take this quiz:
do your work values reflect your personal values?

A number of months ago, a man explained to me how, due to a personal crisis, there was a radical change in the relationship between his personal and professional lives. Over the years, these lives were separate and distinct. Values that applied to his home life did not apply to his professional life. He spent many hours working and socializing to further his career. He believed he was doing the right thing for both his career and his family. Then, his life was turned upside down when he received a phone call from a friend, informing him that unless he did something soon, his teenage son would probably be dead because of drugs and alcohol. He had no clue!

As he and his family worked through the crisis and his son healed, this man embarked on a journey of faith in which he focused on better aligning his priorities and values across the whole of his life. He decided that it was necessary to extend his core Christian values to his work. As he integrated these values into the activities of his team, the performance of his department improved and others in the company began to take notice. Today, he is president of the company and the values by which the company operates are more than just window dressing; decisions are made according to these values. Furthermore, the company has prospered significantly over this time and his family life is stronger.

Take this short quiz to help you examine how you balance your values:
1 What do you value most?
2 Where do you spend most of your time?
3 Is where you spend your time consistent with what you value most?
4 Are the values you live by at work consistent with your values at home?
5 Do you trust that if you put your Catholic Christian values first in making all life decisions, that the other facets of your life will fall into place more naturally?

Vatican II’s Pastoral Constitution on the Church in the Modern World states that by our labor we support ourselves and our family, and “can exercise genuine charity and be a partner in the work of bringing divine creation to perfection.” (GS 67) This implies that our work, our family and charity need to be integrated and are not separate, distinct efforts. Bottom line: We have a responsibility to place our Christian values of service and charity at the heart of everything we do, including our work. If we do this, then all aspects of our lives will fall into place, because we are contributing to the continuing work of building God’s kingdom.

Originally Published: July/August 2004