Working for Better: A New Approach to Faith at Work | Elaine Howard Ecklund and Denise Daniels

In this episode, host John Terrill welcomes Elaine Howard Ecklund and Denise Daniels to discuss their new book, Working for Better: A New Approach to Faith at Work. Drawing from extensive research, including surveys of over 16,000 people and nearly 300 interviews, Elaine and Denise explore how Christians can live out their faith in the workplace with integrity, courage, and compassion.

🧠 Key Topics Covered

· The Double-Edged Nature of Calling: How a sense of calling can both inspire and blind us to workplace injustices.

· Faith in a Pluralistic Workplace: Navigating religious diversity while remaining true to Christian convictions.

· Radical Embrace: The central thesis of the book—engaging others with respect and openness, even across belief systems.

Five Core Tensions:

1. Secular vs. Sacred Work

2. Protecting Ourselves vs. Protecting Others

3. Individual Ethics vs. Systems Thinking

4. Restrictive Gender Roles vs. Flourishing Together

5. Verbal Proclamation vs. Principled Pluralism

(Bonus Tension: Work vs. Rest/Sabbath)

· The Role of Rest: Why Sabbath matters and how to integrate rhythms of rest into daily life.

· Empirical Insights: Surprising data on who feels called to their work—and who doesn’t.

📊 Research Highlights

· Only 1 in 5 Christians surveyed feel a strong sense of calling in their work.

· People in service-oriented or nonprofit roles report higher levels of calling than those in finance or knowledge work.

· Those with more organizational power are more likely to feel called—but higher income does not correlate with calling.

📚 About the Guests

· Elaine Howard Ecklund is the Herbert S. Autrey Chair in Social Sciences, professor of sociology, and director of the Boniuk Institute at Rice University.

· Denise Daniels is Hudson T. Harrison Professor of Entrepreneurship at Wheaton College.

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🌐 Learn More

Visit https://slbf.org/ for more about the SL Brown Foundation and Upper House.

Explore the book: Working for Better: A New Approach to Faith at Work (available now). https://www.ivpress.com/working-for-better