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44
magis
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may 2014
Pitch perfect
Callings in
Life and Work
Kishore was a star performer for his
department. He had risen in ranks purely
based on his ability and sincerity. Everyone
recognised his capability. His colleagues
thought that he would surely head the
department by the next year. So, it came
as a surprise to all when in his late 30s he
decided to leave and join a music troupe.
Apart from his devotion to work, those
close to him knew him to be passionate
about music. When asked, “Why did you
take such a decision?” He humbly respond-
ed, “A constant voice from within told me
that this is what I should do.
T
he above
vignette is a common
knowledge in our social mi-
lieu. People may have a story
of this kind to tell from among
relatives, friends and col-
leagues. We find dozens of qualified people
making a switch in life. Who does not like
to do something that resonates with their
inner self, their talents and skills? Since life
and job satisfaction have been found to be
closely related to various dimensions of life
including good family life, health and well-
being, today organisations too are searching
for means to help employees find work and
life satisfaction. Moreover, since well-
being, both physical and psychological, is
important, people are seeking employment
that not only providing necessities of life
but also enriches their lives in the long run.
In their search for meaningful work people
make decisions that appear unconventional
and absurd to others. Such an approach to
professional life gets two kinds of respons-
es viz. admiration by a few and bewilder-
ment, apprehension and displeasure by
others.
Understanding Calling
In career counselling and vocational
psychology the above behaviour has come
to be called seeking and following one’s
calling. However, this is not the only way
people experience their work. In an attempt
to understand the way people perceive their
work, Wrzesniewski and colleagues (1997),
in one of the most referred researches on
this topic, found that people describe their
relationship with work in three differ-
ent ways — job, career and calling. They
defined job as that orientation in which
people are seeking only for material benefit
excluding other dimensions of fulfilment.
Career orientation is that in which one
seeks the pay, prestige and privileges that
come with advancement in one’s work life
because of its relation to social standing,
power and rise in self-esteem. Calling is an
experience of fulfilment of work because
of the work itself. It is not because of the
financial or social benefits associated with
it but for the sheer pleasure that a particular
work brings.
Calling, though traditionally a Christian
concept, highlighted by Protestant reform-
ers Martin Luther and John Calvin, has
come to be accepted in research through
Robert N Bellah and colleagues’ work
Habits of the Heart
where job, career and
calling orientation was first identified.
Max Weber, in
Protestant Ethic and the
Spirit of Capitalism
, first highlighted the
importance of God’s will in one’s work life
as propounded by Calvin and found it to
be the reason for success of capitalism in
Protestant countries. It is defined in terms
of accepting what God has destined for one
to do in this world through one’s work and
professional life. Lately, calling has been
researched as an important dimension of
one’s employment leading to life satisfac-
tion and job satisfaction.
Callings in Life and Work
While research pertaining to calling
has been limited to one’s relation to work,
calling as such cannot be limited only to
work domain. Looking at the beginnings
By fr Nelson D’Silva, SJ
