This is a summary of the book: “Work, Pray, Code” written by Carolyn Chen. The book was published in 2022 so it is current. Some of the main takeaways are that work is replacing religion. Finding religion at work is a refuge for those in need of time to pursue a spiritual life. Young tech workers with diversity are treating their colleagues like family. This helps to overcome one of the big challenges in the tech industry which is burnout. Tech companies perks attract and retain top engineers and Techtopia is emerging is a society where people garner ultimate fulfillment from their work.

Long days, free cafeterias and mindfulness workshops have replaced church and community. Within this overview, she offers a particularly strong case of watered-down religion in the trivialization of sacred Buddhist practices.

She takes the example of Silicon Valley workers who 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.

People who move to the Silicon Valley for tech careers have abandoned more than just their congregations; their communities are suffering also. Participation in all civic organizations has decreased significantly over time. Many tech workers emphasize religious observance is difficult. Many believe that the Silicon Valley ethos runs contrary to their religious beliefs but often those who leave organized religion don’t depart consciously, they just drift away.

Tech engineers are notably young, single, far from home, impressionable and vulnerable to the call of work. The ‘religious’ bonds that employees develop with their coworkers are like those of another institution that forges intimate ties: the family.

Tech companies are sponsoring meditation and yoga just as much as they are promoting free food and on-site gyms, all with the goal of preventing burnouts. Yet 60-hour work weeks lead to burnouts. Tech engineers work hard and generally neglect self-care.

Yet most people don’t connect to their jobs, and many suffer alienation from work. Alienation and burnout are considered corporate culture problems. Journeys of self-discovery might lead employees to discover that they are in the wrong job. Part of being marketable means handling yourself well under pressure and remaining focused, both areas in which meditation and mindfulness are helpful. “On-the-go” Buddhism removes the inconvenience of religious practice and tries to squeeze the practice into one-minute bites like the apps that aim to teach meditation a few minutes a day.

People can escape the theocracy of work by deciding collectively to worship something else such as family, community, civil society, and religion. Society should not abandon work, but it should pour energy into the rest of people’s lives as well.