new things.)  The Christian Century ran an excellent article a little while ago about what vocation looks like in older adults: If vocation is about God’s call to persons (and…

What does Madam Secretary have to say to the Faith & Work movement?

Recently, while enjoying a day away from the office, I was catching up on Madam Secretary. Madam Secretary is a television show that presents the day-to-day life of Dr. Elizabeth McCord, who serves as the Secretary of State. The show does a good job of presenting the entirety of her life, including work and family. One scene from this episode…