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| The Virgin Spanking The Christ Child - Max Ernst (1926) |
Role conflict is a significant cause of workplace stress. It can occur when we face seemingly incompatible expectations - for example, conflicting deadlines set by different supervisors or clients. Role conflict may also arise when there is ambiguity or overlap between the different roles we fulfill; for instance, where a manager has to discipline members of a team who they consider to be their friends.
It’s not just in the workplace that we face role conflict, but within all areas of life - and perhaps especially at the point at which the different areas of our lives meet. Nor is it always a third party - another person - who places these pressures upon us; it is just as likely that role conflict arises from expectations we place on ourselves or from a desire to conform to overlapping societal and cultural “norms” - for instance, to have a successful career and a happy family.
This week, the church remembers the birth of Mary, the mother of God; who is also the Blessed Virgin Mary - someone who embodies the ultimate role conflict.
What can the example of Mary teach us about the conflicting roles we embody?
The gospel reading set for the Nativity of the Mary is from the Gospel according to St Matthew, chapter one, beginning at verse eighteen.
