The Catholic Social Teaching on Work
Can I Work Today
About two years ago at my place of employment,
upper management decided to start more aggressively sending people home when
the workload was not heavy. One of the major reasons for this decision, was to
better prepare for changes in healthcare, i.e., reduced reimbursement,
increased costs to patients, and increased taxes on medical devices among other
unknown variables with the inauguration of the Affordable Care Act. Therefore, the reduction in payroll costs of
sending home staff during lighter workloads (we call it flexing) enabled the
hospital system for which I am employed, to pad their budget for the unexpected
changes. Unfortunately, the specific Hospital in which I work, decided to be
extra responsible in this practice and mercilessly exercised this new policy. Needless
to say, all staff who were affected by this, retaliated in various forms from
complaints to giving their notice -in my department specifically, we lost at
least three to these changes. Therefore, drawing this out to its logical
conclusion, we are understaffed, overworked and flexed off; which has made for
a very strenuous time in my life, in which I still reside. Naturally, a sense of
injustice permeated and dominates the thoughts of myself and my cohorts; this
is both tiresome and nurtures attitudes and conversation that are not
efficacious to one’s piece or sanctity. For me, I felt like nothing more than a
commodity that could be laid aside for ad hoc purposes and a tool to be used
when the need arises and then put back in its storage place for later use. To
put it bluntly, I felt like a number, whose value and dignity as a human person
had been diminished considerably. Regrettably, this is a common practice today
among businesses; people are laid off constantly among other devaluations. Granted,
businesses must be responsible to ensure their survival, but at what cost? Is
this practice unjust and consequently sinful? What makes this even more
grievous, is that my household is single income; it wasn’t always so, but when
my wife and I changed the way that we viewed the family; I knew that I had to
change the way we live. I will talk further about the dynamics of the family in
another blog post, but for now, I will focus on the understanding of work, as a
good and how we can harness that good
to cultivate virtue.
A
Blessing or a Curse
There are two ways in which we can
look at work: work as a good or as a commodity (in a materialistic impersonal
sense), which is worth very little in light of eternity. The origin of this
bifurcation in the concepts of work can be traced to creation, where in the
verse, we see two concepts arising: God created all things and they were good,
then following the curse, “You will earn your bread by the sweat of your brow (God).”
Before the fall and curse, work existed within the garden; a perfect type of
work that was edifying and gave glory to God (Smith). This was the ideal type
of work that we are to strive for and seek as a model for today. This idea is
commonly conferred by our magistrates in the form of sanctification of our
daily duties, i.e., “offering them up” as a meritorious spiritual benefit. This
concept also entails a submission to Christ as our employer, a realization that
is encouraged perpetually throughout the duration of the day.
The Church has however developed a
concept work that is a bit more obscure, not apparent and requiring deeper
insight. It puts work within a hierarchy
with the human person as its subject, not its object. This reevaluation entails
a gift, God’s gift of creation to men. This creation, the earth and cities in
which we live, requires cultivation; this is not a novel concept, but a frequent
reminder is in order, that work is not some punishment in which we are to toil
with and pass away under the fatigue of this burdensome life. No, work is a
gift, in which men are enriched, it is a crucible by which virtue is mastered,
modeled by our Lord, St. Joseph, St. Benedict, and many other industrious
Saints whose lives must be emulated and meditated upon. Work is in a sense a servant for men and
understood in this light, its ominous challenge losses its daunting countenance
and dons a benevolence, which incites an eagerness to take up a lighter, more
efficacious yoke.
The other path I spoke of in that
bifurcation is the toilsome emphasis of work. This type, although it very well
may be toilsome, is distinct from the former view, in that its final cause is not realized. It does not
have God’s glory and man’s benefit in view, it is simply a means to an end
–whether that end be money or a temporary satisfaction, the motive in question
is not lasting. Without the realization of whom your work is benefiting, “it is
vain for you to rise before light, rise ye after you have sitten (sic), you
that eat the bread of toil (David, Psalm 127).”
To understand work as a commodity,
i.e. you see yourself as an object to be sold to an employer for a wage, falls
under the idea of materialism. This idea at first glance might appear an accurate
description of the employee/employer relationship; however, fundamentally, a
neglect of the dignity of the person is left out of this description.
Understanding the worth of Human Labor and its dignity is the beginning of
sanctification of that work. If we look at it merely in terms of numerical
value, it becomes easier to abuse the objects
in question. This materialistic view has also affected our proper identity.
When you last introduced yourself to another person did you first identify your
profession? In some contexts, this is appropriate, but generally, your initial
identification should pertain to something more substantial –perhaps faith or
family.
The Spiritual and
Moral Benefit of Work
As we have mentioned, work exists to
serve man. When we create things, we improve upon the materials at hand and in
turn by working well, we too are improved. The work needs to serve us by
improving our character, which in turns gives glory to God. If we step into the
office or factory without the proper disposition, we may be spinning our
wheels, losing gifts that simply could be attained by a Morning Offering at the
commencement of the day.
So
how do we reconcile our labor? As we have mentioned, the initial task is first
realizing your worth. You must be benefited in the contract as well as the
employer and this is termed commutative
justice. For both parties to benefit there must not be excesses on either
side; the employee should not ask for too much, must fulfill his obligations, and
must not abuse the employer in other obscure ways. On the other hand the employer must provide
enough compensation for the labor given; they must not require unattainable
expectations and provide proper working conditions that do not erode the
laborer.
Although all of these criteria are
important, I wanted expand a bit on the importance of just compensation. Often
time’s people unjustly complain as to the insufficiency of their paychecks;
whose argument may or not be grounded on anything substantial, but for those
who are under paid, this is a grave matter. The head of the household should alone be sufficiently compensated to
provide for his family. I emphasized alone, because for the important fact that
the woman of the house should not be obliged to find gainful employment outside
of the home in order to sustain the family. I simply say this as both a
reminder and encouragement to women that the dignity and worth of staying home
and rearing their children is far more worthy and rewarding than fulfilling a
desire to prove yourself out in the workplace. We all know that women are very
capable of working outside the home, but in reality, there is nothing more
satisfying to children as well as the mother, than to be home fulfilling the
role they are physically designed to do. Men are physically strong by nature
and as such, we are designed for labor; women are nourishing and lovable by
nature, thus designed for rearing children. Again, I will qualify this by
saying that women are capable of providing income for the family by whatever
means they desire, but is it the best choice to work outside the home –especially
when children are involved?
From my own experience, when my
family started to grow, my wife and I both worked. We were duel income and I
will admit that hers was slightly higher than mine. However, when we started
having more children, I could see the anxiety and tension from both the kids
and us, from sending the kids off to day-care. The kids cried when we left them,
they brought home questionable habits and we were concerned with the quality of
their learning environment. We couldn’t afford Catholic School even with duel
income, so we had to settle for other options. After a number of changes both
in my work and my wife’s, we ultimately decided it best for her to stay home.
We both vacillated on the decision, but once we acquiesced, it has proven to be
the best decisions we have ever made for our family. Our kids are on a good
classical Catholic home-school curriculum and seem to be thriving. It was a
huge adjustment financially, but we made a lot of sacrifices that now -don’t even
seem as substantial as we thought.
I
hope you have a clearer understanding now of the worth envisaged by just compensation. This is important
because we have a right to support our family; it is our duty, just as it is
the duty of a woman to nurture their children –both in the womb and without.
The
Three Fundamentals
There
are three fundamental realities at stake today, namely family, work and
education. As I have mentioned earlier,
the right to a family is inherent in our nature; as well as the right to support
the family. Work is the means by which
we may sustain our families and if our society continues to view work in a materialistic
way without recognizing the value of the individual and the family he supports,
the whole of society ends up suffering.
The
home is the first school of work. Within the household everyone must
contribute, otherwise the household will quickly decline. This is difficult
with younger children, because their attention spans are very short. However,
the older they become the easier it gets and the more they will learn their
role. This also applies to the spouse; if one of the parties are not
contributing at a level to which is suitable, not only do the duties get
neglected, so too your relationship with your spouse will weaken. On the other
hand contributing more to your family is a great sign of love, which I promise
will never go unnoticed. We all have room to grow in our work ethic and it is
purely an issue of humility. The more we sacrifice for one another the
saintlier we become. This is a great lesson for the children, for when the
parents are working in harmony, they will mimic this example and understand the
concepts in their own lives. Again, the family is the primary place for
educating your children of the sanctity of work, it is also a great source of
grace for the spouses to sanctify themselves. We all want our children to grow
up and become autonomous citizens that can produce; training them to work
within the household is one of the best means in which we can prepare them for
that. I would recommend reading the Rule of St. Benedict on this topic.
Benedictines are wonderful models of prayer and work. I can think of no better
guide book for teaching someone how to sanctify their work.
There
are serious problems in our society regarding all three fundamentals I have
mentioned. The quality of our educational systems is poor, legislations that
demean the family are rampant, and our culture is driven by material and
capital gain, the effects of which is manifest in devaluation of the worker.
Families are where saints are born, education is a means by which we know of
God and His creation and work is God’s gift for us that we may sustain,
sanctify ourselves and give glory to God. There is a direct relationship
between all three, since they are all so interrelated. “If you ignore the
profundity of these fundamental realities, it is taking the short view rather
than the long in regard to the common good and therefore happiness” (Smith).
Each one of these subjects merit lengthy studies and many volumes of data to
adequately grasp each one. My goal however, is to briefly lay out how work is
interrelated within our sphere of living. With all this said, when you wake up
in the morning and start your day, remind yourself that your work is a gift, it
is here to make you better spiritually; it is the means by which we are
perfected, a tool provided to us to serve God and give him glory. You are the
subject of work not its object; are you improved by the work you do or is it
destroying you?
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