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Work Pray Code

When Work Becomes Religion in Silicon Valley

Carolyn Chen

Princeton UP, 2022

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Has work replaced religion in Silicon Valley? Sociologist Carolyn Chen asks if the Valley’s long days, free cafeterias and mindfulness workshops have replaced church and community. She explores why organized religion can’t seem to take root there and how tech firms use spiritual movements to feed profits. Within this overview, she offers a particularly strong case of watered-down religion in the trivialization of sacred Buddhist practices. Of course, as Robert Putnam reported in Bowling Alone in 2009, Silicon Valley isn’t the only cause of declining community and religious observance – even in Silicon Valley. And Chen herself would need a crystal ball to know if techies will keep worshipping work as big tech lays off staff and quits serving free lunches.

Summary

For many Silicon Valley employees, “work is replacing religion.”

Silicon Valley workers are turning away from organized religion and filling the void with work that gives them a sense of “belonging, identity, purpose and transcendence.” Workers who once sought meaning, morality and behavioral guidelines in religion are now finding those values at work instead.

As one commentator put it, “Meaning is the new money.” That quest for meaning leads workers to look for a sense of community in their work. In fact, research reports that 90% of people would willingly accept lower salaries if their work provided meaning.

Stressed tech workers find a form of spirituality in the office through sponsored mindfulness classes, speakers and retreats. Many large corporations invest in their employees’ spiritual well-being as part of their benefits package. Some big tech companies bring in meditation teachers, even beyond Silicon Valley; in fact, some 22% of US companies offer mindfulness practices to their employees.

Silicon Valley workers often talk about how 60 hour work ...

About the Author

Carolyn Chen, an associate professor of ethnic studies at the University of California, Berkeley, also wrote Getting Saved in America: Taiwanese Immigration and Religious Experience.

Work Pray Code

When Work Becomes Religion in Silicon Valley

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Summary

For many Silicon Valley employees, “work is replacing religion.”

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