There is no doubt that all of us whether students or professionals have experienced what it’s like to be under the pump in our study or work. One of the positive things of the pandemic is that it has introduced flexible working, i.e. work can be done anywhere and anytime so long as you have an internet connection. However, it is also a double-edged sword for us that we always feel the pressure of ever present work, as we can access our work from anywhere, including at home and during holidays.

 Andrew Laird, director of Life@Work, an initiative of City Bible Forum, and Dean of the Ridley Marketplace Institute has written the book Under Pressure: How The Gospel Helps Us Handle The Pressures of Work to help us navigate the pressures of work with the truth of the gospel. Andrew is both a professional and theologian, which means that he has plenty of insights into the daily pressures of work and how the gospel helps us with that. Specifically, he addresses five categories of pressure in the book:

1. The pressure to have it all
2. The pressure of ever-present work
3. The pressure of difficult workplace relationships
4. The pressure to conform
5. The pressure to stay on top of everything

 I like how the author always backs up the problems discussed in the book with statistical evidence, and that he applies the general principles of biblical truth to our day to day circumstances, but being a professional he is aware of the edge cases where we need wisdom in applying the biblical truth. For instance, in chapter 3, he discusses the pressure of difficult workplace relationships, he asks the questions, “When is it right to challenge injustice in the workplace? When might turning the other cheek do more harm than good?”.

 As we have been learning about community in the last couple of months, I also like how the author brings the community of believers into the picture when handling pressures, as we cannot handle it on our own and we need the wisdom of our Bible-saturated community. Not only wisdom, but also practical help, and the author told the story of a young man who had pressure to conform to unethical practices in his workplace, and how his Bible study group counseled him to keep doing the right thing and when the man lost his job, the group were there to support him financially until he finds a new job. Isn’t that wonderful?

 In closing, the book is quite short and easy to read. I am sure that it will help those of us who struggle with the pressures of work and balancing priorities in our life.