We''re finally saying it out loud: work shouldn''t be this way. Burnout, poverty wages, no time for family, layoffs, gig work, and unemployment are just some of the things wrong with work as we know it today. But what should work be like? Why do some want to put the label "work" on family caregiving and other tasks of regular life? And why does it feel so hard to accept the choice between a meaningful career and one that pays the bills? In this timely and provocative book, ethicist Kate Ward shows that the answers to these questions lie in an understanding of human nature, our deepest desires and potential, and the possibilities and challenges when we join together in community. Drawing on the tradition of Catholic social teaching, Ward examines work through five key lenses: purpose, care, food, art, and pay. Making our mark on the world through intentional activity is a primary way humans find meaning and purpose, but this shouldn''t have to be through a paid job. Caregiving is a prime example of work-purposeful activity-that society undervalues despite the fact that every worker begins life receiving care. Food serves as a lens to examine the ways the same work can sometimes feel creative and fulfilling, at and other times repetitive and burdensome. Art is a purposeful activity that many regard as a leisure pursuit even though artists devote significant time, usually for very little money, to making their creative mark. Interpreting work through these lenses reveals that much needs to be changed about the relationship of work and pay to acknowledge the many ways people''s creative, purposeful activity helps society run. Long before today''s culture wars and scandals, the Catholic Church crafted a set of teachings on work and its place in human life that deeply responds to the failings, frustrations and potential of work as we know it today. The Church''s long historical lens, and its location everywhere in the world where there are poor people working, gives Catholic social thought a unique, experience-based perspective on how work can be part of a meaningful human life and what we need to do, together, to get there. Ward breaks open Catholic social thought on work and its role in a meaningful life in this first-ever book devoted to the topic. ...

Autorentext

Kate Ward

Klappentext

Work shouldn't be this hard-or this unfulfilling. Burnout, low wages, gig labor, layoffs, and the struggle to balance purpose with pay have made many of us question what work is, and what it could be--and should be.
Ethicist Kate Ward offers a fresh, timely perspective rooted in Catholic social teaching. She explores work not only as a paid job but as purposeful human activity, examining it through five lenses: purpose, care, food, art, and pay. Caregiving, often undervalued yet essential to every life, reminds us that work extends beyond the workplace. Food and art reveal how creative and repetitive labor shape our satisfaction, meaning, and sense of contribution. And pay exposes the persistent gaps between society's valuation of labor and the real costs of living.
Ward draws on the Church's centuries-long reflection on work, justice, and human dignity, showing how its teachings speak directly to the frustrations and potential of modern labor. This first book devoted to Catholic social thought on work illuminates how communities and societies can better recognize, support, and value meaningful human activity.
Making a Life encourages readers to rethink what work is for, who it serves, and how it can nurture human flourishing. Whether you are a student, a professional, or someone simply seeking more purpose in daily life, Ward provides a compelling roadmap for understanding work as a path to both personal meaning and the common good.