Valuing the Work of the Home

Last week, Lisa Schiltz blogged about some of the presentations at the Vatican meeting on women and work. She mentioned Bryan Sanderson, now Chairman of the Home Renaissance Foundation, former CEO of BP and current trustee of the Economist. I too enjoyed his presentation for its substance--and because it was he who was saying it.  Here's a bit from it (find the whole thing here): 

A dichotomy evident in contemporary thought is that of the work of the home and work in the broader market. They are seen to be rivals, with the latter taking the cake in terms of social prestige, legal and political recognition, and perceived importance in our society. This is detrimental to sustainable business practices, and unfair to the millions of people who look after their homes, and the care of the people in them, with a professional outlook. Every worker, and that includes every homemaker, has a home, and needs to care for that home, whether directly or through contracting and overseeing services that allow for a healthy and balanced home environment, and in turn family life, to flourish. Care of the material and social environment of the home impacts people in the same way that the material environment at a BP facility can have a profound impact on the overall success of the operations, and the risks involved. The homes of the nation impact the productivity and overall wellbeing and morale of the employees of any firm. Without the stability of schedules and routines, healthy and balanced meals, clean and welcoming spaces for work, sleep and family enjoyment that the home provides, stress levels and the ability to work well outside the domestic sphere are seriously jeopardized. Inside and outside the towers of company headquarters and the ivory towers of academia, we ought not forget this. We need to seriously examine how corporate practices, at all levels, can actively take the realities of family and home life into account. It is not merely about balancing two competing worlds, but understanding how the success of each is a strength for the other....

 

I will end by paraphrasing Moses and the Old Testament. He says in Deuteronomy what will determine the future of the people will not be strength whether military or demographic but the values and ideals that permeate society, justice, compassion, welfare, social responsibility, love of neighbour and stranger and care for the poor, lonely and disenfranchised. Don’t even think you can survive without these values. You can’t. They are learnt in the home.