Working for Better - by Elaine Howard Ecklund & Denise Daniels (Paperback)

About the Book

"Elevate Your Every Day. In a world where workplaces are becoming increasingly diverse, Working for Better by Elaine Howard Ecklund and Denise Daniels offers a timely guide for Christians navigating the modern faith-at-work landscape. Drawing from over twenty years of research and personal insights, Working for Better presents a groundbreaking exploration of how to express Christian faith in professional settings without compromising beliefs or alienating others. Through detailed studies involving focus groups, surveys of more than 15,000 workers, and interviews with over 300 individuals, Ecklund and Daniels identify five key tensions in the faith-at-work movement. With compelling stories and practical applications, Working for Better addresses the need for Christian workers and leaders to adapt to cultural shifts, offering guidance for a more redemptive presence at work. Each chapter concludes with thought-provoking questions for individual reflection or group discussion, making this book an essential resource for anyone seeking to integrate faith with their professional life. Whether you're a Christian worker, workplace leader, or pastor guiding others, Working for Better invites you to consider how to flourish in a rapidly changing world. As workplaces continue to evolve, the ability to maintain one's spiritual values while contributing positively to the organizational culture becomes ever more crucial. Working for Better not only equips readers with the wisdom and tools needed to face such challenges but also inspires them to become agents of change, promoting a more inclusive and harmonious work environment"--

Book Synopsis

Elevate Your Every Day

In a world where workplaces are becoming increasingly diverse, Working for Better by Elaine Howard Ecklund and Denise Daniels offers a timely guide for Christians navigating the modern faith-at-work landscape. Drawing from over twenty years of research and personal insights, Working for Better presents a groundbreaking exploration of how to express Christian faith in professional settings without compromising beliefs or alienating others.

Through detailed studies involving focus groups, surveys of more than 15,000 workers, and interviews with over 300 individuals, Ecklund and Daniels identify five key tensions in the faith-at-work movement. With compelling stories and practical applications, Working for Better addresses the need for Christian workers and leaders to adapt to cultural shifts, offering guidance for a more redemptive presence at work. Each chapter concludes with thought-provoking questions for individual reflection or group discussion, making this book an essential resource for anyone seeking to integrate faith with their professional life. Whether you're a Christian worker, workplace leader, or pastor guiding others, Working for Better invites you to consider how to flourish in a rapidly changing world.

As workplaces continue to evolve, the ability to maintain one's spiritual values while contributing positively to the organizational culture becomes ever more crucial. Working for Better not only equips readers with the wisdom and tools needed to face such challenges but also inspires them to become agents of change, promoting a more inclusive and harmonious work environment.

Review Quotes

"Working for Better is a groundbreaking book. Elaine Howard Ecklund and Denise Daniels have conducted a seminal study on faith and work--and now they're leveraging their research findings to help the rest of us untangle how people of faith navigate toward better in the face of workplace issues that often feel complex and divisive in today's world."

--Michaela O'Donnell, author of Make Work Matter and Life in Flux and the Mary and Dale Andringa Executive Director Chair at the Max De Pree Center for Leadership at Fuller Theological Seminary

"Christians need a fresh vision of how to integrate their faith with work, one that expands beyond the tired categories of evangelism, ethics, and excellence. Working for Better points that way forward with a thoughtful combination of theology, data, and narrative. Elaine Howard Ecklund and Denise Daniels' attentiveness to the institutional nature of work makes an especially important contribution. Pastors seeking to help people in their nine-to-five lives would especially benefit from reading this excellent book."

--Curtis Chang, host of the Good Faith podcast and author of The Anxiety Opportunity and The After Party

"Elaine Howard Ecklund and Denise Daniels offer a timely and important intervention in the conversation about faith and work, showing how Christians can engage in the workplaces of our pluralistic society not only with faithfulness and authenticity but also with charity and hospitality."

--John Inazu, law professor and author of Confident Pluralism and Learning to Disagree

"Whether you are just beginning a career or are a seasoned leader in your field, you will find Working for Better is a refreshingly honest and discerning must-read on what Christian faithfulness looks like in today's workplace. Combining data-driven observations and personal testimonies that perceptively bring to light the challenges that many face navigating their work lives, Elaine Howard Ecklund and Denise Daniels are perfect guides for those who long to follow Jesus' way by offering an inspiring call and practical steps to living faithfully through an ethic of radical embrace."

--Felicia Wu Song, sociologist and author of Restless Devices

"Working for Better is a powerful reminder that all work matters to God. With deep insight and practical wisdom, it challenges us to see our daily jobs as opportunities to serve others and reflect God's character. This book will inspire you to pursue excellence and find eternal purpose in your work. I highly recommend!"

--Jordan Raynor, author of The Sacredness of Secular Work and Redeeming Your Time

"Elaine Howard Ecklund and Denise Daniels are amazing women who have been working for better throughout their academic careers. In this beautiful, well-researched book, they share significant and profound insights on how to help people of faith feel like they can be whole people at work. The authors move beyond faith and work to probe more deeply into more effective ways to embody faith at work for the sake of the common good. The book is filled with practical wisdom and will help you as a reader become wiser as well!"

--L. Gregory Jones, president of Belmont University

About the Author

Elaine Howard Ecklund is the Herbert S. Autrey Chair in Social Sciences, professor of sociology, and director of the Boniuk Institute at Rice University. She is best known for her sociological work on the intersection of science and religion and has also published research on religious discrimination, religion and immigration, religion and race, and religion in the workplace. She is the author of numerous books and research articles, including Science vs. Religion: What Scientists Really Think.

Denise Daniels is Hudson T. Harrison Professor of Entrepreneurship at Wheaton College. She is a management scholar with deep theological engagement in her teaching, publications, and consulting work, which focuses on leadership development and vocation in the marketplace. She co-authored the book Working in the Presence of God: Spiritual Practices for Everyday Work.