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R
ringil
Guest
Great message for Americans to hear, where there is a worship of industry.
We need to work to live- not live to work.
We need to work to live- not live to work.
I
Inisfallen
Guest
Amen to this. Both my wife and I work (we really don’t have any choice), but we put our family, especially our young daughter, ahead of career development and the like.
From the link in the OP:
From the link in the OP:
Our “moments of rest” with our daughter are the best moments of our lives. Nothing at work could possibly compare.
M
Midwest88
Guest
Sound advice. Many are too focused on their career - careerists, they’re called, and don’t have much of a balance in life. The “work hard, play hard” also fails to find balance since usually it’s about getting sloshed on the weekends and no mention of development of ones religious life. Also, many of these careerists are either single or have a significant other, but no wishes to get married with children in thought.
F
FollowChrist34
Guest
Amen. As my yoga instructor likes to say, nobody ever regrets not spending more time at the office on their deathbed. Too many people (and the US in general) make a God of work. Never ceases to amaze me how much of our life we put into such pointless toil and stress. I know it has value and is good for you - but as the Pope says, balance is everything, absolutely essential.
S
stinkcat_14
Guest
I have a friend who probably works 60-70 hours a week. The result was that he didn’t raise his kids right and now they are on the parental dole. The funny thing is that he himself worked himself up from working class roots to the upper class. His kids are mostly bums, although highly educated bums.
T
tomarin
Guest
When you think about it, work is a big part of all of our lives. Imagine if your job was taken away, or you no longer had to go to work - what on earth would you do with all that free time? That said, I do feel that we tend to become enslaved to one thing or another (usually a form of pleasure), and work is one of those things for some people. That’s a mindset I’ve never understood, so Pope Francis is preaching to the choir as far as I’m concerned.
M
mikekle
Guest
Anyone else think this may not be coincidence? I think maybe it was ‘set up’ this way, just another small thing to draw people away from God, I mean, its really only like this in the US, many other countries, people do not work even close to the hours most US workers do, many other countries, very very long lunches, vacations are common, yet in the US, many people dont even take their vacations, they just keep on working.
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tomarin
Guest
It’s all relative. Japan is worse, as far as employers expecting employees to be worker bees and nothing else.
P
philipl
Guest
I wonder what people he is referring too? What people work too hard? Europeans? Americans? Mexicans? Argentinians?
C
CaptFun
Guest
I’m all over this one lately! 
And just when I was going to confess a degree of sloth as I await re-employment in the fall semester!
I’m not lolling at home … I’m … following the spirit of the new encyclical! Not driving to work … saving the planet from climate change, that’s me! I don’t really GET how all that is somehow related to Jesus mind you … but havin’ some o’ my sins explained away before I ever get to the confessional - that just could be some GREAT Popin’ there!
I’d write more but … I fear becoming a slave to my “volunteer” work on these boards (posting).
AH … THERE’s the catch. Families. I live alone. drat.
And just when I was going to confess a degree of sloth as I await re-employment in the fall semester!
I’m not lolling at home … I’m … following the spirit of the new encyclical! Not driving to work … saving the planet from climate change, that’s me! I don’t really GET how all that is somehow related to Jesus mind you … but havin’ some o’ my sins explained away before I ever get to the confessional - that just could be some GREAT Popin’ there!
I’d write more but … I fear becoming a slave to my “volunteer” work on these boards (posting).
AH … THERE’s the catch. Families. I live alone. drat.
J
jc4751
Guest
I’ve seen the phrase “We were made for work” thrown around by both Catholics and Protestants. At a gut level, it seems to be a very “Americanist” notion, and isn’t supported by Catholic teaching. Moreover, I’ve seen it be used by “Christian” executives, and I can’t help but feel there’s an exploitative edge to it, especially when coupled with the context it was used in.
We were made to know God, love God, and to serve God (Baltimore catechism). Nowhere in there is anything about being a laboring drone. If were meant to simply work and do nothing else, that would really make us no different from a cow or a bee, neither of which have free will, and both of which are used as resources.
To put people in a position of feeling like they must work to excess, in order to satisfy the expectations of others, seems like a sin, though I don’t know the exact term for it. Personally, I was on a team that used to work 60 to 80 hours a week, because I believed that was the expectation and what made a “good worker.” In the end, it served no one, because our work work was just good enough to “get by” (that happens when you’re exhausted), and the time away from family and personal pursuits meant that it contributed to a climate of cynicism and defeat.
Now, I won’t do over 40-45 hours a week. It had consequences for me at the last place, but the current place I work at is run by people who understand the need to keep some sort of balance in our lives. I can’t help but feel that might eventually be the future, as people begin to realize that the “rewards” for excessive work do not make up for what is lost, especially with children.
We were made to know God, love God, and to serve God (Baltimore catechism). Nowhere in there is anything about being a laboring drone. If were meant to simply work and do nothing else, that would really make us no different from a cow or a bee, neither of which have free will, and both of which are used as resources.
To put people in a position of feeling like they must work to excess, in order to satisfy the expectations of others, seems like a sin, though I don’t know the exact term for it. Personally, I was on a team that used to work 60 to 80 hours a week, because I believed that was the expectation and what made a “good worker.” In the end, it served no one, because our work work was just good enough to “get by” (that happens when you’re exhausted), and the time away from family and personal pursuits meant that it contributed to a climate of cynicism and defeat.
Now, I won’t do over 40-45 hours a week. It had consequences for me at the last place, but the current place I work at is run by people who understand the need to keep some sort of balance in our lives. I can’t help but feel that might eventually be the future, as people begin to realize that the “rewards” for excessive work do not make up for what is lost, especially with children.
M
MacBP
Guest
How timely. I was just reading an expose done by the New York Times on the work culture. Without even getting into the poisonous work environment, people worked 80+ hours a week, were expected to be available 24/7, and would routinely be fired or placed on “performance review” should their output decrease for things like pregnancy or sickness.
As you might expect, the majority of people were disgusted at the way Amazon treats their employees, but there was a sizable minority of people who felt that Amazon was not only justified in their work schedules, but that they were acting virtuously.
For the life of me I can’t figure out why. I hope to, one day, become a physician. As part of becoming a physician, I can expect a few years of 18-26 hour shifts in residency. I would consider that unfortunate, to say the least, but its its temporary and in service of a reasonable end goal. It is a means, not and end. But for people who work at amazon… why? What kind of life is that? I’m sure the money is good, but its not as if you’d have the time to use it. That kind of life has to take a toll on one’s relationships, let alone any attempt at parenting. That doesn’t even begin address the spiritual toll that must take on a person.
As you might expect, the majority of people were disgusted at the way Amazon treats their employees, but there was a sizable minority of people who felt that Amazon was not only justified in their work schedules, but that they were acting virtuously.
For the life of me I can’t figure out why. I hope to, one day, become a physician. As part of becoming a physician, I can expect a few years of 18-26 hour shifts in residency. I would consider that unfortunate, to say the least, but its its temporary and in service of a reasonable end goal. It is a means, not and end. But for people who work at amazon… why? What kind of life is that? I’m sure the money is good, but its not as if you’d have the time to use it. That kind of life has to take a toll on one’s relationships, let alone any attempt at parenting. That doesn’t even begin address the spiritual toll that must take on a person.
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