The Study of Christians at Work

Tobias Bruegger, Markus Huppenbauer

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Abstract

This paper seeks to address a main limitation of extant research on faith, spirituality and religion at work in exploring lived Christian existence in contemporary work settings. While current research has advanced in exploring faith-work integration, the very paradigm of an ‘integration-problem’ proves to be deficient for exploring the dynamics of the life of Christians in contemporary workplaces. To remedy this, we draw on the results from a study of Christian business managers in the German-speaking part of Switzerland and focus on the way Christians frame and embody their existence at work. We draw on practitioner usages of the notion of ‘being a Christian’ and introduce a conceptual map around different practitioner usages of the term ‘Christian(s)’ and its existential and nominal connotations. Additionally, we draw on empirical descriptions of concrete scenes of Christian existence embodied at work as the basis of an empirically grounded theoretical sketch of what characterizes Christian embodiment at work. Additionally, we suggest how such a practitioner-oriented theory could inspire and advance further research.
Original languageEnglish
Title of host publicationAcademy of Management Proceedings
EditorsSonia Taneja
Number of pages6
PublisherAcademy of Management
Publication date2019
ISBN (Print)0065-0668
ISBN (Electronic)2151-6561
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 2019
Externally publishedYes
SeriesAcademy of Management Proceedings
ISSN0065-0668

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