Jenny George
24 February 2025
Andrew Laird. I am what I do. Reshaping our understanding of self and work. Matthias Media, 2023.
I am what I do is a short and readable entry into a very important topic: where we as Christians locate our identity and how this intersects with the work we do. On first picking up the book, I expected it to be primarily focused on work, the workplace, career success and ambition. But it is aimed more at the concept of Christian identity and uses work as an example of an alternative identity structure to test this against.
The opening story of Lauren Jackson’s retirement from basketball invites the reader to notice how Jackson equates her identity with her work. Laird asks us to think about how we might do the same. Do we say, “I work as a lawyer” or “I am a lawyer”, for example? This is good stuff and helpful. In the first chapters, Laird examines the ideas of hyper-individualism, collective identity and the burden of feeling responsible for success (our own success in individualist societies and corporate or family success in collectivist ones).
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Because it’s such a short book, there isn’t much chance to delve into some truly interesting questions. Laird often assumes that the challenges he’s outlining are modern – a particular burden for our own time. But having an identity rooted in what we do (“I am what I do”) was surely just as strong in a time when a blacksmith knew he was going to be a blacksmith from the time he was born, expected his son to be one as well, and the whole family ended up with the surname “Smith”.
So what’s different about the modern world?
I think Laird is right about our society facing new and special challenges. But my suspicion is that these turn on the unprecented choices we have about our own identities – not the mere fact of our identity being bound up in work. These fascinating ideas are not entirely absent from the book. For example, Laird writes: “Young or old, we all experience the burden of needing to create our own identity and, often, seeking to do that through our work. And that is both burdensome and exhausting.” These were rich insights that I would have liked to see fleshed out more fully.
The book is easy and enjoyable to read. The stories and case studies are welcome and relevant. Laird quotes many other authors and particularly draws from Alan Noble and Brian Rosner. The pointers to other material are a good idea, but the quotes themselves can feel a bit intrusive in the text at times. I wanted to hear more in Laird’s own words.
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The impact of the book is strongest in the sections where the author tells his own story. Laird relates instances where his actions and attitudes were challenged and tells us about a long period of time he spent recovering from burnout. The transparency and stark honesty of his writing invite the reader to similarly examine their own lives and motivations. The chapter in which Laird guides readers through a set of diagnostic questions is particularly helpful.
This is a good read if you’re looking for a book to help you think about how to cling to a Christian identity against the lure of locating your identity in work. I’d especially recommend it for younger Christians starting out in a career.
Dr Jenny George is Dean of Melbourne Business School and Co-Dean of the University of Melbourne Faculty of Business and Economics.
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