Teamwork as a Spiritual Value

For many people in the workplace, work is not a "calling" but a means to an end. Here is one thoughtful woman's reflection on the challenge of making her job have value and meaning without becoming worn down by her work experience.

Once a month or so, I get together with a friend who is a retired pastor, to work on a personal study. (We just finished Primary Speech by Ann and Barry Ulanov.) At one point, she was doing some interim work for a church that was looking for a full-time pastor. My friend expressed her deep satisfaction at being able to do that which she loves and feels "called" to do. She asked me what it was like to be in a job where that is not the case. I am the office manager for a lumberyard, and I also manage "accounts payable".

For many people in the workplace, work is not a "calling" but a means to an end. There are many reasons why we stay where we are: lack of education to get something better, fear of risking change, inability to go back to school because of family commitments, laziness to go back to school and get a different degree, loyalty to the people one works for and with, the desire to be productive – but not the need to have money to live ( a second income in a two-income family). The reasons are probably as varied as the people who hold them. The bottom line, however is that we choose to stay in the job.

The challenge then becomes to make the experience of being within that particular job have value and meaning rather than allow oneself to be worn down by the experience.

For example: Is teamwork a spiritual value? Of course it is! Teamwork is a thing of beauty when it is done well. It has the capacity to bring satisfaction to our efforts and learning to our minds and hearts. And always there is the challenge of learning to get along with all different kinds of people. People who hold different values make life challenging and interesting. It is a challenge to learn to be open to others, and yet hold your own ground when it is essential to do so. It is a challenge to strive to do one’s best when others on the team simply want to get the task done –well or not. The conflicts and tensions that are produced are the stuff of real spirituality – can I accept and work with the person who consistently half completes a task and leaves others to clean up? This is the place to be very clear and very intentional about what I want to accomplish in my interactions with this person.

Remember – all actions have rewards and consequences, both personally, for the other person, and for the other team members. Do I think that God is concerned about this? I consistently come away with the feeling that God is right in the middle of it, concerned about how I can learn to create a condition where love (my definition: “The desire to do good to others”) is found.

Does that mean that I don’t do the tough "calling on the carpet" response? Absolutely not. Love here is no wishy-washy ideal but a careful calling to craft a response born out of spiritual maturity and responsibility to do the best for the whole as well as for the individual and oneself.