A recent study, from Rice University, highlights the complex dynamics surrounding individuals who experience a religious or spiritual calling in relation to their work. While such a calling can serve as a powerful motivator, it can also potentially lead to instances of employee mistreatment and exploitation going unaddressed.

In the initial phase of the research, the scholars conducted 186 in-depth interviews with religious individuals across the United States. The findings revealed four significant ways in which these individuals perceive a “calling to work”:

• Viewing work as an opportunity to utilize the gifts and opportunities bestowed by a higher power, such as God.
• Recognizing work as a platform to share or exemplify one’s faith, particularly in environments conducive to such expression.
• Embracing work as a means of generating goods or providing services that contribute to the betterment of society.
• Regarding work as a conduit to fulfill a higher purpose by acquiring resources to serve others, be it one’s family or religious community.

Multifaceted nature

These distinct dimensions shed light on the multifaceted nature of the relationship between religious individuals and their vocational pursuits. However, the research also draws attention to the potential risks associated with this calling, including the possibility of employee mistreatment and exploitation persisting unaddressed within such contexts.

“These perspectives are not mutually exclusive, and more often than not our respondents expressed conceptions that encompass multiple ways of thinking about their work as a calling,” the researchers explain. “What is significant here is that the way work is viewed as a calling is not always understood in the same way but is very much a process of individual interpretation and motivation.”

The researchers found this so-called “call to work” across all of the religions they analyzed. Nevertheless, the researchers highlight a noteworthy observation in the second study, emphasizing that while religion and spirituality can serve as potent motivators for workers, they can also contribute to burnout or exploitation of employees.

Discrimination at work

Drawing upon data derived from a comprehensive survey encompassing over 9,000 individuals and designed to be nationally representative, the analysis reveals a significant correlation between perceived discrimination at the workplace and diminished job satisfaction.

This association holds true across various dimensions, including race, gender, and religion. However, intriguingly, the study also finds that workers who perceive their work as a spiritual calling tend to experience higher levels of job satisfaction and are less inclined to perceive discrimination within their professional environments.

“While it’s encouraging that religion and spirituality have such a positive impact on job satisfaction and can help employees get through rough patches, it is concerning that it could potentially influence their work experience in a way that allows discrimination to go unchecked,” they conclude. “Because individuals feel a calling to their work, they may be more likely to overlook poor or outright illegal treatment and other issues that can create a toxic work environment.”