Some of Australia?s leading thinkers about Faith in the Workplace have contributed to our first newsletter. Kara Martin, John Beckett and Dave Benson have provided great insights into the faith and work conversation and their articles are worth taking a few moments out of your day to read.

We have also included some of the participants experiences of our ?Vocational Hubs?, and their articles describe how they have experienced the workplace conversation in a ?vocational hub? and the ways our faith can change this conversation.

The download is free.

If you would like to support Malyon Workplace here is how to do it:

Direct deposit it to the Malyon Cheque account, which has the following details:

BSB: 704-913

ACC No.: 400039608

All donations should reference it as ?Malyon Workplace Gift? and if then email to russell.matthews@malyon.edu.au providing a copy of the transfer receipt and then we will respond by providing a Malyon Workplace thankyou/acknowledgement/receipt.

 

The Conversation

And everyday we go to work,
Creating conversations,
Seeking opportunity,
In the friend,
Who shares,
The gift,
Given,
When the other is heard.

I wrote this poem when reflecting on the key themes I have discovered about work. I was reminded of the way that conversations shape our experience of work and the importance of friendship in creating meaning from what we do. There is a gift that can be given to everyone simply by allowing the other person to be heard.

As David Whyte reflects in one of his poems we make a mistake when we try to navigate the workplace by ourselves. He writes, “Your great mistake is to act the drama as if you were alone.” In the workplace it?s vital that a safe place is created for everyone. The loneliness that we all experience at times can be balanced by the sanctuary created by friendship.

A safe place enables a safe conversation where the person feels that they are heard. This conversation isn?t required to produce answers and it isn?t required to fix anything. As Rachel Remen says in My Grandfather?s Blessings, ?presence is a much more powerful catalyst for change than analysis?.