The fifth of the seven themes of Catholic social teaching is “The Dignity of Work and the Rights of Workers.” As with the other themes, this one is ultimately connected to being created in the image and likeness of God. 

 

With this theme, we see that we can “image” God’s creativity with our own. Just as God’s “work” (as it is sometimes referred to) in the creation stories was to bring into existence the world that we live in, so too do we have the ability to “create” the world to be a certain way through our activity (for better or for worse). 

 

While our understanding of what it means to work is going to be quite different than God creating all that exists, nevertheless, we have been given the ability to make, shape or organize what we find in this world. 

 

And just as God’s ability to create results in things actually being created, so too is our ability to work meant to bring about actual results in the world around us. 

 

As a theme of Catholic social teaching, “work” in this context is primarily focused on the kind of work that might also be called one’s livelihood — those activities that a person engages in so that they can provide for themselves and their families. 

 

For us collectively as human beings, work is essential for life. Clearly, “work” might vary greatly depending on who people are, where they live, what natural gifts they have, their age, and the other circumstances of their lives. 

 

The work that a high school student is involved in and the work of a 50-year-old father of four will likely be very different. But both can be engaged in meaningful activity and make contributions that impact the people in their lives and the world around them. And both have certain rights simply as a person engaged in work.

 

Part of our Christian conception of work comes from the recognition that that ability to work is itself a part of our dignity as human beings. Work, therefore, is in keeping with God’s plan for humanity and how He made us to be. 

 

In fact, we can say that our ability to work is one of God’s gifts to us. This is because it not only

provides us with a means through which we can help shape the world around us in keeping with His design (if we choose to), but it also enables us to provide for all of those basic needs necessary to sustain human life itself. 

 

Even beyond these more obvious examples, the work we do in life changes us in the process. It can even be a source of our growth in virtue. 

 

Obviously, this might be because of the particular type of work we are exposed to. For example, a nurse might end up seeing things and helping people at particularly difficult times, which can play a role in shaping the particular virtues that are acquired in his or her life. This is true of many different types of work we might think about. But regardless of the particulars, work has the ability to shape people. 

 

This theme of Catholic social teaching provides us with guidance for the work we do in our lives. It also helps guide our efforts to shape the world so that it better upholds the human dignity of workers. 

 

As an example, this theme reminds us that work exists for people, not people for work. This means that in work the priority must always be placed on the good of the human person — something that cannot be lost sight of in the name of efficiency, productivity, cost, or other considerations. 

 

A person is always infinitely more valuable than what he or she is able to produce. As important and essential as work is, at the end of the day, we are human beings, not human doings.