Transforming Communities Through Theology of Work: Equipping Families in Johannesburg South Africa

The past COVID-19 pandemic is a striking example of how global changes can affect communities, work and family, and people’s well-being. The concept of family and its importance to human development and community transformation is becoming an unrealized dream in Johannesburg, which is increasingly secularized and polarized with the convergence of diverse cultures and the financial demands the city dwellers face. Leadership in personal and organizational contexts has received considerable attention through the years. Although much is known about what constitutes effective leadership in an organizational setting, little is known about leadership as it pertains to the family. Family leadership crises have resulted in broken families, crime, inequality, gender-based
violence, unemployment, and poverty in South Africa. To address the family leadership crisis that has resulted in social ills in the communities, this research was undertaken to investigate and explore how the theology of work model can be applied to family leadership development in integrating family, work, and the Johannesburg community.

Fifty-six respondents, comprising 49 family leaders and seven children across the west of Johannesburg, were recruited using purposive sampling. Questionnaires were distributed to family leaders and children who attended the focus group meetings and were interviewed. The triangulated data from survey questionnaires, interviews, and focus group notes were prepared, reviewed, and explored. The Dedoose software was used to create, review, and revise the codes into themes and was presented cohesively based on the research questions. The findings identified that the dysfunctional state of families is directly linked to the disconnection between family life and work in the community. A lack of family support for workers was attributed to ignorance of family principles among family leaders. Work in the family is viewed as less important to work in the community, resulting in family-work imbalance, while some types of work are considered more valuable than others due to the hierarchy of work and sacred-secular dichotomy. This devaluing of work in families is attributed to the cultural shift and
community culture themes.

Finally, there is a high demand for training resources and programs to equip and empower family leaders to deal with the ignorance of family principles, marital life, and ill-equipped men. The concept of work, which has been based on consumption, drawing from society will need to be transformed to the concept of viewing work as an impact on society which is productivity. The transformational strategy of workplace compliant family training program that seeks to integrate family, work, and community will help in correcting the wrong concept of work that has led to the family leadership crisis.