When Hope Rises at Work

Over more than 15 years in marketing and communications, I’ve worked across different companies and witnessed very different workplace cultures. Every organisation has its own vibe. Like a fragrance, its own scent, or even like a steak, its own level of doneness.

You can have good projects, clear processes and smart people around you, but if the values don’t align, it slowly starts to weigh on you. You keep closing tasks, doing the work, meeting the deadlines, but inside you feel that something is not quite right.

Have you ever had that feeling, when everything looks fine on paper, but in reality it’s just not quite your cup of tea?

Some time ago, I worked with a group of companies where a lot was built around the strong figure of a “super leader”. There was drive, ambition and results, but there was also a constant spirit of competition. As a system, it worked and delivered outcomes, but personally, that kind of air was not close to my heart. Over time, I realised an environment like that affects you more than you first think. A bit like Sydney traffic: you’re technically just driving but an hour later you are somehow a slightly different person.

I’ve also had a very different experience, working at a large international PR agency. Most of the team were Christians and attended different churches, and every morning in the office we prayed before starting the workday. That didn’t make us perfect people, and it didn’t remove deadlines or client support from the calendar. But there was a simple human honesty in it, and a solid foundation.

We even had a small tradition: I would write short, funny birthday poems for colleagues. Just a few lines, a bit of humour and a bit of attention to the person. But often, it’s exactly these little things that make a workplace feel alive. And you know what? Many years later, we still keep friendly relationships with former colleagues and continue to pray for one another.

Working at Hope feels a bit like a flashback to that experience.

Hope is not just a leading Christian community radio station in Sydney, Australia. It is a team that genuinely impacts people’s mood, worldview and lives.

Recently, we held our first supporter dinner with Hope listeners. I met people, heard their stories and caught myself thinking: this is not just content, audience data or numbers in a report. These are real people sitting at the table next to you, saying, “Hey, this really works in our lives”.

Hope 103.2 is proudly supported by

I think it’s in moments like that when work stops being just an exchange of time for money. You are no longer simply ticking boxes. You go the extra mile because you actually care.

The Hope Rising June Appeal is happening now, and I’ve been a little involved in that work too. At one point, I wanted to make a small creative contribution. I used modern AI tools, experimented with prompts, words and musical style, and that’s how a simple song called Hope Rising came about. A small, unofficial anthem for this campaign.

Nothing too dramatic. Not a Beethoven symphony. Not even an attempt to create the next worship hit in one evening after a flat white. Just a creative gesture from someone who cares.

If you have a few minutes, take a listen to Hope Rising.

Maybe this simple song will lift your mood a little and remind you that good things can also begin with a small creative spark – and that AI still has a little way to go with some instructions (I’m talking to you, the male voice tasked with saying the website and phone number 😉).

Feature image: Canva Pro