In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will direct your paths.-Proverbs 3:6

In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will direct your paths.-Proverbs 3:6
The Bible and our bosses (when our bosses are on their best behavior) share at least one common characteristic: They challenge us to become better workers. Equipping us to do that, however, is where the two part ways. The best bosses appropriately spend their energies eliminating the barriers that prohibit their workers from accomplishing agreed-upon objectives, and ensuring that the workers have the tools to get the job done. The Bible, however, centers its focus not on tools or actions, but on relationship.
Becoming a better worker begins with prayer.
It doesn't matter if we're a chemist or a clerk, a brain surgeon or a builder, a senator or a secretary. Serving God effectively in the workplace, indeed serving our employer most effectively, starts with prayer. We often miss this point because we consider ourselves "people of action." We design plans of action we think put us in the best position to "do" for God while also serving our employer best. Or perhaps we ask ourselves what Jesus would do in our situation, and then try to emulate the actions we think He would take.
Both steps have some merit, but both matter little if prayer doesn't precede them. The central purpose in Jesus' earthly life was the restoration of our ability to be in relationship with God. If we read His words carefully, study His actions carefully, we discover (not unlike good bosses) that in His encounters with people, He focused on the barrier between them and God. The rich young ruler and his money, the Pharisees and their religiously blind and arrogant legalism, are but two examples.
His central purpose can never be our central purpose, because His was making OURS possible: A relationship with God. In the Westminster Confession of Faith we hear at the very beginning that "the chief end of man is to glorify God and enjoy Him forever." Just as Jesus' actions were always defined by His purpose, so too must our actions, including those in our jobs, be defined by our central purpose.
At the heart of that purpose is prayer, our ability to communicate directly with God made possible by the sacrifice of His Son. This most tangible of all aspects of our restored relationship with the Father bathes us in an ability to see our daily tasks as He wants us to see them. When we pray over our calendars, asking God for wisdom in the meetings we have that day, we invite His presence into even the most difficult tasks, or most distasteful encounters. Praying for the people we work with equips us to see them from God's perspective, and makes it possible for us to see past the conflicts we may have with them.
When we ask ourselves what Jesus would do in our situation, who is our chief counselor? US! When we design plans of action we think serve God and our company better, who is our chief planner? US!
Prayer accomplishes our central purpose, and then infuses that relationship into the routine aspects of our lives, including our work. Everything we do then becomes an extension of that relationship, making the plans we design and the questions we ask ourselves more likely to be imbued with the wisdom of God.
Make no mistake...God does indeed intend for us to be men and women of action...to work hard in our jobs and to serve our employers, employees and customers well; but He expects us to do it while being in relationship with Him. Prayer doesn't beckon God to our presence; rather, it reminds us He is constantly present.
That realization, cemented by prayer, cannot help but govern the steps of our day.