When what you can see on the outside is not exactly encouraging, or remotely aligned with your hopes and expectations, it’s hard to have faith, whatever you may call your own faith. When the gap between what you can see and what you desperately want to believe widens so much your vision of the future gets blurry, believing becomes a hard target to reach…Yet paradoxically enough, it’s the very faith that tends to be compromised in times of challenge that is acutely needed to go through these times…
Like many, I’ve certainly struggled with keeping my faith intact in times of trouble. As we currently face the coronavirus pandemic, keeping the faith is especially challenging, in light of the monumental threats to our health, both physical and mental, as well as our economic stability.
However, despite some of the impossible challenges we may face, keeping the faith is essential to not only surviving, but also thriving in times of crisis. I’ve also learnt that one of the keys to doing so is to believe beyond what you can see, and re-visit your faith in a positive, productive but also forgiving way:
What’s your faith anchored in?
Crisis forces us to question and re-focus on our core beliefs and assumptions about life. It stops us in our busy and familiar tracks, and stills us enough to consider what we’ve been anchoring ourselves, lives, careers, and ultimately faith in. I know I’ve struggled with this as I’ve had to seriously ask myself during this coronavirus pandemic when many are losing their jobs and others are working under different, remote circumstances, how much of my own faith is based on my own circumstances.
What’s your faith anchored in? Is it anchored in your own self-worth, your spirituality, your career, your current socio-economic condition, or any other factor? If so, how is your faith anchor holding up in times of crisis?
Re-direct the core of your faith
Questioning what your faith is anchored in also prompts you to re-direct it. For some, it may mean reinforcing its core and re-directing it towards your current circumstances. For others, it may mean taking an entirely new direction when it comes to your beliefs, and sometimes even doubting your faith. For me, it has been a matter of focusing on my inner belief process, as opposed to its outer manifestations.
How are you re-directing the core of your faith in times of crisis? How are you modifying or developing your key assumptions or beliefs when crisis hits?
Reframe your faith
You may have to re-frame your faith in a more practical way to address your current circumstances, especially during challenging times. What happens when you can no longer practice your faith as you are used to, when places of worship are closed and large regroupments of people are prohibited? What do you resort to when you have to worship and praise differently? How do you adjust to your faith looking and feeling different in the face of new events?
During this coronavirus crisis when large groupings are people are prohibited, what I’ve been used to in terms of gathering in common places to worship has been fundamentally changed. As a result, I’ve had to re-frame my faith in a more practical way, and find ways and spaces to worship in my own home with my family.
How are you experiencing your faith in times of crisis?
Being a woman of faith at work can come with its sets of blessings, but also its fair share of challenges. If you’re one, you may already know this, and know it all too well. Many workplaces are not observant of faith-related practices, and may also be unfortunately dealing with religious prejudice in different forms. This is in addition to being subjected to the scrutiny and negative opinions of co-workers and managers who may not fully understand the commitments and realities that come with your faith. This is even more complex with the intersectionality of gender, religion, and sometimes race as well.
As a Christian working woman, it’s been important for me to understand how I could thrive in my faith in all areas of my life, including in my work. From my own experiences and chatting with other women of faith, I’ve learnt three (3) particularly powerful tips for women of faith to thrive in the workplace, not in spite of, but with the fullness of their faith:
Understand that others may not understand your faith
Faith is very much a personal matter, although it affects all the external areas of one’s life. It’s also a part of one’s life that others may not adhere to, understand or wish to have anything to do with. As such, it’s crucial to make peace with the fact that others around you in the workplace, from your co-workers to your managers, may not be familiar with this part of your experience.
Not only will this save you a lot of heartache when faced at times with any form of insensitivity or push-back, but it will also help you extend grace to others. This is certainly not an excuse for callous behavior on the part of anyone, but an invitation to consider the many reasons, from backgrounds to education, why those you share an office space with think differently than you do when it comes to faith.
Speak up as to your faith-related needs
In the same token, it’s also important for you to voice your needs as related to your faith. I have a Muslim friend who makes sure to build into her calendar religious holidays and ask for those days off well in advance. While Christian holidays may be recognized in the common calendar, other religious holidays may not be, hence the need to speak up and express your needs. As a woman of faith, you may also need added flexibility to attend faith-cased events or to prepare for holidays and events.
The point is, honoring your faith at work is also a matter of not repressing your needs and commitments, while still keeping on excelling in your work. You don’t have to struggle unnecessarily or silence yourself, when a simple conversation may afford you the time and flexibility you may need.
Use your faith as a bridge, not a wall
Faith of all kinds and forms should serve as a bridge to bring people together, rather than a wall to separate individuals. Many, if not most faiths, have in common a foundation of love and acceptance of others. As a woman of faith in the workplace, standing on this foundation is the most powerful way to thrive and help others thrive as well. Whether through inclusive and accepting teamwork, or by treating your co-workers and managers with grace, displaying the inclusive foundation of your faith can go a long way.
Use it also as an opportunity to educate those around you who may not know about your faith. I would rather someone ask questions than incorrectly assume anything about myself or my faith. This is a wonderful opportunity to create more understanding and better communication in and outside of the workplace. And isn’t it the goal after all?
And now I give you a new commandment: love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. (John 13:34)
Do all your work in love. (1 Corinthians 16:14)
Foster diversity and inclusiveness for others
Respecting differences in faith in the workplace is part of fostering diversity and inclusiveness for everyone. Your experience as a woman of faith at work can help improve the experiences of other women like yourself. This can be done by starting a conversation around it, expressing yours and others’ similar needs, or suggesting educational opportunities around this. You are never too powerless to change your environment.
The more we all know about religious diversity, the more we’re able to create and nurture an inclusive environment for all. This may very start with you…
Are you a woman of faith in the workplace? How have you been thriving in your faith at work?
Faith and religion are some of the few topics that are considered taboo at work, along with politics. In general, we simply avoid talking about faith at work. In most, if not many instances, we also don’t see how faith can integrated with our work, or how it could impact it in any way. We tend to separate our faith with our careers, believing that they are two entirely different areas of our lives.
I used to do the same, until I realized that if my faith is an integral part of who I am, then it also impacts my career and the work I do. Whatever is part of your experience, mindset or worldview, does influence your career as well.
It took me a long time to find a way to accept and integrate my faith and career in a way that didn’t deny either. If you’re wondering how you can also do it for yourself, here are 5 lessons I learnt:
Acknowledge where you stand
One of the most important aspects of integrating your faith and your work is to acknowledge where you stand. Being realistic about where you’re at in terms of your personal and professional growth, as well as in your career, will help you assess the best ways to integrate your faith and work.
Use your faith as motivation to excel
My faith has always been behind my motivation to genuinely and authentically succeed. It’s also been the substance of my hope and resilience, even as I faced professional obstacles and roadblocks. Having faith allowed me to believe in a higher purpose for my existence, which in turn translated into doing the best work I could in whatever capacity I was in.
It’s less about religion than about how you do your work and live your life
When we talk about faith and work, many people often think that it’s about religious expression, which can be perceived negatively in the workplace. However, I’ve found that it’s more about how you choose to live your life than about your actual beliefs. Your ethical values, as well as the way you treat your work and the people around you, say more about what you believe in than any religious symbol would.
Preserve your authenticity
In my instances, I’ve found myself considering whether I should wear a mask at work when it came to my faith. However, I realized that what we believe in is nothing we can really, or should, hide. Part of being authentic, in and outside of the workplace, is preserving who we truly are by not denying our beliefs. This doesn’t equate imposing our beliefs on others. However, it also doesn’t require being inauthentic in that aspect.
Take advantage of what your organization offers
Many organizations and businesses offer places of worship catering to various faiths and beliefs, which is a wonderful sign of diversity and inclusion in the workplace. I have taken advantage of these, and have found that it’s brought a certain level of peace and serenity in my day. It’s ok to integrate your work and your faith in this way as well, and honoring your organization’s efforts and commitment to the diversity of their employees.
All in all, integrating your faith and work is not as complex as it may seem. It can actually help you bring more motivation, peace and serenity in your work, while keeping your authenticity intact.
Now your turn: How do you integrate your faith and work?
When we speak of faith at work, many start envisioning us preaching the Word, getting filled with the Spirit and converting souls, right there at our cubicles. While it may have been true at some point, the true meaning of faith at work, in the words of entrepreneur Sandi Krakowski, is in its practice, rather than the preaching of it. Regardless of our beliefs, Faith should make us better people, at work and in life. As we believe in a Higher Good and a higher purpose of our lives, we also strive for the best we can be and the best we can produce. That includes the work we do, the people we deal with at work, and the legacy we leave through our careers.
Faith at work is not about beliefs, and definitely not about religion. It’s about who we are in our daily lives. It’s about the values we are sorely missing in our business world, values like honesty, integrity, wholeness, and love, yes love! After all, haven’t the latest corporate scandals, from Enron and WorldCom to Lehman Brothers and Bernie Madoff, taught us to distrust corporations and their agents? Aren’t regulations like the Sarbanes Oxley Act and the Dodd-Frank Act stern reminders that some of our most essential values have been violated in the worse way? Isn’t our lack of current faith in the markets and the financial systems as a whole, a result of our own lack of faith in general? And isn’t our own lack of faith threatening to ruin the very fruits of our labor and our careers?
At a time when most millenials would be ready to sacrifice a work friendship for a promotion, and employee loyalty is becoming a curse, fear is also at an all-times high among employees and companies alike, as we no longer have much to look forward to or believe in. Yet, we still spend the majority of our lives working. Is it time to stop fearing, and start believing? Is it time to stop our lack of faith from ruining our careers?
For the longest time, I avoided using the F-word at work. Not that F-word, the other one. As a matter of fact, even thinking about it at work would seem strange. And before you start even thinking we’re diving into some kind of religious tangent, let me clarify I am speaking about Faith, not religion.
All throughout my career, I’ve questioned myself about what Faith meant to my career, or even if the two should be acquainted in any manner. What does it matter to our careers that we even believe in anything? How could the wide subjectivity, breadth and intangibility of Faith even affect the very tangible, very concrete (albeit often illogical) world of work? And as much as most belief systems emphasize the value of work, does this make them intrinsically linked to our careers? Does Faith even belong in our careers? Is it better to keep Faith and work separate, or could Faith actually enhance our careers?
After trying both approaches, I would argue the latter. While I tended to restrict my Faith only to certain specific, secluded activities (usually reserved to hurried Sunday mornings), as I started applying the same Faith to my work, I noticed it…worked. I noticed speaking Life and blessings onto my day job did bring jus that. That thanking God for the favor I didn’t have yet, the positive results I had yet to obtain, produced those same results, and even better. Was it magic, wishful thinking or excess coffee? No, and neither was it religious infatuation. It was simply believing in the things that are not seen, the strength within, the power within. It was inquiring within…
So what’s Faith gotta do with it? More than we may think…Because embarking on days filled to the brim with to-do’s, meetings, and performance expectations without enough spiritual or mental preparation doesn’t work. Neither does failing to envision, speak and manifest our dreams, inspiration and calling. Because not believing you can, is failing before even starting.
And because Faith, as strange as it may seem, has got everything to do with it…
