Letters

Soundbites

Work-life imbalance takes health toll

Working long hours is not only bad for your social life, but can be bad for your heart as well, says a study reported in The Guardian. Clocking up more than 55 hours a week means a 40% higher chance of developing an irregular heartbeat, when compared to those with a better work-life balance. The 10-year study of 85,494 mainly middle-aged men and women from the UK, Denmark, Sweden and Finland found that those working the longest hours were more overweight, had higher blood pressure, smoked more and consumed more alcohol. ◆

Letters

Social entrepreneurs as prophets?

Re: “Are we social entrepreneurs?” sidebar in May June 2017 issue of The Marketplace.

I was heartened to see The Marketplace prompt its readers to consider whether they are social entrepreneurs. While some may see this as new language for an old concept—i.e., the understanding that entrepreneurs should be driven by the desire to achieve a larger social purpose—in my view, this expression has the potential to engage new audiences, including people who otherwise would never chose to identify themselves as entrepreneurs.

I think part of this appeal is because the concept of social entrepreneurship has been stretched in recent years. For example, a recent report from the Schwab Foundation for Social Entrepreneurship acknowledges the limits of traditional measures of success that have emphasized growth in the size of projects and organizations. They now recognize that the needs being tackled by social entrepreneurs are simply too large and urgent to be solved by incrementally expanding social enterprises in order to reach more people. Meaningful change requires entrepreneurs to intervene at a higher level, tackling the complicated and often messy role that governments play, as well as navigating the diverse beliefs and values that shape communities. Thus, social entrepreneurs are properly understood to be systems entrepreneurs.

This is a message echoed by many others. Social entrepreneurs who have been recognized as Ashoka Fellows are singled out not only because of their success in pursuing sustainable solutions to social problems, but because they seek to make changes at a societal level. Prominent Canadian organizations such as the J.W. McConnell Family Foundation and the Tamarack Institute have urged social entrepreneurs to recognize that “scaling for impact” should mean more than spreading their products or services to more people— they have an important role to play in changing laws and even cultures.

Of course, this understanding of social entrepreneurs as changemakers seeking to transform systems as well as individuals does raise questions. How, for example, are people equipped or empowered to do this? Is there more to it than creating business solutions to poverty? Sincerely, Paul Heidebrecht Director, Kindred Credit Union Centre for Peace Advancement Conrad Grebel University College

(Editor’s note: Watch for a profile on the Centre for Peace Advancement in the November issue of The Marketplace.)

Reader enriched

On the occasion of his retirement I would like to commend Wally Kroeker for the long time and inspired leadership he has given to The Marketplace.

By providing a continuing perspective of how business can be done redemptively, Wally has enriched his readership and provided many examples of Walter Wink’s observation that “The Powers are created, the Powers are fallen, and the Powers will be redeemed.” The Marketplace and MEDA have been demonstrating how business can be redeemed and how business can serve human beings instead of human beings serving business.

The Marketplace is the only publication I receive that is read cover to cover as soon as it arrives in my mailbox.

Thank you, Wally. Dave Hubert