For most of his adult life, Greg Pierce has been wrestling with the issue of a spirituality of work. A 53-year-old co-publisher of the Catholic book firm ACTA, husband, father of three, and active member of his church, Pierce's personal mission has been to find practices that function inside the myriad entanglements of his life and do not require a lot of time.
"The traditional approach is based on plucking yourself out of the world, at least for a time," he said, "developing an inner world of contemplation, gaining insights through retreats, engaging in pious practices like the labyrinth. I have nothing against all this, but it doesn't work for me, and I don't think it works for most people. Like a lot of folks I know, I am piety-impaired."
In his new book, "Spirituality @ Work: Ten Ways to Balance Your Life On-the-Job," Pierce proposes a spirituality that can flourish within the nitty-gritty of the workplace, one that recognizes "the intrinsically spiritual nature of work," and sees God's presence in life, "whether bidden or unbidden." Moreover, he has sought to devise practices that can be done by anyone from a CEO to the person in the tollbooth on the expressway. "They had to be things you could do regularly, that would not disrupt the flow of the workplace and would not offend or annoy other people."
To that end, Pierce has been the power behind the National Center for the Laity, a Chicago-based group that publishes a newsletter and sponsors conferences on probing the spiritual dimensions of the secular work world.
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| I have nothing against pious practices, but it does't work for me, and I don't think it works for most people. I wanted practices that could be done by anyone from a CEO to the person in the tollbooth on the expressway. | ||
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"We're seeking practices that free you from having to remember to be spiritual," he said. Aided by his cyberspace dialogue partners, Pierce's book presents some of the practical recommendations they have developed. Anyone who practices them regularly, Pierce said confidently, "will become holy."
Surround yourself with "sacred" objects
Pierce recommends carving out a place in your workplace for pictures and other items that recall your roots and connections to family and community. They can be explicitly religious, but they don't have to be. One memento in his office at ACTA is a tin box with a picture of old-time baseball players. It was given to him by a woman whose 17-year-old son had committed suicide. "Every time I look at it," he said, "I face the ultimate meaning of life, the sorrow of the family and the despair of the boy." It moves him to a quick moment of prayer.
People such as police officers or store clerks who lack an office are not barred from using small "sacred" objects like a medal, pin, belt buckle, or key chain that connects with the larger realities. One of the e-mailers in the dialogue identified her constantly ringing phone at work as the reminder that God is getting in touch with her through the needs of others. The trick in this technique, said Pierce, is to refocus the objects from time to time or exchange them for something else when they become so familiar they cease serving their purpose.
The ability to accept and even celebrate failures and shortcomings as well as successes relieves you of the heresy that you can do God's work on your own, said Pierce. "The cost of trying to be perfect is too great," he said. "You can expect to find at least two typographical errors in any book I publish because I do imperfect books. The amount of work it would take to get rid of those last two typos isn't worth the effort."
But aren't we supposed to strive for perfection in all things? Up to a point, said Pierce, noting that even creation has a lot of typos. He is fond of Woody Allen's saying, "If God is all-powerful, he certainly is an underachiever." Living with imperfection should be one of the easier spiritual practices, Pierce believes, since bosses, coworkers, spouses, and children are often eager to call your attention to them.
Giving thanks and congratulations
Pierce connects the ordinary thank yous that sprinkle an ordinary work day with the Eucharist, the ultimate thank you spoken to God by humans in the name of all creation. But he thinks that extraordinary thank yous to co-workers and employers are especially useful in developing a persistently thankful, spiritual attitude. Whenever the first shipment of one of his newly published books arrives from the printer, Pierce drops what he's doing, reflects on all the work involved, even relishes the fresh smell of the product, then writes a note to the author expressing his personal thanks. This is just good business practice, but Pierce said it is for him a spiritual discipline, a way to reflect on what he's doing with his life and why.
He goes so far as to suggest that businesspeople learn to congratulate their competitors, even (or especially) when the competitor wins out on an important project. The sad fact, of course, is that thanks and congratulations are exceedingly rare in environments where workers feel overworked or exploited. But if a single employee takes it upon herself to break the gridlock of silence, said Pierce, she is already moving the company "in the direction of just compensation."
Assuring quality
Many people do feel a deep satisfaction in the work they do. Pierce simply wants people to be more prayerfully conscious that in their achievements they are furthering the Reign of God on earth, and the satisfaction they feel is a sign of God's pleasure and approval. If the work is difficult and the pay low, bellboys, schoolteachers, and street sweepers can still be aware that their work serves a greater good and they can take pride in it.
Dealing with others as you would have them deal with you
Honesty in the workplace is a commodity in short supply, said Pierce. We have come to expect advertising to grossly misrepresent products, customer service workers to be rudely defensive, lawyers to twist the truth beyond recognition. The practice of the Golden Rule in this era requires an ascetic kind of countercultural discipline, in Pierce's view, but one that is at the heart of Christian integrity.
Building support and community
Still to be found in some workplaces are those extraordinary people who go out of their way to make newcomers feel welcome, who extend an arm of compassion to a suffering co-worker, who do not participate in the routine bad-mouthing and rumor-spreading around the water cooler. This is community building. Wonders can be achieved, noted a member of Pierce's e-mail group, by taking an extra 15 seconds to inquire how the receptionist is doing (and actually listening to the reply) instead of breezing by with a muffled "hi" in the morning.
Is this a spiritual practice? It is "evangelization" in the best sense of the word, argues Pierce, who strenuously objects to preaching and proselytizing in the workplace. Creators of community will get noticed, he said, and this may lead to conversations about what prompts this unusual attitude, but converting others cannot be the starting point. The starting point must be "to convert ourselves to a better work life."
Other practices on Pierce's Top 10 list include:
This last discipline Pierce regards as "the toughest, the most controversial, the most frustrating, and the least successful, yet perhaps the most necessary," because it involves a conscious striving (yes, even organizing) for social justice in your own industry, profession, or work situation.
Pierce does not present himself as a spiritual master. He wonders if his disciplines are too secular or mundane. "All I can say is they work for me now," he said, adding that they seem to work also for others he is in contact with--even "the busiest and least pious."
