There are throngs of people leaving their jobs and the current statistics are rather alarming. In today’s blog Denise Lee Yohn, Director of the Faith & Work Journey, challenges us to consider that we do not have a work crisis, but rather a crisis of identity. Even if you are not considering resigning or changing jobs this article is a great reminder of where we find our identity. It is easy to say and at one level believe that as Christians our identity is in Christ. However, it is a whole other thing to live out and work out this truth in our daily lives. Everything about the world we live in screams that our identity is in ourselves. The message is so loud that we need to regularly counter this influence. Today’s article is one such opportunity that I would encourage you to take. Also, please take note of the new section being introduced today at the bottom of the blog called For Further Thought. This will be a place where we will provide other information and/or other articles that will help extend our discussions. Be sure and check it out this week!
WE’RE NOT HAVING A WORK CRISIS; WE’RE
FACING AN IDENTITY CRISIS
Workers are quitting their jobs at record rates. Frustrated by low pay, bad working conditions, and all the disruptions caused by the pandemic, people have become disillusioned with work and are searching for greener pastures in better jobs, their own start-ups, or in some cases doing nothing more than the bare minimum to survive. But the Great Resignation must become the great realization – people need to realize that work cannot fulfill all the desires and meet all the expectations that we have been conditioned to think it should.
The current workforce trends reflect not a crisis of mental health or workers’ rights or fair wages – it’s a crisis of identity. Too many people have been looking too much to their work to give them their identity. We tend to believe “it’s not who I am underneath, but what I do that defines me,” as a popular quote from a Batman movie tells us. With our job as our identity, we expect to derive meaning, satisfaction, and self-expression from it.
FOR FURTHER THOUGHT
As you think about identity carefully, we realize that all of our choices in life are informed by where our identity lies. There is also a direct correlation with our level of satisfaction and fulfillment with work. If you desire to learn more and enjoy great conversation around these matters I would encourage you to participate in an upcoming guild. The Collaborative is offering this Spring vocational guilds in IT and Education/Teachers. If you are interested please email Crosland Stuart at cstuart@fpco.org.
Crosland Stuart, of Crosland & Company, LLC, works with The Collaborative
on vocational guilds and content creation. Additionally, she also works in the areas of
foundation consulting, communications, and is a literary agent.
