Guest post by YSN writer Michael Chen We have all heard the overused clichés such as “my job is not so fun, but at least the pay is good” or “do what you love and you will feel like you haven’t worked a day in your life.” But what is the value and meaning of work?
There are several reasons for working, whether you are working with a salary or volunteering and sacrificing time for your community.
Whatever your part-time job or future career aspirations, remember that working allows you to apply the talents God has given you to do everyday tasks, writes Michael Chen.
When we work, we give back to the community through our talents. If work sounds tedious, we can remind ourselves that when we work with God in mind, we are fulfilling His plan for us. As we are creations of God, working allows us to apply the talents that God gave us to do everyday tasks. He is glorified because we are using our education, creativity and merit to our full potential. In doing so, we also meet the needs and demands of our community.
When we work, we give back to the community through our talents. If work sounds tedious, we can remind ourselves that when we work with God in mind, we are fulfilling His plan for us. As we are creations of God, working allows us to apply the talents that God gave us to do everyday tasks. He is glorified because we are using our education, creativity and merit to our full potential. In doing so, we also meet the needs and demands of our community.
Labour is meant to be rewarding. If someone volunteers in their community, such as helping in a parish, seniors’ home, school or library, they are working towards the common good. They are benefitting themselves because they not only gain new skills, but they are helping other people. If someone has a paid job, they are meeting their universal need to work and using their skills. In both scenarios, the workers become responsible and gain self-respect, confidence and dignity for the work they do. Not only so, they are also making their communities and economies stronger.

According to Pope John Paul II’s encyclical, “Laborem Exercens,” we are all called to “earn our daily bread” through work.

However, that doesn’t mean that we are simply lowly valued workers to be mistreated as part of an expendable ‘means of production.’ It is apparent in social justice that workers’ rights will need to be protected whenever workers themselves are exploited. We have workers’ rights and the right to create and join unions to protect these rights. “The right to a just wage and the personal security of the worker and his or her family” are some of the rights mentioned in the encyclical. Most importantly, our dignity must be respected when carrying out our duties and participating in society.
As young Catholics, it is hard to overlook the value of money and working to attain it. But we must also consider the spiritual side of working. We are all God’s instruments and with work, we are helping in His service. We should remember that work is “for man” and not the other way around, e.g. a man’s sole purpose is “for work.” We are working to better our society and ourselves and we should never allow work to consume us entirely.
Ultimately, working is meant to be rewarding and fulfilling because we are meeting God’s plan for us. In the encyclical, it is said that “through work, man not only transforms nature, adapting it to his own needs” but he also becomes a more “fulfilled human being.” So perhaps it is true when someone says, “Do what you love and you will feel like you haven’t worked a day in your life.”