Several years ago, I moved from a Christian organization to a job on Bay Street, the nerve centre of Canadian capitalism and a place I affectionately refer to as "Babylon-on-Bay."
The culture shock from a cloistered environment to the cutthroat corporate world was immense. One thing the move taught me was the extreme dangers of living a "double life" when it comes to faith and work.
It's obvious that the work world in Canada is changing. The latest data from the 2001 census release on February 11 shows a greying workforce, with the average age of a worker now 39 years compared to 37 a decade ago.
Furthermore, Canada could have a shortfall of one million workers by 2020, since immigrants—the largest pool for new workers—will not keep up with the workforce demand. With the greatest immediate employment needs being for skilled workers (e.g. plumbers, pipe fitters, carpenters, electricians) it's easy to see that work will become more, not less stressful, even as new technologies promise to make work itself easier and more productive.
But what about the danger those of us in the workplace face in living two often contradictory lives—a personal life and a work life? Max Weber, the most influential thinker in the field of the sociology of religion, spent much of his time pondering the relationship between work and religion.
Weber's central thesis in his seminal work The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism was that while acquiring wealth was not an evil onto itself, the accumulation of worldly goods required strict self-discipline and a healthy dose of suspicion. He warned against the "spontaneous enjoyment of possessions."
Weber's theories still hold water today, perhaps more so in a world where material wealth is celebrated as some sort of divine right bestowed by the gods of capitalism.
The colossal changes in our working lives—two-income families, the time stresses on families, corporate "restructuring" that demand more work in less time from fewer employees—feed the temptation for us to lead double lives: one among our church friends and another among our co-workers.
What's the church to do? First, church leaders need to acknowledge the pressures most working people are under. There is less time for church activities in most people's lives. Understand and accept that fact.
Second, we need to see the changing workplace as a new mission field that requires every Christian to be an evangelist in subtle, gentle ways. Friendship, not overt proselytizing, will win you both friends and respect in today's workplace.
Third, stop wishing for the world of Leave It To Beaver where dad goes to work while mom stays home (often with time to spare to give to the church). Most women in Canada work outside the home.
In fact, the census reveals that it's women filling the new jobs in an expanding economy, accounting for two-thirds of the new workers in the 1990s. Many women (it's mostly women who stay home with the kids) sacrifice a career and a second income and they need to be respected for it.
But many others want to work and they, too, must be affirmed in their choice. With 7.3 million women now in the workforce (up 13.9 per cent since 1991), the working woman is here to stay.
Finally, the church should strongly support ideas that help families deal with the pressures of work life. For example one of the best ideas recently in this area came from Quebec Premier Bernard Landry, who wants to pass legislation to allow parents of children under 12 to work four-day weeks while increasing the mandatory annual holiday in Quebec from two to three weeks.
People might have to take a pay cut to work a four-day week, but Landry would require employers to maintain full benefits at a cost to companies of $100 million—small potatoes considering that Quebec has recently cut capital taxes by $1 billion.
That's the kind of pro-family idea the church should get behind.
Joe Couto is a government and communications professional working on Bay Street in Toronto. Joe is a keen observer of the church in Canada who formerly served as communications manager for the Evangelical Fellowship of Canada and is a frequent contributor to ChristianWeek.
This is the sixth in nine-part series.
