CLF

Lesson 4: The Dignity of Work and Economic Development

Work is part of God’s original plan of creation even before man committed sin. The Old
Testament presents God as the omnipotent Creator (cf. Gen 2:2; Job 38-41; Ps 104; Ps 147)
who fashions man in his image and invites him to work the soil (cf. Gen 2:5-6), and cultivates
and care for the garden of Eden in which he has placed him (cf. Gen 2:15) (CSDC 255). Work is
neither a burden nor a curse imposed by God on man. It is a duty of stewardship.

Jesus Christ, the Word made flesh, shows to us by his own example our appreciation to work.
As tradition would say, He spent His early years working with Joseph as a carpenter. Even
during His public ministry, He was working and even His disciples came from different kinds of
work (fishermen, tax collectors, Zealot). He still reminded us that we must not be enslaved by
our work. Before all else, he must be concerned about his soul; gaining the whole world is not
the purpose of his life (cf. Mk 8:36) Work represents a fundamental dimension of human
existence as participation not only in the act of creation but also in that of redemption. (CSDC
263)

Human work has 2 fold significance: Objective and Subjective

OBJECTIVE
- it is the sum of activities, resources, instruments, and technologies used by men and
women to produce things, to exercise dominion over the earth, in the words of the Book
of Genesis.

SUBJECTIVE
- work is the activity of the human person as a dynamic being capable of performing a
variety of actions that are part of the work process and that correspond to his personal
vocation: “Man has to subdue the earth and dominate it, because as the ‘image of God
he is a person, that is to say, a subjective being capable of acting in a planned and
rational way, capable of deciding about himself, and with a tendency to self-realization.
As a person, man is, therefore, the subject of work”

We must remember that subjective dimension of work must take precedence over its objective
dimension. It is because the subjective dimension is the person himself with innate dignity.

1. Human work not only proceeds from the person, but it is also essentially ordered to and
has its final goal in the human person.
2. Human work also has an intrinsic social dimension.
3. Work is also “an obligation, that is to say, a duty on the part of man”
4. Work confirms the profound identity of men and women created in the image and
likeness of God.

THE RIGHT TO WORK

1. Work is necessary
-Work is a good belonging to all people and must be made available to all who are
capable of engaging in it. “Full employment” therefore remains a mandatory objective for
every economic system oriented towards justice and the common good.
2. The role of the State and civil society in promoting the right to work
-Employment problems challenge the responsibility of the State, whose duty it is to
promote active employment policies, that is, policies that will encourage the creation of
employment opportunities within the national territory, providing the production sector
with incentives to this end.
3. The family and the right to work
-Work is “a foundation for the formation of family life, which is a natural right and
 something that man is called to”. It ensures a means of subsistence and serves as a
guarantee for raising children.
4. Women and the right to work
-The feminine genius is needed in all expressions in the life of society, therefore the
presence of women in the workplace must also be guaranteed.
5. Child Labor
-Child labor, in its intolerable forms, constitutes a kind of violence that is less obvious
than others but it is not for this reason any less terrible.[639] This is a violence that,
beyond all political, economic and legal implications, remains essentially a moral
problem.
6. Immigration and work
-Immigration can be a resource for development rather than an obstacle to it. Institutions
in host countries must keep careful watch to prevent the spread of the temptation to
exploit foreign laborers, denying them the same rights enjoyed by nationals, rights that
are to be guaranteed to all without discrimination.
7. The world of agriculture and the right to work
-Agricultural labor merits special attention, given the important social, cultural and
economic role that it continues to play in the economic systems of many countries, and
also considering the many problems that need to be met in the context of an ever more
globalized economy as well as its growing significance in safeguarding the natural
environment.

THE RIGHTS OF WORKERS

1. The dignity of workers and the respect for their rights

-The rights of workers, like all other rights, are based on the nature of the human person
and on his transcendent dignity.
2. The right to fair remuneration and income distribution
-Remuneration is the most important means for achieving justice in work relationships.
The “just wage is the legitimate fruit of work”.
3. The right to strike
-The Church's social doctrine recognizes the legitimacy of striking “when it cannot be
avoided, or at least when it is necessary to obtain a proportionate benefit”, when every
other method for the resolution of disputes has been ineffectual.

LABOR AND CAPITAL

In Economy, labor and capital are essential factors in productivity growth. You start the
production of goods without capital and you cannot produce them without labor. It is the aim of
the economy to prosper if also possible with the minimum cost on capital and labor. However,
we must take in account that work, because of its subjective or personal character, is superior to
every other factor connected with productivity; especially with regard to capital. (cf. CSDC 276)

Labor has an intrinsic priority over capital. “This principle directly concerns the process of
production: in this process labor is always a primary efficient cause, while capital, the whole
collection of means of production, remains a mere instrument or instrumental cause. This
principle is an evident truth that emerges from the whole of man's historical experience” (CSDC
277)

MORALITY AND ECONOMY

In the Old Testament, an attitude of appreciation sees the availability of material goods as
necessary for life. Abundance — not wealth or luxury — is sometimes seen as a blessing from
God. On the other hand, those who recognize their poverty before God receives particular
attention from Him. When sought or accepted with a religious attitude, poverty opens one to
recognizing and accepting the order of creation (cf. CSDC 323-324). In the New Testament,
Jesus takes up the entire Old Testament tradition even with regard to economic goods, wealth
and poverty, and he gives them great clarity and fullness (cf. Mt 6:24, 13:22; Lk 6:20-24,
12:15-21; Rom 14:6-8; 1 Tim 4:4) He taught us that man is called to render justice particularly to
the least, the lost and the last. Therefore, the way we use the goods of the earth to make our
lives flourish and our obligation to our brother and sisters our always together. Economic activity
and material progress must be placed at the service of man and society.

The relation between morality and economics is necessary, indeed intrinsic: economic activity
and moral behavior are intimately joined one to the other. The necessary distinction between
morality and the economy does not entail the separation of these two spheres but, on the
contrary, an important reciprocity. (CSDC 331) Pope Pius speaks of the relationship between
the two in his encyclical Quadragessimo Anno, he said;

ST. AUGUSTINE

- St. Augustine teaches us of our dependence to God. He once wrote, “Pray as though
everything depended on God. Work as though everything depended on you.” The work
that we do cannot entirely be made without God giving us His grace to fulfill it. The same
emphasis that Christ gave us during His ministry where He often goes to the mountain to
pray and then work on His mission.
- Work and Money must not be our idols to worship but rather our means in worshipping
God by helping others. Through these, we fulfill God’s commandment of loving ourselves
and our neighbor. It is not therefore the end, but our means.

ST JOSEPH the Worker, Feast: May 1

- We celebrate two feast days for Joseph: March 19 for Joseph the Husband of Mary and
May 1 for Joseph the Worker. March 19 has been the most commonly celebrated feast
day for Joseph, and it wasn't until 1955 that Pope Pius XII established the Feast of "St.
Joseph the Worker" to be celebrated on May 1. This is also May Day (International
Workers' Day) and believed to reflect Joseph's status as the patron of workers.

God wants all man to flourish. He gave us the earth to cultivate and nourish. We have a mission
in ensuring that our social and economic activities would not deprive each of having access to
these goods but rather make these goods available for all. The government and the citizens
must work together in solidarity to achieve a just society, making God’s Kingdom present here
on earth.

Work is, as has been said, an obligation, that is to say, a duty, on the part of man. Man must
work, both because the Creator has commanded it and because of his own humanity, which
requires work in order to be maintained and developed. Man must work out of regard for others,
especially his own family, but also for the society he belongs to, the country of which he is a
child, and the whole human family of which he is a member since he is the heir to the work of
generations and at the same time a sharer in building the future of those who will come after
him in the succession of history. (St. John Paul II, On Human Work [Laborem Exercens], no. 16)
 PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT
I. Basic Human Emotions
- Paul Ekman (1993) and Carrol Izard (1992), both well-known researchers on
emotion, considered the following as basic emotions: fear, anger, surprise,
disgust, joy or happiness, and sadness or distress. These emotions are found to
be culturally universal. This means that the emotions are recognized and similarly
expressed in all cultures.

Similar to a color wheel, Robert Plutchik (1980) presented the primary emotions using an
"emotion wheel." The inner circle represents the eight primary emotions (joy, acceptance, fear,
surprise, sadnss, disgust, anger, and anticipation), which can combine to form the mixed
emotions, (love, submission, awe, disappointment, remorse, contempt, aggressiveness, and
optimism) listed outside the wheel. The wheel implies that there are feelings that can be labeled
in more than a single term.

II. Emotional Intelligence

- It is said that an emotionally intelligent person effectively combines the three
components of emotion (physical, cognitive, and behavioral). Emotional
intelligence or EQ, a concept popularized by Daniel Goleman in 1995, is the
ability to recognize and manage your emotions, understand others, and maintain
a healthy relationship with them. Goleman claims that high emotional intelligence
contributes significantly to your success in life and career. He also suggests that
lack of emotional intelligence is one of the factors contributing to the many
problems in society.

4 Domains of Emotional Intelligence

- Perceiving emotions
- Facilitating Thought
- Understanding emotions
- Managing emotions

Perceiving Emotions - is the ability to distinguish emotions in yourself and others; be it in the
form of facial expressions, the tone of voice, art, music, stories, among others. If you have this
ability, you are more likely to be empathic. You can relate well to others and adjust well in any
social situations. This further shows that your emotions affect the cognitive processes.

Facilitating Thought - is the ability to generate, utilize and feel emotions to help you
communicate effectively and to apply emotions in other cognitive processes (problem solving,
decision making, reasoning, and producing creative outputs). This ability shows that emotions
can change the way you think. Indeed, your thoughts and feelings affect each other. For
example, happiness may encourage you to believe that nothing is impossible, while sadness
may generate more negative thoughts.

Understanding Emotions - is the ability to appreciate the meaning of the emotion. This starts
by labeling or identifying the emotions with appropriate words, understanding the combination of
the other expressed emotions, and understanding its complexities. For example, the feeling of
boredom may lead to disgust, or a simple interest may eventually lead to irrational vigilance.

Managing Emotions - (also known as emotional management or emotional regulation) is the

ability to be open to feelings and to modulate them in yourself and others to promote personal
understanding and growth.

Enhancing Emotional Intelligence or EQ

You can improve your emotional intelligence if:

● You can practice mindfulness in recognizing cultural and individual differences to
strengthen your emotional perception.
● You can use your emotions as a signal to caution you that something may not be right.
 ● The knowledge and habits needed to enhance your understanding of emotions can be
strengthened by your interactions with other people.
● You use your emotions to promote personal understanding and growth.

III. The 1:3 Ratio

There are life events (some, beyond our control) that trigger negative emotions.
Although there are a lot of benefits of positive emotions; negative emotions can still have an
impact on your life. It is recommended that for one negative emotion, you must have at least
three positive emotions to maintain the balance.

Negative emotions can help start a new behavior.

1. Negative emotions can make you more reflective and in touch with your innermost being.
2. Negative emotions can make you more open to new learning.
3. Negative emotions can lead to an improved sense of social accountabilities (empathy, care,
and moral considerations).

IV. Expressing Emotions Effectively

Effective emotional expression improves relationships. At work and play, constructive

expression of emotions can lead to success in life and career. It also helps workers feel better.
But all these are easier said than done. The following are suggestions as to when and how to
express your emotions.

1. Be in touch with your feelings. Recognition and proper identification of the emotions, the
physical manifestations, and the thoughts about the situation that triggered the emotion will help
you decide on the behavioral expression.
2. Increase emotional vocabularies. Proper identification of the emotion is critical so as not to
over rate or under rate the emotional experience.
3. Share the mixed emotions experience. This will give additional value to the message and
make it clearer and more accurate.
4. Evaluate the emotion if it needs to be shared, acted upon, or just let it be that
way.Some emotional experiences are better not to be acted upon nor shared with anyone.
You need to be sensitive, empathic, and critical to assess the need for appropriate emotional
expression.
5. Use the '/" language. Showing accountability for your feelings are best expressed using the
"|" language. Instead of saying, "You are always hurting my feelings," say,
"I feel hurt when you did that."
6. Consider the right time and the right place for the emotional expression. You tend to
react to strong emotions. However, more often, it does not end positively, and the result is not
beneficial to both parties. It is best to wait and think of the most appropriate emotional
expression, and the best time when the recipient of the message is prepared to listen to you. In
that way, you become more objective, and it reduces the chance of saying or doing things that
you will regret later on.

I. PERSONAL RELATIONSHIPS IN ADOLESCENTS

A. Intimacy and Similarity in Friendship

- Intimacy and similarity are two crucial keys to your friendships, Intimacy is self-disclosure
or sharing your private thoughts to another person. For you, a person is considered a
friend when they talk about personal thoughts, feelings, and problems. Compare it to
friendships among younger children; such self-disclosure and mutual understanding are
often absent. This makes your relationships crucial as it involves emotions and
vulnerability.
B. Dating Relationships

Functions of Dating
- Enjoyment and Recreation
 - Source of Status and Achievement
- Socialization
- Learn about Intimacy
- Sexual Experimentation
- Provides Companionship
- Identity Formation
- Mate Selection

II. THE FIVE LOVE LANGUAGES

Dr. Gary Chapman, a counselor, and expert in relationships, introduced the idea that human
beings have different expressions of love, yet these are categorized in five.
In his book, The Five Languages of Love, he enumerated that the five languages of love are
Words of Affirmation, Gifts or Gift-giving, Acts of Service, Quality Time, and Physical
Touch.

III. EXPRESSIONS OF ATTRACTION AND LOVE

A. Acceptable and Unacceptable Expressions

The biblical quote* ..whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure,
whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy
of praise, think about these things," may help you differentiate what is acceptable and
unacceptable. The sender of these expressions may reflect and ask themselves the following:

Sender
• Do my actions communicate the truth?
• Do my actions honor the other person?
• Are my actions right and pure?
• Will others find my actions commendable?
As for the receiver of these expressions, they can ask themselves these questions:

Receiver
• Do I feel comfortable with his/her actions?
• Do his/her actions show me I am worthy of respect?
Does the other person respect my boundaries?
Are my interpretations pure, right, and without bias?

B. Boundaries
- Boundaries are essential in any relationship. A boundary is the limit you set for another
person's actions or words given to you. It is like an invisible line that tells others what
they are allowed or not allowed to do in a relationship. Four aspects of boundaries are
material, physical, mental, and emotional.

- Material boundaries determine how much you are willing to lend your belongings, time,
and services. Physical boundaries deal with your personal space. Who can, when, and
where a person can touch you fall under this boundary type as well as your sexual
boundaries. Bellefs, values, opinions, and thoughts are under mental boundaries.
Lastly, feelings and personal choices fall under emotional boundaries.

IV. SEVEN HABITS HIGHLY EFFECTIVES TEENS

- Sean Covey summarized the habits you must possess to have a healthy life. It provides
an idea of the dynamic of relationships and how you can take responsibility in building a
healthy community.
- In his book, The 7 Habits of Highly Effective Teens, he adapted the Habits of Highly
Effective People which his father introduced, and made examples where you can relate
with. These seven habits are divided into two sections namely: Personal Bank Account
and Relationship Bank Account.
Bank accounts are where you deposit money for safekeeping and making it grow. By the time
you will need money for an expense, you withdraw the amount you need and spend it. Covey
says that you have a Personal Bank Account. It speaks of your trust and confidence in
yourself. What you say, think of, or do are the deposits and withdrawals in the account. Deposits
are things that give you a sense of accomplishment such as keeping promises to self, doing
acts of kindness to self, being gentle with self, being honest, renewing self, and magnifying
talents. On the other hand, withdrawals are breaking personal promises to self, keeping to self,
beating yourself up, lying, wearing self out, and burying talents. A healthy personal bank
account has more deposits than withdrawals.

Relationship Bank Account talks about your trust and confidence in your relationships. You
have a relationship bank account with every person you encounter. Deposits in the relationship
bank account entail doing things to other people that will improve your relationship with them,
while withdrawals involve doing things that may weaken your relationship with them.

The 7 Habits of Highly Effective Teens:

1. Be Proactive
2. Begin with the End in Mind
3. Put First Things First
4. Think win-win
5. Seek irst to Understand, Then to be Understood
6. Synergize
7. Sharpen the Saw

THE FIVE APOLOGY LANGUAGES

1. EXPRESSING REGRET (im sorry)

2. ACCEPTING RESPONSIBILITY (I was wrong)
3. MAKING RESTITUTION (How can i make it right)
4. PLANNED CHANGE (Ill take steps to prevent a recurrence)
5. REQUESTING FORGIVENESS (can you find it in your heart to forgive me?)

I. CAREER DEVELOPMENT
A. Job vs Career
- A career can be defined as "a pattern of work experiences comprising the entire
lifespan of an individual and which is generally seen with regard to a number of
phases or stages reflecting the transition from one stage of life to the next"
(Weinert, 2001).
- Moreover, Collin (1998) expounds that the term career arises from the interaction
of individuals in organizations and society. This means that individuals are
considering their personal views as well as external influences in dealing with
career choice.
- Savickas (2009) states that "current view of careers temporary, contingent,
casual, contract, freelance, part-time, atypical, self-employed, and external."
B. Career Choice Theories

According to J. Santrock in his book, Adolescence 12th Edition published in 2008, three main
theories describe the way adolescents make choices about career development: Career choice
theories such as Ginzberg's Developmental Theory, Super's Self Concept Theory and Holland's
Personality Type Theory are mentioned.

1. Eli Ginzberg Developmental Theory - developmental career choice theory which sees
children and adolescents to undergo 3 carrer choice stages such as fantasy, tentative
and realistic.
● Fantasy stage - from childhood until around 11 years old, children tend to fantasize on
different stages.
● Tentative stage - age 11 to 17, a transition from the fantasy stage to realistic decision
a. Interest stage ( 11 to 12 )
b. Capacity stage ( 13 to 14 )
 c. Values stage (15 to 16)
d. Transition stage ( last under tentative stage )
● Realistic - 17 to 18 years of age, the person extensively explores available careers
a. Exploration stage - explores college or formal training
b. Crystallization stage - declare major or commit to certain type of work
c. Specification stage - specialize graduate school or specific job
2. Supers Self- Concept Theory
Super's Self-Concept Theory - this is a career self-concept theory by Donald Super where an
individual's self-concept plays a vital role in career choice. Super claimed that in adolescence
stage, teens initially construct a career self-concept (Super, 1967, 1976). He emphasized that
career development has five different phases as follows:

3. Hollands Personality Type Theory - this is a personality type theory by John

Holland where there is a match with an individual's career choice and his personality. He argues
that individuals will stay longer at work if it suits or is similar to their personality.
Holland emphasized six basic personality types for a career.

II. GOAL SETTING

A. What is Goal Setting?

Goal setting is a major component of the career planning process. It is the process of
identifying something and individual wants to accomplish and establish measurable goals and
timeframes to achieve it.
1. Focuses Attention
2. Mobilizes effort in proportion to the demands of the task
3. Enhances Persistence
4. Encourages the individual to develop strategies for achieving their goals

B. Rules in Goal - Setting

1. Set Goals that Motivate you
2. Set SMART Goals
● Set Specific Goals
 ● Set Measurable Goals
● Set Attainable Goals
● Set Relevant Goals
● Set Time-bounded Goals
3. Set Goals in Writing
4. Make an Action Plan
5. Stick with it!

III. FACTORS INFLUENCING CAREER CHOICE

A. PERSONAL FACTORS
1. Skills and Abilities
2. Interest and Personality Type
3. Life Roles
4. Previous experiences
5. Gender
6. Childhood Fantasies
B. EXTERNAL FACTORS
1. Socioeconomic status
2. Parents
3. Peers
4. School Influences
● School
● Teachers
● Guidance Counselors