write an essay on the importance of spirituality at workplace

Business of Well-being

The role of spirituality in employee wellbeing and workplace culture.

In today's fast-paced world, employee wellbeing and workplace culture have become increasingly important as organizations recognize the need to support the holistic needs of their employees. One often overlooked aspect of employee wellbeing is spirituality. Spirituality, as a concept, transcends religious affiliations and beliefs and can be a powerful tool in fostering a positive and inclusive workplace environment. In this article, we will explore the role of spirituality in employee wellbeing and workplace culture, and how organizations can effectively incorporate it into their wellness initiatives.

• Understanding Spirituality in the Workplace

Spirituality can be broadly defined as a sense of connection to something greater than oneself, a pursuit of meaning, and a quest for wholeness. It is not limited to religious beliefs, but rather encompasses a range of practices and experiences that promote inner peace, self-awareness, and personal growth.

In the context of the workplace, spirituality refers to an organization's efforts to foster an environment that supports employees' spiritual needs and encourages their personal growth. This can be achieved through various means, such as promoting mindfulness, offering opportunities for reflection, and facilitating open and honest communication.

• The Science Behind Spirituality and Employee Wellbeing

Numerous studies have examined the impact of spirituality on employee wellbeing, revealing the benefits of incorporating spiritual practices and perspectives in the workplace. For example, research has shown that spiritual wellbeing is positively correlated with psychological wellbeing, reduced stress, and enhanced job satisfaction.

One study found that employees who engage in regular spiritual practices, such as meditation or prayer, report better physical and mental health, as well as greater work engagement and satisfaction. Another study discovered that organizations that foster a spiritual culture have lower levels of employee burnout, higher levels of commitment, and improved overall performance.

These findings underline the significance of spirituality in supporting employee wellbeing and contributing to a positive workplace culture.

• The Benefits of Spiritual Wellbeing for Employees

Spiritual wellbeing can have numerous positive effects on employees, which in turn can contribute to the overall success of an organization. Some of the benefits of fostering spirituality in the workplace include:

A. Enhanced mental health: Spiritual practices like meditation and mindfulness can help employees manage stress, reduce anxiety, and improve their overall mental wellbeing.

B. Greater job satisfaction: Employees who feel connected to their work and find meaning in their tasks are more likely to be satisfied with their jobs, leading to higher retention rates and improved productivity.

C. Improved physical health: Research has shown that spiritual wellbeing can have a positive impact on physical health, with benefits such as lower blood pressure, improved immune function, and reduced pain perception.

D. Increased creativity: A spiritual approach to work can help employees tap into their creative potential, leading to innovative ideas and solutions.

E. Enhanced interpersonal relationships: Spiritual practices often promote empathy and compassion, which can improve communication and collaboration among team members.

• Building a Spiritual Workplace Culture

Organizations can take several steps to create a workplace culture that values and supports spirituality:

A. Encourage mindfulness: Implement mindfulness programs, such as meditation sessions or workshops, to help employees stay present and focused.

B. Foster a sense of purpose: Help employees find meaning in their work by connecting their roles to the company's overall mission and vision.

C. Provide opportunities for personal growth: Offer workshops or resources on topics such as emotional intelligence, stress management, and self-care.

D. Create spaces for reflection: Designate quiet spaces where employees can take breaks, meditate, or engage in other reflective practices.

E. Promote open communication: Encourage employees to express their thoughts and feelings, and create a culture of empathy and understanding.

F. Celebrate diversity: Organize events or workshops that showcase different spiritual practices and beliefs, fostering a culture of inclusivity and appreciation for diverse perspectives.

G. Support employee-led initiatives: Encourage and support employee-led groups or clubs focused on spiritual practices, ensuring that they are inclusive and open to all interested individuals.

• Challenges and Considerations

While implementing spirituality in the workplace can have numerous benefits, it is crucial to be mindful of potential challenges and considerations:

A. Respect diverse beliefs: Acknowledge and respect the diverse beliefs and practices of your employees, and ensure that your spiritual initiatives are inclusive and non-discriminatory.

B. Maintain boundaries: Be sensitive to the need for boundaries between personal and professional lives, and avoid imposing spiritual practices on employees.

C. Balance spirituality with other aspects of wellbeing: While spirituality is essential, remember to address other aspects of employee wellbeing, such as physical health and work-life balance.

D. Monitor the impact: Regularly assess the impact of your spiritual initiatives on employee wellbeing and workplace culture, and make adjustments as needed to ensure their continued effectiveness.

Fostering spirituality in the workplace can have profound impacts on employee wellbeing and workplace culture. As organizations strive to create more inclusive and supportive environments, it is crucial to consider the role of spirituality in promoting the holistic wellbeing of employees.

If your organization is looking to enhance employee wellbeing by incorporating spiritual elements, Global Healthcare Resources is here to help. As experts in wellness consulting, we can provide the guidance and resources you need to create a holistic and inclusive workplace environment that supports the spiritual needs of your employees. To learn more about our services and how we can assist you in this journey, visit our wellness consulting page at https://www.globalhealthcareresources.com/wellnessconsulting . Together, let's create a workplace that nurtures the whole person – mind, body, and spirit – and unlocks the full potential of your employees.

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EDITORIAL article

Editorial: spirituality in the workplace.

• 1 Post-graduate School of Occupational Health, Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, Rome, Italy
• 2 Department of Psychology, University of Torino, Torino, Italy
• 3 Department of Social and Behavioral Health, School of Public Health, University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV), Las Vegas, NV, United States
• 4 Department of Internal Medicine, Kirk Kerkorian School of Medicine at UNLV, University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV), Las Vegas, NV, United States

Editorial on the Research Topic Spirituality in the workplace

Spirituality refers to a feeling of connection between individuals and the universe, meaning in life, purpose, integration, growth, truth, and mindfulness ( Harrington et al., 2004 ). Besides, workplace spirituality has incorporated some spiritual concepts, including inner life connection, sense of community, connectedness, compassion, transcendence, and mindfulness in the workplace, for better mental health and wellbeing of the workers, improved commitment and motivation, and enhanced organizational outcomes of the companies ( Beheshtifar and Zare, 2013 ). Spirituality-based programs in the workplace indeed have been shown to have numerous benefits for employees and organizations, including increased creativity and profits, higher levels of productivity and performance, reduced absenteeism, and improved job satisfaction and intrinsic motivation ( Pouragha et al., 2022 ).

This Research Topic aimed to investigate the connection between occupational health psychology and spirituality to understand better how to develop spirituality-based programs in the workplace. The literature recognizes that spiritual wellbeing is negatively associated with poor mental health outcomes, such as anxiety, depression, and burnout, in helping professionals like teachers and nurses, among others ( Chirico and Magnavita, 2019 ). On the other hand, spiritual wellbeing might predict positive psychological outcomes at work ( Chirico, 2017 ; Sharma, 2018 ; Chirico et al., 2020 ). Therefore, spirituality-based programs can reduce burnout, anxiety, depression, and job-related stress and, at the same time, enhance self-career management, organizational self-esteem, and ethical behavior.

In this Research Topic, Yadav et al. showed that employee wellbeing in police personnel is a function of workplace spirituality, empathic concern, and organizational politics. The empirical study by Liang et al. among scientific and technological workers in China has highlighted that meaning of work has a positive impact on innovative behaviors. Garg et al. have investigated the “necessity and sufficiency of gratitude for supporting workplace happiness among Indian university teachers.” The authors found that gratitude is a sufficient and necessary condition for workplace happiness. Furthermore, they discovered a significant mediating effect of psychological and social capital in the relationship between gratitude and workplace happiness. Sousan et al. showed the adverse impact of practicing surface acting (SA) on the mental health of Iranian nurses confronting COVID-19. Moreover, they showed the buffering effect of the sense of community on the relationship between SA and job stress. Finally, Bella et al. analyzed “ An initial approach to increase job satisfaction through workplace spirituality .”

The findings of these studies suggest that health planners and authorities should consider some factors that contribute to the promotion of workplace spirituality to increase the motivation of the workers for improved performance and organizational wellbeing of the companies. For example, the COVID-19 pandemic revealed a connection between mental health, spirituality, and fear ( Chirico, 2021 ). Spiritual skills can be special tools for healthcare workers during global emergencies like SARS-CoV-2 and future challenges posed by climate change and global disasters ( Chirico and Nucera, 2020 ). Finally, spiritual skills may be helpful to cope with adversity and workplace issues ( Magnavita and Chirico, 2020 ), especially for the helping professions and in end-of-life and palliative care settings. Such development of skills related to spirituality must be based on evidence-based (behavioral theory-based) research ( Sharma, 2022 ). Third-generation theories such as the health belief model, social cognitive theory, theory of planned behavior, and others, as well as fourth-generation theories such as the multi-theory model (MTM) of health behavior change, integrative model of behavioral prediction and others, can be useful in this direction ( Sharma, 2022 ).

Workplace spirituality can serve as a framework for promoting employee wellbeing by manifesting organizational values and culture. Furthermore, by incorporating spirituality into workplace health promotion programs, employees can be supported by their organizations to cope with burnout, work-related stress and violence, and other psychosocial occupational risk factors. For this reason, employers should consider implementing spirituality-based programs in the workplace to reap the numerous benefits they can offer. In addition, scholars should better understand the relationship between burnout, stress-related disorders, and the spiritual wellbeing of the workers, as well as the effectiveness of meditation, yoga, and other spirituality-based activities at the workplace.

Author contributions

FC: writing—original draft preparation. MS and DA: writing—review and editing. All authors have read and agreed to the published version of the manuscript.

Conflict of interest

The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.

Publisher's note

All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article, or claim that may be made by its manufacturer, is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.

Beheshtifar, M., and Zare, E. (2013). Effect of spirituality in workplace on job performance. Interdiscip. J. Contemp. Res. Bus . 5, 248–254. doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2022.881675

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Chirico, F., Sharma, M., Zaffina, S., and Magnavita, N. (2020). Spirituality and prayer on teacher stress and burnout in an italian cohort: a pilot, before-after controlled study. Front Psychol . 10, 2933. doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2019.02933

Harrington, W., Preziosi, R., and Gooden, D. (2004). Worldview resiliency of business degree graduate students–an examination of spiritual experiences and psychological attitudes. Assoc. Employ. Pract. Princ . 119–124. Available online at: http://www.aepp.net/documents/aepp_proceedings_2004_final.pdf

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Pouragha, B., Sheikhbardsiri, H., Asgharnezhad, M., Abdolahi, M., Sahebi, A., and Amiri, H. (2022). Does workplace spirituality enhance motivation of hospitals social workers? the scrutiny in Iran. Int. J. Soc. Psychiatr . 68,1135–1140. doi: 10.1177/00207640211023081

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Keywords: worksite, workplace spirituality, spiritual wellbeing, psychology, occupational health psychology, health

Citation: Chirico F, Acquadro Maran D and Sharma M (2023) Editorial: Spirituality in the workplace. Front. Psychol. 14:1162716. doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2023.1162716

Received: 09 February 2023; Accepted: 24 May 2023; Published: 08 June 2023.

Edited and reviewed by: Darren C. Treadway , Niagara University, United States

Copyright © 2023 Chirico, Acquadro Maran and Sharma. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY) . The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) and the copyright owner(s) are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

*Correspondence: Francesco Chirico, francesco.chirico@unicatt.it

Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.

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Workplace Spirituality: Why & How it Works like a Charm

When reading the slowly increasing bulk of research literature about the positive results of workplace spirituality – it is a wonder that researchers are not out there shouting it from the rooftops!

Academics speak of ‘groundbreaking work’ and positive results (van der Walt & De Klerk 2014).

Workplace spirituality is gaining ground in modern organizations and for good reasons. Research reports – one after the other – are providing evidence of extraordinary positive results in organizations that focus on spirituality.

Interestingly, the benefits of workplace spirituality are a rather perfect match to the problems of modern organizations and this makes workplace spirituality a solution, which you want to have a closer look at.

While it is overlooked by some, it is embraced by others. Some call workplace spirituality the most significant trend in management since the human-potential movement in the 50s.

The Challenges of Modern Leaders

Leaders of today are facing a multitude of challenges. They need to create a triple bottom line, finding economic, environmental, and socially sustainable solutions. Moreover, global leaders are not only expected to see a strategy through on a global level; they also need to balance all acts with local demands across nations and cultures to name just a few things.

More and more it becomes obvious, that current structures and policies are not fit to solve the problems of the 21. century.

We need to re-imagine organizations and the ways we organize

The final total is that modern organizations are commonly struggling with employee-related problems such as stress-related illnesses, burnout , people not coming to work (absenteeism), violence, and corruption. Research shows how this holds to be particularly true in organizations where spirituality is absent (Nasina & Doris 2011).

READ ALSO:  Purpose Driven Organizations; Purpose Beyond Profit

We need to re-imagine organizations and the ways we organize. Thankfully, the realms of ‘spirituality’ and workplace spirituality provide some answers.

What is Workplace Spirituality?

Workplace spirituality is rooted in meaning, value, and purpose. People enjoy applying meaning and purpose to their work as it fulfills them in ways not experienced when the opposite is the case. As human beings, we want to make a difference and feel energized while making this difference.

In this sense, workplace spirituality is closely connected with  organizations having a meaningful purpose . A front-runner on the need of asking why before what and how is Simon Sinek, who since his famous TedTalk: Start with Why – How great leaders inspire action  (watched by more than 58 M) – has initiated a wave of ‘purpose talk’. Most people know what they do and how they do it, says Sinek, yet surprisingly few know why they do it. Why is, in other words, a purpose, a cause, or a belief.

we need to be motivated beyond paychecks and task performance

Southwest Airlines, for example, which made it through the economic crisis, is at times described as a spirit-driven organization. They say that part of the Warrior Spirit (company language) is about having a servant’s heart and a LUVing attitude. In other words, the airline is connecting purpose, identity, and impression on the world.

In essence, we need to be motivated beyond paychecks and task performance. A combination of different approaches helps us to view spirituality from a new perspective.

INTERESTED IN GETTING PERSONAL OR ORGANIZATIONAL COUNSELING ABOUT SPIRITUAL DEVELOPMENT, AWARENESS, AND INTELLIGENCE BY THE AUTHOR – THEN GO TO VIBEKE VAD BAUNSGAARD’S PERSONAL WEBSITE TO SEE MORE OR WRITE TO HER AT [email protected]

In Dandona’s words: “Spirituality at work integrates three different perspectives on how spirituality enables or leads to organizational performance:

  a) Human resources perspective : spirituality enhances employee well-being and quality of life;

b) Philosophical perspective : spirituality provides employees a sense of purpose and meaning at work;

c) Interpersonal perspective :  s pirituality provides employees a sense of interconnectedness and community” (Dandona 2013).

While understanding what is workplace spirituality  it is worth the effort – and crucial – understanding also what it is not.

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Religion Versus Spirituality: What Workplace Spirituality is NOT

To be clear, workplace spirituality is not about religious beliefs. When communicating spirituality in the workplace it is important to be crystal clear on this matter. This is to avoid any organizational members should get the feeling that leaders are imposing a belief system upon them. This would surely create a negative impact.

Dalai Lama gives a splendid distinction between religion and spirituality in his book named Ancient Wisdom, Modern World: Ethics for  the New Millennium:

Religion I take to be concerned with faith in the claims of one faith tradition or another, an aspect of which is the acceptance of some form of heaven or nirvana.  Connected with this are religious teachings or dogma, ritual prayer, and so on.  Spirituality I take to be concerned with those qualities of the human spirit—such as love and compassion, patience tolerance, forgiveness, contentment, a sense of responsibility, a sense of harmony—which brings happiness to both self and others ( BooksGoogle ).

Likewise, be certain to initiate working with workplace spirituality because you genuinely want to increase the well-being and happiness of employees while lifting your organization. You are conscious about how people prosper when feeling meaning and purpose in their work-life and through being given creative space – and this is why you do it.

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Sure – spin-offs are higher performance rates, work commitment, and so forth. While these things obviously are important, don’t let them be your starting point. Profit before people is rarely a good sell! Make it people before profit, and the rest solves itself.

Workplace Spirituality Definitions

Let’s add a few definitions, to more fully grasp what is workplace spirituality and how understandings of it may vary.

“According to Ashmos and Duchon, spirituality at work is the recognition that employees have an inner life that nourishes and is nourished by meaningful work that takes place in the context of community. Thus spirituality at work has three components: the inner life, meaningful work, and community” (Ashmos & Duchon in Dondona 2013).

Giacalone & Jurkiewicz famously define workplace spirituality as those aspects of the workplace, either in the individual, the group, or the organization, that promote individual feelings of satisfaction through transcendence (2010: 13).

Emmons (2000) simply states that workplace spirituality is ‘the personal expression of ultimate concern’. Wong phrases it as ‘That which involves ultimate and personal truths’ (1998: 364).

What these definitions have in common is that they involve feelings of something as ‘greater’ than us – an encompassing feeling that provides us meaning.

Workplace spirituality is further talked of in terms of dimensions of spirituality to come closer to ways of assessing the degree to which organizations practice workplace spirituality.

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Dimensions of spirituality are, for example, spiritual well-being, spiritual transcendence, spiritual development, spiritual wellness, spiritual distress, spiritual intelligence, spiritual self-consciousness, spiritual growth, and spiritual health (Giacalone & Jurkiewicz 2010: 8).

Workplace Spirituality – The Benefits

Evidence reveals that workplace spirituality programs have many benefits. While they lead to positive personal human health and psychological well-being, spin-offs are improved employee commitment, productivity, and reduced absenteeism (staying away from work)(van de Walt & De Klerk 2014).

Moreover, workplace spirituality is recognized to increase integrity (also called spiritual integrity ), motivation , job satisfaction, and worker’s performance in general (Cavanaugh & Bandsuch 2002; Pawar 2009).

To go on, workplace spirituality is also shown to reduce staff turnover rates. One of the explanations is that leaders having spiritual values are as leaders judged as more effective. Studies of leaders judged as more effective show that they increase work satisfaction, motivation, productivity, and profits – as mentioned before.

READ ALSO:  Does being Religious or Spiritual make you more Ethical at Work?

The above are the main benefits of workplace spirituality as confirmed again and again through different types of research and with various methods. Next, we’ll be looking into how  to encourage and implement a culture of spirituality in the workplace, and then we shall return to explain the benefits of workplace spirituality in more detail.

Spiritual Developments: How to Encourage Workplace Spirituality

The following are some tips, tools, guidelines, and background understandings for actually encouraging a workplace spirituality culture in practice.

• Work with your purpose and turn it into a brand agenda, which is about what you support your clients, customers, students, or alike in doing. To do this you must be clear on your mission (how you are going to enable clients to do it) and vision (what the world looks like when this has come to be).
• Make your purpose greater than the individual. Be deliberate about engaging a vision of betterment of mankind or the planet, or similar.
• Avoid actions – at all levels and at all costs, that to your knowledge hurt people, organizations, or the planet. Obviously, we cannot fully engage ourselves in things that create a negative impact. Instead, step by step, turn your organization into one that employees can be proud of. One which they want to show off.
• Ensure that all managers are on board. We all know the old watercooler story when organizations spent millions of dollars building open offices to encourage communication across departments. The first time the floor manager looked sharply at the people talking by the watercooler and said: ‘don’t you have better things to do? – these millions were wasted.
• Know your employees and what triggers them. There is no other simple way than just asking them. This will spin-off many other great things, and your people will feel recognized and praise you for your concern.
• Recruit people that buy into your purpose… your brand agenda, mission, and vision statements. You don’t want Paul aboard if Paul is completely indifferent about the purpose, which you have spent time, money, and effort into making the center that all else spins around. Surprisingly I hear none talk about this. It is to be on top of all purpose-oriented organizations’ agendas. Recruit in accordance with company purpose.
• Accept that people are at different levels in terms of both spirituality and awareness. Accept also that some will welcome workplace spirituality efforts warmer than others. This way you avoid it being another mask to wear because the leaders seem to like it that way.
• Be consistent. Make sure that the purpose and your approach run through the entire organization. If you want compassion and consideration to signify your organization, it will confuse employees if, for example, customer support is known to not work by these principles. It will moreover signal a lack of genuineness.
• Encourage employees to explore their creative abilities and provide them with the resources they need for it. When we are creative we typically feel enthusiastic about our creativity and at these moments we pour consciousness and ‘Being’ into what we do. This is a spiritually awake moment.
• Cultivate an environment of inclusion. Don’t worry so much about fancy CVs and papers promising abilities. Look instead for true and genuine character and skills. To cultivate an environment of inclusion, cultivate an environment of listening and curiosity. When we listen and are genuinely curious as to why another person thinks the way he/she does – then we understand and feel connected with this person rather than disconnected. Moreover, inclusion is also about creating a mix of employees that represent the mix we see when looking at the population. If the board room, the lineup of executives, and leaders, in general, are all men – then inclusion is still only words on a piece of paper looking to be implemented in practice. Again – it undermines genuineness.
• Educate your leaders and managers in the skills of conscious life leadership. I cannot emphasize this enough. Leaders must know their values, live accordingly, and signal trustworthiness and true self-worth. Some call parts of this self-leadership , yet I call it conscious life  leadership to emphasize it is not intended as an alternative to being led by a superior. It literally refers to the ability to lead one’s own life with great awareness and deep knowledge of both self and others to ensure success. We find it natural to conceptualize and employ strategies in organizations, yet overlook the necessities of life strategies to avoid floating around like a leaf in the wind in our own lives.
• Encourage self-awareness. It is a skill of conscious life leadership, yet it is so fundamental to the success of all of the above that I chose to make it stand out. When you are aware – and recognize the common acts of ego – in yourself and others, which all people practice at times – then it is possible to leave ego acts behind you, and show strength, for instance, by daring to be vulnerable rather than diminishing others.
• Allow all employees to have mindful moments of stillness. It may contradict your common sense of time evaluation, yet allowing people to do nothing increases their performance. Moreover, it increases awareness, job satisfaction, creativity, and general well-being. This way stillness and mindfulness also reduce stress, burnout, and stress-related illnesses, which means more people show up at work each day. Why? Because they enjoy coming to work and look forward to it.

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Spiritual Development – The benefits of Workplace Spirituality Continued

Dandona (2013) has provided us with a list of benefits, which I’ve decided to share with you in full length. Besides mentioning its benefits it moreover provides some ‘hooks’ on which we can hang ideas and greater understandings of what is workplace spirituality.

“The full benefits of spirituality on morale and productivity will not be realized without a sustained, large-scale cultural transformation at all levels of the organization. When this happens, we will see the following changes in the workplace” (Dandona 2013):

• The organization will become purpose-driven and meaning-based.

• Management with a mission will replace management of efficiency and control.

• There will be a shift from fear-based culture to love-based culture.

• Management practices and decisions will be clearly consistent with spiritual values such as integrity, honesty, love, hope, kindness, respect, and nurturing.

• Spirituality is about bringing passion – bringing our heart, soul, and spirit – into what we do, because, from a spiritual perspective, work has a deeper meaning and serves a higher purpose.

• Management learns to truly listen and builds a safe place where employees can speak the truth without fear of repercussions.

• Management will break down the walls of hierarchy to create a sense of community and inspire a sense of belonging in the workers.

• There is a new willingness to reflect on the meaning of life and moral implications in making important decisions.

• There is a shared attitude that products and services need to be beneficial to the community and humanity.

• Management will value employees based on who they are, what they can become, rather than what they can do for the company.

• Bosses will treat employees in a responsible, respectful, and caring way because people are not instruments to be used and exploited.

• Management will also resort to spiritual ways of resolving conflict. Therefore, they will be reluctant in issuing an ultimatum and slow in the “firing trigger”.

• There will be a move from command-and-control leadership to horizontal servant leadership, which emphasizes empowering, delegation, and cooperation.

• There will be an improvement in morale, job satisfaction, loyalty, and productivity.

• The spiritual dimension will be fully integrated with every aspect of work-life, such as relationships, planning, budgeting, negotiation, compensation, etc.

If you feel important issues or points are left out, please leave a comment below so we can discuss it further. I hope this article has given you a better understanding of what is workplace spirituality, its benefits, and how to encourage it in your own workplace.

Ashmos, D.P. and D. Dunchon (2000): Spirituality at Work: A Conceptualization and Measure.  Journal of Management Inquiry , vol. 9, No. 2.

Cavanaugh & Bandsuch (2002): Virtue as a Benchmark for Spirituality in Business. Journal of Business Ethics, Vol. 22, Issue 1-2, 109-117.

Dandona, Anu (2013). Spirituality at Workplace . Conference Paper: National Conference on Paradigm for Sustainable Business: People, Planet, and Profit. At: IIT Roorkee, Volume 1.

Emmons, R. (2000): Spirituality and Intelligence: Problems and Prospects. International Journal for the Psychology of Religion, Vol. 10., No. 1: 57-64.

Giacalone, Robert A. & Carol L. Jurkiewicz (2010): Handbook of Workplace Spirituality and Organizational Performance . Routledge: London and New York.

McAllister (2016): What spiritual Intelligence Qualities are most Important for an Effective Organization Development Practitioner? California State University, Sonoma.

van der Walt, Freda and Mias De Klerk (2014). Workplace spirituality and job satisfaction . International Review of Psychiatry, 26, 3.

Wong, Paul T. P. (1998): The Importance Role of Religions and Spirituality [accessed May 23. 2019].

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14 comments.

Thank you for sending a positive comment my way – much appreciated. All the best – Vibeke.

I think there should be a balance between work and life that also includes spiritual healing and connection. I love that you talked about how having a spiritual culture in the workplace benefits both the employers and the employees. I concur that spiritually inclined CEOs make wise decisions, and their top priority is maintaining a great working connection with their staff.

Connecting with our inner self and the people around us is a first step that will make a huge difference – not just in our own life – but in all lives around us. Thank you for your great comment. Best wishes – Vibeke.

Wow, I appreciate you letting me know that I should start working with workplace spirituality since you honestly want to improve employee happiness and well-being while advancing your company. This may have finally convinced me to enroll in the online energy healing school about which I’ve been reading so much lately. I believe it will aid me in my quest for spiritual awakening, thus I appreciate you providing the helpful information!

Thank you so much for your positive response. The path to awakening is one we all share. Our work-lives are a great part of our lives, and we need to feel we are making a difference both during working hours and after. As Thich Nhat Hanh says, being mindful is the path to happiness and also the path to true peace. I wish you all the best. Vibeke

Thank you for putting this out there I have confidence in God, yet not as a certain something, not as an elderly person overhead. I accept that what individuals call God is something within each one of us. I accept that what Jesus and Mohammed and Buddha and the remainder said was correct. It’s simply that the interpretations have turned out badly…

Thank you, Julius, for your response. Your right, the interpretations vary. We live in interesting times where ideas of science and spirituality come together in mutual understandings of what some call the source field, energy field, universe or God, and so forth. The key denominator seems to be love! As a Munk once said: ‘love, and do whatever you want’. I believe this is the best guideline for action one can get – treat others with the love, kindness, compassion, and respect you would like to receive. Every day is a new day for us to practice that:)) Thanks again, Julius. Wishing you love and joy.

Great Article! this article is beneficial to understanding how your mind can be free from stress, negative thoughts, if in workplace spirituality increases, it provides excellent work-balance life & people enjoy their meaning & purpose in life.

Thank you so much for your positive response. Together we can spread the knowledge of the benefits of workplace spirituality, which has a huge potential for adding meaning and purpose to employees who are led by wise managers and leaders who in turn have discovered the great benefits thereof. All the best to you. Great wishes – Vibeke

I believe in work and life balance, which also entails spiritual connection. I appreciate that you discuss how it benefits the employees and employers when spirituality runs in the company. I agree that those leaders that are spiritually inclined have fair judgment and the foremost concern is the excellent working relationship with the employees. This is encouraging and will be helpful for companies.

Thank you so much for your comment, Dianne. Your feedback is so much appreciated and encourages me to move forward talking about workplace spirituality in different settings as research shows how it benefits all in the organization – just as you point out – both employees, leaders, and the employer. Following our passion and purpose in the creation of a meaningful work-life creates positive energy that is beneficial for all. Even Harvard Business Review has recently pointed out that the positive energy of leaders is the most beneficial factor of leadership at all times. Thank you for reading and living this knowledge. Best wishes – Vibeke

A very timely and topical Article here, Vibeke, as we’re witnessing a growing trend of Articles related to this subject matter. Perhaps a function of people seeking more, substance, meaning and guidance within the workplace?

Thank you for your comment, Dennis. With newer generations taking over; generations which are more prone to ‘work-shopping’ – it is surely a growing trend. The willingness to spend a third of one’s life on something, which does not provide a deeper meaning is lessening. Since there are many benefits for business in purpose-driven visions that aim to improve the world in one way or the other – it is a win-win really. Charity is great. Yet, if we can make capitalism the horse in front of the carriage to secure movement of doing good – then results much greater in scope will occur.

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A Study of Spirituality in the Workplace

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In this empirical study of spirituality in the workplace, 1 we report on our results from interviews with senior executives and from questionnaires sent to HR executives and managers. 2 In general, the participants differentiated strongly between religion and spirituality. They viewed religion as a highly inappropriate form of expression and topic in the workplace. They saw spirituality, on the other hand, as a highly appropriate subject for discussion. This does not mean that they had no fears, reservations, or ambivalence with regard to the potential abuse of spirituality. Nonetheless, they still felt it was essential.

They defined “spirituality” as “the basic feeling of being connected with one’s complete self, others, and the entire universe.” If a single word best captures the meaning of spirituality and the vital role that it plays in people’s lives, that word is “interconnectedness.” Those associated with organizations they perceived as “more spiritual” also saw their organizations as “more profitable.” They reported that they were able to bring more of their “complete selves” to work. They could deploy more of their full creativity, emotions, and intelligence; in short, organizations viewed as more spiritual get more from their participants, and vice versa.

People are hungry for ways in which to practice spirituality in the workplace without offending their coworkers or causing acrimony. They believe strongly that unless organizations learn how to harness the “whole person” and the immense spiritual energy that is at the core of everyone, they will not be able to produce world-class products and services.

In recent years, a large amount of mostly popular literature on spirituality has grown steadily, 3 a significant portion of which deals with spirituality in the work-place 4 and the benefits of such workplaces. In spite of or perhaps because of this literature, there have been, until now, no serious empirical studies of what managers and executives believe and feel about spirituality or assessments of its purported benefits. If spirituality is a fundamental, important human experience, why has it not received serious attention and systematic treatment? 5 Some reasons for this neglect are:

• Spirituality is generally believed to be a phenomenon that is too soft, too nebulous, and too ill-formed for serious academic study. It is difficult to define, thereby rendering it nearly impossible to examine.
• U.S. society has a long-established history of relegating deeply personal beliefs such as religion to clearly confined private places and times of expression.
• Many current treatments of spirituality give it a bad name. If academics are too critical of spirituality and, thereby, are reluctant to study it, then what may be loosely called New Age proponents are not critical enough. Although very little spirituality qualifies for study by traditional academics, almost any feeling or sentiment with regard to spirituality is accepted by New Age advocates, often at its face value, for example, reports of past-life and out-of-body experiences, speaking in foreign tongues, and reincarnation.
• Even the few studies of spirituality in the work- place by respected academics are written more from the heart than from a stance of critical inquiry.6 They extol the virtues of spirituality without the backing of evidence. (This does not mean that we object to writing from the heart; too much academic writing is arid and, hence, unable to affect people deeply. What we do object to is the lack of accompanying evidence.)

The preceding arguments merely indicate why such an important topic has been neglected. We believe that one of the best ways to counter each argument is to explain our study of spirituality in the workplace and present our results. For the past two years, we have conducted more than 100 in-depth interviews with senior managers and executives to discuss what gives them meaning and purpose in their work, in particular, and their lives, in general (see the sidebar for the interview format). The discussion of meaning and purpose served as a natural bridge to the more general topic of spirituality. To verify the applicability of our results, we surveyed a large sample of managers and executives by mail (for more details on the participants in the study, see the sidebar). 7

What We Asked and Why

The format of the questions and their substance and content evolved during the course of our study. The more we learned about the topic, the more we learned how to ask better questions.

The interviews began with a set of questions designed primarily to put the participants at ease. They were also meant to capture such basic data as birthplace, school, job history, number of direct reports, and so on. Next, we asked about the top three things that gave the participants the most meaning and purpose in their jobs. They chose from a list of items, such as associating with an ethical or good organization, doing interesting work, serving others, making money, realizing full potential as a person, and so on. We then asked them about the basic values that guided them in making important decisions in their lives and how often they were forced to compromise those values in making important decisions at work and why.

We developed a portrait of their organizations and rated the participants’ perceptions on scales of various dimensions such as happy or sad, ethical or unethical, autocratic or democratic, profitable or unprofitable, caring or uncaring, worldly or spiritual, sane or insane, tolerant of gays and minorities or intolerant, and so on.

Then we asked about how often they, their parents, and their partners or spouses attended religious services, prayed, and what their religious denominations were, if any. We also asked if they believed in God or a deity.

After broaching these somewhat sensitive issues, we explored the main topics:

· What meaning religion had for them and how important it was in their lives (this particular question allowed us to secure each respondent’s implicit definition of religion).

· What meaning spirituality had and how important it was (so that we were able to secure their definition of spirituality).

· The differences between religion and spirituality.

· Whether spirituality was relevant in the workplace, an appropriate topic for discussion in the workplace, or best discussed outside of work.

· Comparisons with the more neutral topic of general philosophical values.

We also asked whether interviewees were aware of any methods that organizations could use to foster fruitful discussions of spirituality without causing people to feel violated or leading to uncontrolled discussions. We then inquired how often they felt joy or bliss in the workplace and when. Had they ever had an epiphany or a strong spiritual experience at work? Had they ever cried or felt depressed by the nature of their job or their organization?

An important part of the interview was con cerned with how much, and which parts, themselves people could bring to work; for instance, complete self, complete soul, total intelligence, total creativity, or sense of humor. Next we asked if they ever prayed at work and for what. Winding down, we tried to determine what their organizations had done that they were most proud of or most ashamed of. We queried them about organizations that they considered role models for fostering spirituality in the work place and took a brief inventory of the employee programs in their organizations such as alcohol treatment, counseling, and so on. Finally, we asked whether interviewees agreed that long-term organizational success demanded that organizations learn how to foster spirituality in the workplace.

Many of these questions have not been asked before in this type of format. For instance, to our knowledge, no one has directly inquired of managers and executives whether they experience joy and to what extent in their workplaces. Topics of depression, crying, and full emotional expression have certainly not been explored extensively. * Also, to our knowledge, previ ous studies have not examined how much and which parts of themselves people feel comfortable expressing at work. None of these issues have been covered systematically across a variety of organizations.

*See S. Fineman, ed., Emotion and Organizations (Newbury Park, California: Sage Publications, 1993).

Mailed questionnaires. The largest of the five groups in our study consisted of 131 individuals who filled out mailed questionnaires. We studied this group after conducting the in-depth qualitative interviews and, hence, had field-tested the questions. We mailed 2,000 initial questionnaires to senior human resource (HR) executives, primarily on the U.S. West Coast, chosen because of their presumed sensitivity to the broader and deeper needs of employees. The small rate of return of approximately 6.6 percent may have been due to the length and sensitivity of the questionnaire. Thus, we don’t know at this point if the responses are typical of HR executives in general, although they do match the responses of the HR executives we interviewed in person.

Interviews. Denton interviewed one group of all fourteen senior executives in a U.S. East Coast manufacturing company known for its positive, explicit stance on spirituality in the workplace and another group of eighteen persons who worked in newly formed business alliances or associations that promoted spirituality in the workplace. Thus, the members of this group were active promoters and supporters of greater spiritual development and expression in the workplace.

Mitroff talked to a group of thirteen senior managers and executives in a West Coast utility, an organization with traditional economic goals. This group proved invaluable as a point of comparison with organizations that had nontraditional or spiritual viewpoints. He also interviewed twenty-three people from various organizations. In addition, both authors also conducted partial, informal interviews with twenty or so other persons at various conferences. While the data from these interviews were partial and incomplete and hence could not be included in our formal statistical analysis, they provided important background information.

It is impossible to discuss all our findings here, for example, the differences between responses of men and women as well as minorities. (The differences neither are critical nor do they detract from the main findings.) In order to generalize our overall findings, we primarily discuss the qualitative results from the interviews. It is also impossible to discuss systematically all the quantitative results and differences between the various groups.

What Gives People Meaning in Their Work?

When asked what gave them the most meaning and purpose in their jobs, interviewees chose the following answers (ranked from first to seventh):

• The ability to realize my full potential as a person.
• Being associated with a good organization or an ethical organization. (Since most people saw “good” and “ethical” as the same, it didn’t seem to matter to them whether they picked a good organization or an ethical organization as their second choice).
• Interesting work.
• Making money.
• Having good colleagues; serving humankind.
• Service to future generations.
• Service to my immediate community.

In previous studies as well, when people were asked directly, they did not list money as the most important thing about their jobs. 8 Of course, this result depended on whether the person was employed and how well-paid he or she was. Nonetheless, beyond a certain threshold, pay ceases to be the most important, and higher needs prevail. The desire for “self-actualization,” as Abraham Maslow called it, becomes paramount. 9

When we compared the results from the beginning of an interview with later portions, we found that when asked how much and which parts of themselves they were able to express at work, the interviewees noted that they were able to express their “total intelligence” and “complete creativity” significantly more than their “total feelings,” “complete soul,” or “full humor.”

They clearly indicated that they were more able to show their intelligence than their emotions or feelings at work. This finding is not surprising since it aligns with the prevalent design and expectation in current workplaces. What is unfortunate, however, but still not surprising, is what people report as a separation between their brains and feelings or emotions, which contrasts sharply with what gives them the most meaning in their jobs — the opportunity to realize full potential as a person. Unless “full potential” is narrowly defined, which it isn’t in the total context of the interviews, this means that most people will never realize their full potential at work.

While they were not explicitly conscious of conflicts in their responses from different parts of the interview, most people sensed them. If only vaguely, they realized they have to separate and compartmentalize significant parts of themselves. Some people don’t want to express all of themselves at work or anywhere else for that matter. Many want to keep a certain significant part private, which they share with no one. However, it is clear from the total context of the interviews that a decisive majority wished to be able to express and develop their complete self at work.

In listing the basic values that governed their lives, most people responded with a common set of virtues such as integrity, honesty, building and maintaining good relationships, keeping one’s word, trustworthiness, being there for one’s family and for others, and so on. A few listed even more metaphysical or spiritual values such as being in harmony and in touch with the universe. The overwhelming majority of participants also indicated that they very rarely, if ever, had to compromise their basic values in making important decisions at work. Unfortunately, this did not always square with the facts. In response to later questions in the interviews, sharp conflicts often surfaced. For example, the chairman of a large, important organization in his industry bemoaned the fact that if he criticized the greed so rampant in corporate America, he would offend some of his biggest clients. This sharply contrasted with his earlier remarks in which he claimed that, as the chairman and founder of his organization, he was exempt from compromising his deepest values. When asked whether there was a contradiction in his responses, he was silent.

Since compartmentalization, contradictions, and splits were so prominent, it is important to note areas in which the respondents saw little or no contradiction. Generally, the interviewees saw their organizations as caring, ethical, and profitable and perceived no contradictions. This is especially significant since a majority of the interviewees were from for-profit organizations. Those from nonprofits agreed equally with those from for-profits in seeing no contradiction in being profitable and ethical. Unfortunately, we have no data other than the perceptions of those interviewed or surveyed on the link between high profitability and high standards of ethical behavior. Most of them saw no contradiction between the two. A future study might investigate a possible systematic linkage between actual profitability and beliefs. 10

Approximately 30 percent of the participants had positive views of religion and spirituality. A small percentage, roughly 2 percent, had positive views of religion and negative views of spirituality. About 60 percent, or the majority, had positive views of spirituality and negative views of religion; 8 percent had negative views of both religion and spirituality.

Most of those interviewed did not have or experience strong emotions at work. A feeling of joy was the strongest emotion. Crying, feeling depressed, or having an epiphany were almost nonexistent. The interviewees experienced joy in overwhelmingly common, somewhat innocuous ways, for instance, in accomplishing an important work task. Far less prevalent was joy when, for instance, a coworker or a subordinate accomplished something significant at work or experienced the birth of a child.

Almost all the interviewees believed in a higher power or God. However, there was a strong, sharp split in the responses when participants discussed whether they felt the presence of a higher power or God at work. The majority of the responses clustered at the extreme ends of the spectrum. Equal numbers had frequently and strongly experienced the presence of a higher power in the workplace or had infrequently or not experienced God at all. These same general findings held for praying at work versus praying elsewhere. (It is beyond our scope here, but these extremes can be used to construct different intensities of religious or spiritual belief.) Even though people reported that they rarely prayed or meditated at work, when they did, it was mainly to prepare themselves for difficult situations and for general guidance in making tough decisions. Sometimes they prayed for coworkers who were going through difficult times. Or they prayed “to get me through the day” and “to give thanks for something good that happened.”

Although most people felt somewhat strongly that spirituality was relevant as a topic in the workplace, when asked about the appropriateness or the inappropriateness of spirituality, they were neutral. This reflected their ambivalence due to the fact that they were relatively unaware of models that could be used to foster spirituality appropriately in the workplace. Indeed, they were seeking models or guides that would allow them to implement spirituality programs. They leaned moderately toward the position that spirituality should be dealt with outside work. As for general philosophical values, respondents felt strongly that they were relevant, an appropriate topic for discussion at work, and should be dealt with at work.

We also found that most people wished ardently that they could express their spirituality in the workplace. At the same time, most were extremely hesitant to do so because they had strong fears and doubts that they could do so without offending their peers. As a result, they felt a deep, persistent ambivalence toward spirituality. Their fears were probably due to the fact that they were unaware of any systematic ways in which they could discuss spirituality and didn’t know of positive role models to use as guides for fostering spirituality in the workplace. The few examples mentioned were familiar — The Body Shop and Ben & Jerry’s. In some cases, respondents mentioned organizations that would be unfamiliar to most people.

Total Context

Many of the interviewees told stories that cut across the entire array of questions and thus tied them together. For instance:

• Charles is the CEO of a midsize, highly successful furniture manufacturing business on the East Coast. In his early fifties, in good physical shape, and happily married with three “great kids,” he has an enormous zest for living. He is proud of his entrepreneurial skills, which not only are responsible for the initial creation of his business, but have kept it fresh, exciting, and highly competitive over the years. Nonetheless, in the interview, it didn’t take long for him to reveal what he considered a deep wound in his soul:

“A few years ago, I had an epiphany. I realized — or better yet, I could no longer deny — that the chemicals I was using to manufacture and treat the furniture I was making were highly toxic. They were extremely dangerous to the environment. To my dismay, I realized that I had become an unwitting agent of evil. Needless to say, this does not fit at all with my self-concept.

“While I had long ago abandoned the religion in which I was raised, my spirituality, on the other hand, has steadily grown over the years. Organized religion never had much appeal or meaning for me. It’s more concerned with maintaining itself. It cares more about the organizational aspects of religion and with ritual and dogma than with serving people irrespective of their beliefs. Spirituality, on the other hand, is intensely personal. Not only do you not have to be religious in order to be spiritual, but it probably helps if you are not religious, especially if you want your spirituality to grow and be a basic part of your life.

“Spirituality is the fundamental feeling that you are part of and connected to everything, the entire physical universe and all humanity. It is also the belief that there is a higher power or God — whatever it is and whatever we call it — which governs everything. Spirituality is not only believing that everyone has a soul, but knowing this and being in constant communication with one’s soul.

“The epiphany I had was: How could I proclaim myself to be spiritual, to believe that everything is fundamentally connected to everything else, that we are put here on earth basically to increase goodness and not just make money, and yet continue to make things that were basically harmful to the world? Ever since that realization, I feel as if I am carrying a spear in the middle of my chest. It’s a constant reminder of the pain I felt when I realized what I was doing. I struggle every day to pull that spear from my chest. ”

While not always as articulate as Charles, most of the people we interviewed had experienced some form of “wounding of the soul” as a result of working in organizations. This was the case whether the organization was a for-profit or a nonprofit. Contrary to conventional wisdom, working in a nonprofit does not automatically make a person more spiritually inclined. Many nonprofits have specific political goals and are even more concerned with obtaining hard results in the secular world than many for-profit companies. Whether an organization is more or less spiritual depends on the specific organization, not its profit status. One factor, however, became clear from the general interviews. A person must experience a severe crisis in order to embark on the search for spirituality.

Consider another example that presents other lessons:

• John is the CEO of a major social service organization. While officially a nonprofit, John is responsible for raising and managing millions of dollars annually so his organization can serve its needy clientele. Like many of the CEOs we interviewed, he is a complex blend of realism and idealism. He is tough and tender, worldly and spiritual. His very presence exudes confidence. He is on a first-name basis with the power elite of his city. He moves easily and confidently between the highest and the lowest social strata. In sum, he experiences little tension or contradiction in what might seem to be irreconcilable opposites. While John has extreme disdain for New Age terminology with its “gushy, sloppy language and thinking” and its paraphernalia, such as crystals and beads, he is not afraid to talk openly about his spirituality and the vital role that it plays in his life and work:

“I pray every day for guidance in making tough decisions, especially at work. I also pray to renew myself. I find that whenever I allow myself to be in contact with my spirituality for an extended period of time, then something good always happens. The grants and the money that I’ve been frantically worrying about suddenly materialize. Whenever I have let myself be in touch with my spirit, I’ve been able to ignore the advice of my closest advisers to the benefit of my organization. It always works out better than I expected.”

Like the majority of the CEOs and top executives interviewed, John is extremely skeptical of organized religion:

“I have little place for organized religion in my life or work. I view it as dogmatic, closed-minded, and generally intolerant of other points of view. It divides more than it unites. It is more exclusive than it is inclusive. Religion is more concerned with perpetuating itself than helping humankind. Spirituality, on the other hand, is personal and individual. You don’t have to be religious in order to be spiritual.

“For me, the essence of spirituality is connectedness with everyone and everything in the universe, to the whole of humankind and the physical universe itself. It is feeling the awe and the mystery of being. It is also knowing that there is a supreme being or higher power that guides everything. I believe strongly that religion should not be discussed in the workplace. On the other hand, I believe not only that spirituality can be discussed in such a manner without dividing people, but that its discussion is absolutely key if we are to create and maintain ethical, truly caring organizations.

“All organizations, for-profits as well as not-for-profits, need to learn how to harness the immense spiritual energies of their members if they are to become ethical and profitable over the long haul. Any organization can make money in the short run by exploiting and maltreating its employees, but if it wishes to be profitable over the long haul, then it needs to learn how to become spiritual.”

Definition of Spirituality

One important finding is that interviewees were able to define spirituality without being given an initial definition and, more importantly, that most people had the same definition. The following composite contains some of the typical responses to a question about the meaning of spirituality:

• In contrast to religion that is organized and communal, spirituality is highly individual and intensely personal. You don’t have to be religious in order to be spiritual. Some of the most spiritual people I know are not religious, at least not in the conventional sense. They don’t currently attend religious services, although they may have previously.
• Spirituality is the basic belief that there is a supreme power, a being, a force, whatever you call it, that governs the entire universe. There is a purpose for everything and everyone. The universe is not meaningless or devoid of purpose.
• There is a higher power that affects all things. Everything is a part and an expression of this oneness. Everything is interconnected with everything else. Everything affects and is affected by everything else.
• Spirituality is the feeling of this interconnectedness and being in touch with it. Thus, spirituality is giving expression to one’s feelings.
• Spirituality is also the feeling that no matter how bad things get, they will always work out somehow. There is a guiding plan that governs all lives. As long as a person has others, such as family, to fall back on, there is nothing to fear.
• There is as much, if not more, goodness in the world as there is evil. We are put here basically to do good. One must strive to produce products and services that serve all of humankind.
• Spirituality is inextricably connected with caring, hope, kindness, love, and optimism. It cannot be proved logically or scientifically that these things exist in the universe as a whole. Spirituality is the basic faith in the existence of these things. Faith is exactly the thing that renders their strict proof unnecessary.

We should stress that while nearly every interviewee agreed with and, hence, included most of the preceding elements, there was no universal agreement on a definition. As the interviewees’ responses show, it is possible to be spiritual without believing in or affirming a higher power or God. Nonetheless, most people explicitly included the notion of a higher power or God as an integral part of their definition of spirituality. Belief in a deity was viewed as the “ultimate ground, or guarantor, of meaning and purpose in the universe.” In other words, most people did not believe in a “random, mechanistic universe devoid of purpose.” Instead, they see the universe as the “intentional result of a higher intelligence.” The notion of a higher power was thus seen as an integral manifestation of this purpose.

From the respondents’ definitions of spirituality, we gleaned these key elements of spirituality as:

• Not formal, structured, or organized.
• Nondenominational, above and beyond denominations.
• Broadly inclusive, embracing everyone.
• Universal and timeless.
• The ultimate source and provider of meaning and purpose in life. · The awe we feel in the presence of the transcendent.
• The sacredness of everything, the ordinariness of everyday life.
• The deep feeling of the interconnectedness of everything.
• Inner peace and calm.
• An inexhaustible source of faith and will power.
• The ultimate end in itself.

Once again, it is important to stress that while certainly not everyone in the study either articulated or agreed with every element of this definition, most endorsed the existence of a supreme guiding force and interconnectedness as the fundamental components of spirituality.

Orientations toward Religion and Spirituality

In the study, we found that people have four different orientations toward religion and spirituality (see Figure 1 ) :

A person can have a positive view of religion and spirituality. This person sees religion and spirituality as synonymous. While spirituality is on the same footing with religion, spirituality is experienced and developed only through religion.

A person can be positive about religion but negative about spirituality. In this case, his or her entire energies are focused on the religious life, especially as realized through the rituals and the practices of a particular religion. Salvation and being a member of a tightly bound, shared community are this person’s major aims.

A person can have a negative view of religion, but a positive view of spirituality. In this case, he or she sees religion as organized, close-minded, and intolerant. Spirituality, on the other hand, is extremely individualized. In addition, it is open-minded, tolerant, and universal. It is accessible to all people, no matter what their particular beliefs. Spirituality is a bonding or uniting force.

Finally, a person can be negative about both religion and spirituality. In this case, he or she believes that everything worthwhile is possible through the enactment of the proper values. In this person’s view, religion and spirituality have nothing to do with the modern, secular workplace.

Workplace Spirituality

On the basis of our research, we found five different ways in which organizations can be religious or spiritual (see Figure 2 ). We are not saying that these five basic designs or models are the only ways in which organizations can be spiritual or ethical. Future studies will undoubtedly establish more models, especially as current forms mature and lead to new ones.

The religious-based organization is either positive toward religion and positive toward spirituality or positive toward religion and negative toward spirituality. (Examples of religious-based organizations abound within Mormon-affilitated and -run businesses.) There are three distinct types of organization that are negative toward religion, but positive toward spirituality. The evolutionary organization is one that begins with a strong association or identification with a particular religion and, over time, evolves to a more ecumenical position. (The YMCA and Tom’s of Maine are prototypical examples. 11 ) The recovering organization adopts the principles of Alcoholics Anonymous as a way to foster spirituality. Typically, this occurs when a majority of key executives in an organization are in recovery for addiction to alcohol, drugs, gambling, and so on. In the socially responsible organization, the founders or heads are guided by strong spiritual principles or values that they apply directly to their business for the betterment of society. In this case, the organizations’ heads are often more concerned with external stakeholders than with their own employees. (An example is Ben & Jerry’s. 12 ) The values-based organization results when the founders or heads are guided by general philosophical principles or values that are not aligned or associated with a particular religion, or even with spirituality. (Kingston Technologies, makers of computer equipment in Orange County, California, is a prime example.)

These five models constitute the major alternatives that we have identified through our interviews. However, all the respondents had only a superficial awareness or knowledge of each. To extract the underlying, salient dimensions of each model, we analyzed previously published literature on spirituality in the workplace. 13 Even here, the dimensions of the models, including the models themselves, were more implicit than explicit.

Each model is a historically distinct and valid approach that humans have adopted in order to find meaning and purpose in their lives. Each has major strengths and limitations. In addition, each has major benefits and costs. While one or more of these basic models are, in principle, applicable to all organizations, many will probably reject all of them. Nonetheless, we believe that the decision to accept or to reject a particular model should be based on a clear understanding of what it is and what it entails.

Each model began with a critical precipitating event. In most cases, either the founders or heads or the entire organization faced a crisis, in many cases, a long stream of continuing crises. In other words, the initial desire to pursue any of the models generally comes from intense difficulties. The path or road to spirituality comes from the desire to confront major crises and to surmount them successfully.

Each model also has a fundamental, underlying principle of hope. The hope principle expresses the organization’s basic optimism or in what it puts its basic trust. For instance, proponents of the various models, for example, Tom Chapell of Tom’s of Maine, believe that if they stick to their basic, ethical principles and values, then profits will follow and take care of themselves. In other words, ethical principles not only come first and have top priority but are the ultimate bottom line. Profits thus follow directly from being ethical, not the other way around. Even stronger is the notion that if a person is concerned with profits instead of ethical principles, then profits will suffer. One must be ethical for its own sake and not for profits. Paradoxically, if one is concerned with ethical values alone, then profits will follow.

Each organization turns to different sources or fundamental texts for additional knowledge and wisdom on how to run an ethical business. Each thus goes well beyond the traditional texts used in most business and educational programs. Indeed, each organization assumes that most people have been “miseducated” by the traditional texts of business such as accounting, economics, law, and so on. The notion of a basic text thus broadens considerably. For example, in the religious-based organization, the additional texts are the Bible and various fundamentalist interpretations. In the three models of the spirituality-based organizations, the additional texts are largely derived from the works of the great ethicists and world philosophers. These provide principles other than pure economic ones for running an organization. As a result, no matter what the underlying texts, the models have “languages” that are different from those of typical, traditional businesses. While the various designs use the ordinary terms of profits and losses, they also use such terms as caring, heart, love, and trust, without shame or self-consciousness.

All the various models have a principle or a mechanism for limiting greed. Greed is not merely the unlimited or unrestrained accumulation of money, but can also be the unrestrained pursuit of power. Thus, each model has an explicit mechanism for saying when enough is enough. Each model also has a principle that specifies the purpose of the organization’s profits. For instance, is the company in business to do good or to make money? Is making money a means or an end in itself? In addition, each design model grapples with size: Can an organization be ethical or spiritual if it grows beyond a certain size?

With a few notable exceptions, the quantitative results from the questionnaires generally reveal that, on every dimension, the people who see their organizations as being spiritual also see them as better than their less spiritual counterparts. For instance, while all the participants generally perceived their organizations as “warm,” the participants in “more spiritually oriented” organizations saw themselves as even warmer.

We could conclude that the only way in which humans can manage spirituality is by clearly and completely separating it from work. When anything is especially difficult to control, the temptation is always strong to relegate it to other realms. As Ken Wilber argues, the separation of elements was a necessary strategy at earlier stages of human evolution. 14 Art, science, and religion had to separate from each other to develop into more mature forms. A characteristic of earlier stages of human development is that critical elements are so merged together that they have no separate identity. Thus, for development, the key elements need to be separate.

However, at our current stage of human development, we face a new challenge. We have gone too far in separating the key elements. We need to integrate spirituality into management. No organization can survive for long without spirituality and soul. We must examine ways of managing spirituality without separating it from the other elements of management.

About the Authors

Ian I. Mitroff is the Harold Quinton Distinguished Professor of Business Policy, Marshall School of Business, University of Southern California.Elizabeth A. Denton is an organizational consultant.

1. See I.I. Mitroff and E. Denton, A Spiritual Audit of Corporate America (San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 1999), in press.

3. See, for instance, J. Hillman, The Soul's Code: In Search of Character and Calling (New York: Random House, 1996);

T. Moore, Care of the Soul: A Guide for Cultivating Depth and Sacredness in Everyday Life (New York: HarperPerennial, 1994; and

T. Moore, ed., The Education of the Heart: Reading and Sources for Care of the Soul, Soul Mates, and The Re-enchantment of Everyday Life (New York: HarperCollins, 1996).

4. See L. Bolman and T.E. Deal, Leading with Soul: An Uncommon Journey of Spirit (San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 1995);

A. Briskin, The Stirring of Soul in the Workplace (San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 1996);

T. Chappell, The Soul of a Business: Managing for Profit and the Common Good (New York: Bantam Books, 1994);

J.A. Conger et al., Spirit at Work: Discovering the Spirituality in Leadership (San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 1994);

B. Cohen and J. Greenfield, Ben & Jerry's Double-Dip: Lead with Your Values and Make Money, Too (New York: Simon & Schuster, 1997);

B. DeFoore and J. Ronesch, Rediscovering the Soul of Business: A Renaissance of Values (San Francisco: NewLeaders Press, 1995);

M. Novak, Business as a Calling: Work and the Examined Life (New York: Free Press, 1996); and

J.K. Salkin, Being God's Partner: How to Find the Hidden Link Between Spirituality and Your Work (Woodstock, Vermont: Jewish Lights Publishing, 1994).

5. See W. James, The Varieties of Religious Experience (New York: Collier Books, 1961).

6. See Conger et al. (1994).

7. See Mitroff and Denton (in press).

8. P.B. Vail, Spirited Leading and Learning (San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 1998).

9. A.H. Maslow, Motivation and Personality (New York: HarperCollins, 1954).

10. It is claimed that such systematic links exist between the actual profitability of organizations and their spiritual beliefs; however, it is probably too early to say at this point that such linkages are definitive. See:

D. Macic, Managing with the Wisdom of Love: Uncovering Virtue in People and Organizations (San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 1997).

11. N. Mjagkij and M. Spratt, Men and Women Adrift: The YMCA and the YWCA in the City (New York: New York University Press, 1997); and

Chappell (1994).

12. Cohen and Greenfield (1997), p. 30.

13. See, for example:

Chappell (1994); and

Cohen and Greenfield (1997).

14. K. Wilber, A Brief History of Everything (Boston: Shambhala, 1996).

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Please note you do not have access to teaching notes, a review of workplace spirituality: identifying present development and future research agenda.

Management Research Review

ISSN : 2040-8269

Article publication date: 2 January 2023

Issue publication date: 17 August 2023

This study aims to identify the present development of workplace spirituality (WPS) by synthesizing the findings from the WPS literature, identifying gaps and proposing a research agenda.

Design/methodology/approach

This study reviews 72 articles on WPS published in scholarly journals to review their findings on how it has developed over time.

This review reveals a dearth of qualitative studies like the phenomenological approach, ethnographic research, mixed methodology and experimental research. Besides, the findings reveal various dimensions of spirituality in regard to the workplace. The synthesis reveals a paucity of research to examine WPS at the level of mesospiritual. The findings reveal the scope for cross-cultural studies in WPS that could support and advance inclusion and diversity in the organization. Also, there is scope to examine the relationship of WPS with mental and behavioral health, mindset, innovative behavior, sustainable behavior and trust. Further, the findings reveal the scope of studying the darker side of spirituality in the workplace.

Research limitations/implications

This study offers significant implications to researchers, management and human resource management (HRM) practitioners by providing a holistic understanding of WPS. The literature review findings are limited to the analysis performed on seventy-two papers from Web of Science (WoS) and Google Scholar databases.

Practical implications

This study provides suggestions and future research directions for researchers, HRM and management practitioners for the inclusion of spirituality. The review findings suggest the implications for management and HRM practitioners by understanding the research done in cognitive science and neuroscience related to spirituality to humanize the workplace. HRM practitioners can draw on the insights offered in this analysis to develop learning and development interventions in support of WPS, e.g. training programs for cultivating mindset through spiritual mentoring.

Originality/value

The study provides WPS development over time. It also provides a comprehensive outlook on WPS that highlights its positive and negative sides. The study contributes to the literature by categorizing the literature and proposing a research agenda to guide future WPS research.

• Workplace spirituality
• Organizations
• Human resource management
• Individual spirituality
• Organizational spirituality
• Group level spirituality

Acknowledgements

We are grateful to editor(s) and anonymous reviewers for their insightful comments and suggestions throughout the review process. We would also like to acknowledge the helpful comments provided, by Prachi Gurav.

Mhatre, S.G. and Mehta, N.K. (2023), "A review of workplace spirituality: identifying present development and future research agenda", Management Research Review , Vol. 46 No. 9, pp. 1185-1206. https://doi.org/10.1108/MRR-11-2021-0800

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Spirituality and Employee Engagement at Work

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• Sitamma Mikkilineni 4  

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Spirituality is often considered as an important driver of the overall well-being of an individual. Given the significance of spirituality in one’s life, organizations are increasingly making efforts to ensure that employees use spirituality to engage themselves physically, emotionally, and cognitively in their work. The intent of this chapter is to understand the relationship between spirituality and engagement at work and to reflect on its importance to management. It reviews the theoretical foundations of engagement and workplace spirituality over the years. It then lists, describes, and compares different measurement scales for both engagement and spirituality at work. It also examines the “role of spirituality in engaging employees” in the context of existing research conducted in different countries. Based on these reflections, the chapter also provides some implications of this relationship for management practice.

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Workplace Spirituality as a Predictor of Employee Engagement

Workplace Spirituality: Drivers, Challenges, and Way Forward

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   Blogue

Workplace Spirituality: What It Is And How To Foster It

As human beings, we tend to focus more on the physical and material aspects of life than spiritual issues. We are so engrossed in the former that we barely find the time to think about the latter. But it is essential to know that we can only find unconditional happiness and peace if we enrich our inner spiritual lives.

Similarly, we rarely pay heed to spirituality at work, neglecting it, and giving little or no importance to finding meaning at work.

The concept of spirituality at work might seem like being religious at work, but nothing can be further from the truth. Contrary to popular conception, It has nothing to do with religious practices or beliefs.

So, what is Workplace Spirituality?

According to Petchsawang and Duchon (2009), workplace spirituality or spirituality at work is defined as “having compassion towards others, experiencing a mindful inner consciousness in the pursuit of meaningful work and that enables transcendence.”

In simple terms, it is about finding meaning, value, and motivation in one’s work beyond paychecks and performance. It is about people finding a sense of oneness and togetherness in an organization as a whole.

Spirituality in the workplace began in the early 1920s and emerged as a grassroots movement with individuals seeking to live their faith and/or spiritual principles at work.

Now, more and more organizations realize the importance of workplace spirituality. Also, people now acknowledge the fact that work can be meaningful to their lives as well.

Listen to our podcast on: Workplace Spirituality And The Role Of HR

Spirituality at work is becoming an essential aspect of organizations around the world and for a good reason, i.e., its numerous benefits -

• Improved overall well-being of employees.
• Increased employee productivity .
• Reduced absenteeism .
• Increased motivation and commitment.
• Increased job satisfaction .
• Improved quality of life.
• Increased employee morale .
• Reduced workplace stress .
• Reduced employee burnout .
• Reduced employee turnover rates.
• Improved work performance .

These benefits highlight the importance for employers to incorporate spirituality at work.

Ways to encourage spirituality in the workplace

Creating a spiritual workplace is a long and slow process. Employers have to change how things are done to foster spirituality at work instead of just reaching targets. They have to take an approach that encourages spiritual practices to take place in their workplaces. Also, each employee develops at a different rate, so employers have to be patient in their objective.

If you are an employer, here are some steps that will help you establish and nourish spirituality in your workplace -

First, you need to define and set a clear mission and purpose on how your company will serve your clients with your products and services. The goal is to create a purpose that is beneficial to the betterment of society, not just individuals.

Make sure that any action your company takes does not negatively affect other people and other companies. Set your company apart by avoiding any actions which hurt the environment as well.

Hire and recruit people who understand your company’s mission statement and actively work according to your company’s purpose. Hiring people who are not concerned about spirituality will hinder the overall development of workplace spirituality in your company.

Make sure all your existing employees and managers are aware of your company’s purpose.

Create an environment of inclusion, diversity in your company . Promote and encourage diversity in your employees’ thoughts and ideas.

Educate and train your employees in the skills of self-leadership and self-awareness. Encourage them to realize their value and self-worth.

Train your employees on proper business conduct so that they can serve your clients in a better, meaningful way.

Encourage your employees to be more creative. Being creative enables people to become more involved in their tasks and find meaning in their work.

Discourage and eliminate fear among your employees. Spirituality can only flourish in the absence of fear. For example, if employees are afraid of making mistakes, they will never be able to learn from them.

Foster an environment of trust in your workplace where employees can work, learn, and contribute together for a more significant cause.

Promote and encourage meditation and yoga among your employees. Meditation and yoga help people become more self-aware, eliminate stress and stress-related problems, and improve their overall well-being.

Organize personality development seminars for your employees in your workplace. Personality development teaches us to manage our social, personal, and professional lives better. It also helps us deal with the negativity around us and be positive.

Get to know each of your employees individually and also encourage them to learn more about each other. Doing so will show your concern for them, and they will appreciate it accordingly. Also, it will create a better work environment, boosting team morale and productivity.

Encourage your employees to spend time on their families, personal lives, health, and so on. Doing so will help them find happiness, contentment, and peace of mind in their own lives and at work.

Workplace spirituality or spirituality in the workplace is a movement that began not so long ago. It is a relatively new phenomenon that is gaining importance around the world. Corporations are now emphasizing spiritual values among their employees to unlock their full potential. Also, employees realize that they can find meaning and fulfillment in their jobs.

The bottom line is that spiritual employees offer more than just better performance and productivity to companies. They create better places to work in and help companies make the world a better place in general. As such, it seems unlikely that this phenomenon will go out of trend anytime soon.

Besides working as a content marketer at Vantage Circle , Shah Alif Ahmed is also an internationally certified nutrition specialist, competitive bodybuilder and a musician. For any queries reach out to [email protected]

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Spirituality in the Workplace Environment Research Paper

Spirituality can be described as a state of being in connection with one’s inner self and a higher power, which gives individuals the ability to find meaning and purpose in their lives. It is an invaluable pursuit that provides people with spiritual, physical, emotional, and mental nourishment (Reddy). Despite its numerous benefits, spirituality can present several challenges when practiced in the workplace because of the numerous approaches that people have about its importance. Spirituality is an important practice that can enhance values such as service and compassion. What are some of the challenges that appear when spirituality is shown in a workplace environment?

Spirituality can cause strife in the workplace because of differences in opinion among employees. As mentioned earlier, people approach spirituality differently about their practice and importance in life (Mitroff and Denton). Some people believe that spirituality is important and should be practiced in the workplace while others believe it is not important and should be avoided in the workplace. Its repulsiveness is primarily caused by its association with religion. Many people consider spirituality as one of the many aspects of religion, and therefore, introducing it at the workplace is considered inappropriate (Reddy). Religions have different approaches to spirituality. In that regard, ideological differences could result in clashes between people at the workplace because each would consider their religion’s approach the best. Each individual would aim to promote their religious beliefs and practices.

One of the potential effects of ideological differences in the development of conflicts between employees, which would hinder effective teamwork and cooperation. The proliferation of spiritual beliefs and practices in a work environment might influence how people look at each other (Mitroff and Denton). For example, people who do not believe in spirituality might develop negative feelings toward the people who practice it at work. Many people believe that spirituality should be dealt with outside work because it is a personal pursuit that should be conducted individually. Therefore, practicing it at work is a way of offending those who do not embrace practices such as prayer and meditation. The development of negative attitudes toward some employees hinders cooperation and renders teamwork ineffective.

Spirituality is an intangible concept that allows individuals to find meaning and purpose in life. However, this intangible nature creates difficulty in the assimilation and internalization of the rituals and practices associated with it (Mitroff and Denton). In that regard, many people perceive it as an attempt to convert them to certain religions that advocate for specific practices that are associated with spirituality. This originates from the belief that spirituality and religion are similar concepts. Certain organizations that promote spirituality create unnecessary rifts because they fail to give employees the freedom to pursue spirituality individually (Mitroff and Denton). As a result, employees may feel that the promotion of spirituality in the workplace is an intrusion into their personal lives because spirituality is an individual experience and pursuit.

Workplace spirituality is an invaluable concept that can have immense physical, emotional, and mental benefits if implemented properly. However, it can also present several challenges because of people’s varying opinions and differences in ideologies. People might feel disrespected by the overt practice of spirituality at the workplace and as a result, develop negative attitudes toward others. This could affect their relationships and render teamwork ineffective.

Works Cited

Mitroff, Ian I., and Elizabeth Denton. “A Study of Spirituality in the Workplace.” MITSloan Management Review , 1999, Web.

Reddy, Chitra. “Spirituality in the workplace: Pros and Cons.” Wisestep , Web.

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IvyPanda. (2020, September 5). Spirituality in the Workplace Environment. https://ivypanda.com/essays/spirituality-in-the-workplace-environment/

"Spirituality in the Workplace Environment." IvyPanda , 5 Sept. 2020, ivypanda.com/essays/spirituality-in-the-workplace-environment/.

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IvyPanda . 2020. "Spirituality in the Workplace Environment." September 5, 2020. https://ivypanda.com/essays/spirituality-in-the-workplace-environment/.

1. IvyPanda . "Spirituality in the Workplace Environment." September 5, 2020. https://ivypanda.com/essays/spirituality-in-the-workplace-environment/.

Bibliography

IvyPanda . "Spirituality in the Workplace Environment." September 5, 2020. https://ivypanda.com/essays/spirituality-in-the-workplace-environment/.

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Essay on Spirituality

Students are often asked to write an essay on Spirituality in their schools and colleges. And if you’re also looking for the same, we have created 100-word, 250-word, and 500-word essays on the topic.

Let’s take a look…

100 Words Essay on Spirituality

What is spirituality.

Spirituality is about having a connection with something greater than us. It can be about feeling a sense of purpose or meaning in life, being connected to nature, or feeling a sense of awe and wonder about the world around us. Most religions are spiritual, but you don’t have to be religious to be spiritual. Spirituality is a personal thing, and there is no right or wrong way to be spiritual.

Why is Spirituality Important?

Spirituality can help us to live more meaningful and fulfilling lives. It can give us a sense of purpose and direction, help us to cope with difficult times, and connect us with others. Spirituality can also help us to appreciate the beauty and wonder of the world around us.

How Can We Develop Our Spirituality?

There are many ways to develop our spirituality. Some people find that practicing meditation or yoga helps them to feel more connected to their spiritual side. Others find that spending time in nature or being creative helps them to feel more spiritual. There is no right or wrong way to develop your spirituality, so find what works for you and stick with it.

250 Words Essay on Spirituality

Spirituality is a broad concept that involves a person’s beliefs about the meaning and purpose of life, as well as their relationship to the world around them. It can also include beliefs about what happens after death and how to live a good life.

Spirituality and Religion

Spirituality and religion are often closely linked, but they are not the same thing. Religion is a specific set of beliefs and practices that are shared by a group of people. Spirituality is more personal and individual. It is about a person’s own beliefs and experiences, not necessarily those of a particular group.

Spirituality and Meaning

Spirituality can help people find meaning and purpose in life. It can provide a sense of connection to something greater than themselves, such as nature, the universe, or God. It can also help people to develop a sense of inner peace and well-being.

Spirituality and Health

Spirituality has been shown to have a number of positive effects on health. Studies have shown that people who are spiritual are more likely to be happy, healthy, and resilient. They are also less likely to experience stress, depression, and anxiety.

Spirituality is a complex and personal experience that can have a profound impact on a person’s life. It can provide a sense of meaning and purpose, inner peace, and well-being. It can also help people to cope with stress, depression, and anxiety.

500 Words Essay on Spirituality

Meaning of spirituality.

Spirituality is the feeling of being connected to something bigger than ourselves. It’s a personal experience that can be expressed in many different ways. For some people, spirituality means having a relationship with God or a higher power. For others, it means feeling a deep connection to nature or to the universe. Spirituality can also be about finding meaning and purpose in life, or simply about living in the present moment.

Different Ways to be Spiritual

There is no one right way to be spiritual. Some people find spirituality through religion, while others find it through meditation, yoga, or spending time in nature. There is no right or wrong way to be spiritual, as long as it feels meaningful and fulfilling to you.

Benefits of Spirituality

There are many benefits to being spiritual. Spirituality can help us to feel more connected to others, to our community, and to the world around us. It can also help us to find meaning and purpose in life, and to cope with difficult times. Spirituality can also help us to live more fulfilling and happier lives.

Spirituality and religion are often closely related, but they are not the same thing. Spirituality is a personal experience that can be expressed in many different ways, while religion is an organized system of beliefs and practices. Not all spiritual people are religious, and not all religious people are spiritual.

Spirituality is a personal journey that can lead to a more fulfilling and happier life. There is no one right way to be spiritual, and the best way to find out what spirituality means to you is to explore different practices and see what resonates with you.

That’s it! I hope the essay helped you.

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