Boldly living your faith at work can bolster your career

So often we’re told that we have to separate faith from work — check it at the door and pick it up when we leave. However, I would argue that work is the time that I need my faith the most. It’s the largest amount of time I spend with people. To be fully myself, joyful and find a deeper sense of purpose, my faith must be present.

We spend approximately 1/3 of our lives at work, 1/3 sleeping and 1/3 for “leisure”. If 1/3 (or more) of our lives are spent at work, why do we feel we have to separate our deepest core beliefs, the very thing that makes us truly who we are and inspires us?

Many employees suffer silently at their desks being afraid to talk about faith or their values. I challenge you to break the stigma. Here’s what happened when I started putting my faith first instead of checking it at the door:

1. I became more inspired. By praying over the work I had to do, I found more passion to do it. Finding passion in my work made me a better employee. It led to a more clearly defined career path, which resulted in more overall joy and satisfaction with my job. Those two factors led directly to higher productivity and motivation to show up every day and perform.
2. I became more intentional. Forget the water cooler talk, it’s exhausting. Let’s talk about faith, family, something you’re struggling with, something of importance. I was no longer afraid to bring up these taboo topics. Through intentional conversations, I became more invested in my coworkers’ lives and we built stronger friendships and teams.
3. I let go of the little things. I offer them up. By giving it to the Lord, He removes the urge to respond back harshly to someone, to gossip about the person, to sit in my anger and become unproductive, etc. He allows me to move forward and extend grace.
4. I found growth. Turns out, when you’re more passionate and care about people more, you do better work. That growth led to more responsibility, leadership roles and deeper trust with coworkers.

If you’re not having faithful conversations at work or bringing your faith into your work, I challenge you to start. From my experience, the most successful leaders and companies are the ones that truly value their faith and values. Why? It instills a culture of integrity, honesty, joy, passion and good-hearted people that truly care about the company and others. Collectively, you serve a higher purpose so, collectively, you succeed.

Don’t know how to start? Don’t overthink it. When someone asks about your weekend, tell them you went to church. When someone is having a hard time, tell them you’ll pray for them. And then go and actually do it! We need to pray for our coworkers and leaders every day. By being more open to sharing simple lines about faith, you’ll be amazed at the conversations that will enfold. The starter conversations will turn into sharing depth together, and that depth will turn into a solid foundation for trust and friendship.

Let go of the stigma. Break free from the ideas that Corporate America has chained to us. Faith and work go hand-in-hand. Celebrate it, and watch your career unfold.