Introduction
There is a new paradigm emerging in organizations as the perspective shifts from being solely profit-centered, to people-centered. Organizations that have discovered the value in balancing profits with social responsibility are realizing greater adaptability, long-term gains, greater innovation, and higher morale amongst the employee population (Karakas, 2010). In the modern age where people no longer turn to religious institutions for their spiritual fulfilment, individuals are seeking meaning and purpose in their work, and the workplace is not just a place to earn money but to self-actualize (Chalofsky, 2003). The role of spirituality in the workplace is becoming increasingly more important in order to support both individual wellness and the organization’s well-being. Dehler and Welsh (1994) point out, “Perhaps the predominant task facing decision makers in the coming decade is two-pronged: understanding and coping with a rapidly changing environment; and responding by creating and implementing correspond change in their organizations” (p.17). In reviewing some of the literature of the impact that workplace spirituality has on individuals and the organization, the indication is that that employees who feel that they have meaning in life, a connection to others, and sense alignment with the core values of the company, have increased productivity and perform better (Karkas, 2010; Albuquerque, Cunha, Martins & Sa, 2014; Mahipalan & Sheena, 2018). With the majority of lives spent at work, the environment in which work is performed is crucial to wellness, quality of life, and the human experience. Knowing that personal well-being is contingent on the ability to make meaning (Lips-Wiersma, 2003), it appears that workplace spirituality can play a major role in wellness.
Research Question
What is the impact of workplace spirituality on employee wellness?
Methods
Articles reviewed were found using electronic searches in Google Scholar and CINHAL complete. The search term used was “workplace spirituality” and articles range from 1994-2018 with the older articles being landmark publications. The articles are peer-reviewed, original studies, and comprehensive literature reviews.
Workplace Spirituality Defined
Karkas (2010) states that there are over 70 definitions of spirituality ranging from definitions about “worldviews” to the “sacred” (p.91). It is an ambiguous and complex term to define and in the context of organizations it must be differentiated from religion. While religion is a set of beliefs often steeped in ritual and dogma, spirituality in the workplace is nondenominational, inclusive, and flexible. For the benefit of this paper, Lips- Wiersma (2002) offers an encompassing perspective of workplace spirituality as, “the process of finding meaning and purpose in our lives as well as living out one’s set of deeply held personal beliefs…paying attention to questions of purpose, value or meaning is important not only to improve the quality of career theory and practice but also to enhance personal wellbeing” (p.498). It is important to keep in mind that spirituality in the workplace has a benefit for the organization so additional definitions can include, “a specific form of work feeling that energizes action” (Dehler & Welsh, 1994, p.19) or as Pardasani, Sharma & Bindlish (2014) quote in their research, “’internal substance, a value, belief, attitude, or emotion that affect’s people’s behavior’” (p.848). While it is a struggle to land on one definition, the notions of finding meaning, alignment of personal beliefs, and feeling a deep sense of connection that ultimately lead to inspired action are key concepts in workplace spirituality.
The Impact of Spirituality on Work Behaviors
This section of the paper is a review of three original studies. Two are empirical studies examining healthcare workers and teachers and how spiritual dimensions at work may impact job performance and satisfaction. The third study looks at human inquiry research to better understand how spirituality impacts career behavior.
Primary Healthcare Services and Community
Albuquerque, Cunha, Martins, and Sa (2014) were interested in understanding the influence of three dimensions of spirituality on organizational performance: inner life, meaningful work, and sense of community. They designed a study with health care workers (n=266) collecting data on two types of group organization within the Portuguese healthcare system. By studying two different work environments they could differentiate the relationship that spirituality has within organizational structure.
The first group, Health Centers (HC) are characterized as institutions within a community composed of doctors, nurses, and administrative employees, and equal access for all citizens as mandated by the government. The second group studied are Family Health Units (FHU) which are smaller compared to HC’s. FHU’s developed with the intention to deliver better patient care, improve connections within the team and community, empower health professionals, and ultimately deliver better patient care. Even though the expectations and workload in FHU’s are higher than HC’s, the specific design of the FHU’s lead to an increase in sense of meaningful work and autonomy. FHU’s are a team of self-selected individuals who collaborate in group practices rather than individual, and design annual action programs approved by the local health authority (p.64).
Method. The researchers hypothesized that overall higher levels of spiritualty are experienced in FHU’s due to higher levels of inner life, meaningful work, and sense of community and that FHU’s have higher levels of performance. To test these two hypotheses they measured perceived and objective performance and used a spirituality scale replicated from a previous study to measure the three spiritual dimensions. Perceived organizational performance was measured using a scale of 1 to five (fully disagree to fully agree) on five questions related to appointment scheduling, service quality, team work, and skills. They controlled for job category considering that doctors and nurses likely experience their daily work as more meaningful than other job functions within the healthcare system.
Results. Data analysis revealed that in perceived organizational performance and the three dimensions of spirituality, correlation with inner life was not significant although the three dimensions significantly correlated amongst with each other. As predicted, a person’s job function contributed to their sense of spirituality at work. Their findings indicate that being a nurse is positively correlated with meaningful work while an administrator is negatively correlated with organizational performance, meaningful work, and sense of community. Interestingly being a doctor had no relationship with organizational performance or spiritual dimensions. One of the most interesting findings from the study is that sense of community is the only spiritual dimension that has a significant correlation to both perceived and objective organizational performance.
Discussion, implications, and limitations. One speculation of why doctor’s performance has no correlation with inner life, meaningful work, and sense of community is that because of the high level of training that a doctor goes through, the spiritual dimensions are satisfied regardless of where they are practicing. Doctors enjoy a high social status, may have a sense of community with other doctors, are inherently in a powerful position, and the nature of caring for others holds deep meaning. Nurses being most impacted by meaningful work is important because previous studies revealed, “nurses who reported having spirituality in their workplace performed more acts of organizational citizenship behavior and demonstrated more affective commitment as well” (Albuquerque, Cunha, Martins & Sa, 2014, p.75). Sense of community being the most important aspect of spirituality as it relates to organizational performance, corroborates the fact that humans are social beings and optimize when feeling connected and part of a social group (Cook, 2013). This means that organizations that structure themselves like the HCU’s are likely to get better performance, improved patient care, and more satisfied employees. Small groups that allow for employees to feel connected to one another satisfies the spiritual need for sense of community. Limitations to this study include that the type of person that chooses to join an HCU self-selects and they may have a different personality type that skews more spiritual than those in the HC. Additionally, this was a convenience sample which may not represent the entire population.
Workplace Spirituality’s Impact on Engagement and Satisfaction for Teachers
Mahipalan and Sheena (2018) conducted a study in government run schools in India (n=689) to understand three aspects of spirituality in the workplace:
1. The relationship between job satisfaction and workplace spirituality dimensions.
2. The impact of organizational engagement on job satisfaction.
3. The relationship between workplace spirituality and teacher engagement (p.213).
The three dimensions of spirituality that the authors considered are meaningful work, sense of community, and alignment with organizational values. Looking at the impact that spirituality has on engagement was carefully thought out based on the notion that engagement is the “antithesis of burnout” (p.214) and that “engagement is a broader scope as it involves emotions and behaviors apart from cognitions, thus making it a holistic concepts than a satisfaction of commitment” (p.215). Engagement at work is beneficial for both the organization’s productivity and profits as well as a crucial aspect to an individual feeling positive about work and life. The researchers also chose to look at satisfaction in relation to spirituality because of the inherent holistic concept and the spiritual variables that compose satisfaction. “A higher sense of self-efficacy, a positive relationship with colleagues, the leadership style of principals, good working conditions, and the prestige associated with teaching were also found to be indicators of teaching satisfaction” (Mahipalan and Sheena, 2018, p.215).
Method. Meaningful work and sense of community was measured using a seven-item scale from a previous study; alignment with organizational values was measured using an eight-item scale; and teaching satisfaction was measured using a five-item scale developed by other researchers, simplified from a global measure of teaching satisfaction. With 89% of the respondents being women, 85% postgraduates, and 89% within the ages of 36-45, the variability amongst participants was minimized. Additionally, the validity of the measurements was confirmed with a factor analysis.
Results. The results showed that all the hypotheses had significant and positive relationships. Meaningful work, sense of community, and alignment with organizational values showed to have a positive relationship to engagement and job satisfaction. Meaningful work proved to be the most significantly correlated to teaching satisfaction.
Discussion, implications, and limitations. This study has meaningful implications for organizations that want to implement a structure to promote engaged and happy employees. While this study was done in a school setting, it may be meaningful in a business organization to promote sense of community by working in small familial type groups to create a sense of belongingness and meaning. Mahipalan and Sheena (2018) cite that similar studies have been done with sales teams and found that spirituality and interconnectedness is important to work satisfaction in that environment, as well (p.220). “It is also expected that when an employee is spiritually inclined, the workplace becomes sacred like the work itself, and the individual’s relationship with the organization becomes stronger and deeper” (p.221). There is deep importance in employees who are engaged with both their job and the organization, especially when it comes to teaching. Working and educating children is one of society’s most important jobs and a teacher who is satisfied and engaged will have a spill-over effect that can positively impact children. Because this study was conducted in India which is typically a more spiritual culture than that in America, it is possible that the relationship between spirituality and job satisfaction and engagement may not be as strong. Further research on how spiritual dimensions influence individual satisfaction and organizational success in other industries is important to the future of organizational structure so that more people are thriving in their professional and personal lives.
Spiritual Influence on Career Choice
Lips‐Wiersma (2002) conducted a study using human inquiry to understand the human experience of spirituality on career. Over a three-year period Lips‐Wiersma met with 16 participants age 40-50, ranging in ethnicities, religion (or non-religion), and occupations to understand how each person’s personal narrative about their career evolved through the lens of purpose, sense-making, and coherence (p.502). The advantage of conducting a qualitative study is that the research outcomes wouldn’t be guided and the narratives could be coded for patterns in values and deeper meanings to inform a rich understanding of spiritualty’s impact on career decisions. Additionally, participants were asked to keep journals recounting a spiritual perspective on of feelings and events at work.
Data analysis. Career history, career choices, career transitions, and experience within the individual’s various jobs was analyzed in the participant’s own words, summarized by the researcher and sent back to the participant for accuracy. This method ensured that the researcher understood the reasons for career choices and transitions so he could create a database of significant characteristics and themes, then create models to understand spirituality’s influence on career behavior. When a theme emerged in the verbal or written data the researchers tested it for accuracy and richer analysis through deeper questioning.
Results. The results of this study are categorized under three principles: purpose, sense-making, and coherence. Within each of these organizing principles are subcategories of spirituality that influence career behavior. “Spirituality influences the individual’s beliefs of what are worthwhile purposes, and these purposes in turn influence career behavior” (Lips-Wieserma, 2002, p.514). Even across diverse religious and secular beliefs, the research found four purposes that bring meaning: “developing and becoming self”, “unity with others”, “expressing self”, and “serving others”. In the absence of any of these purposes, participants found that they made career decisions to align with the four spiritual purposes.
Discussion, implications, and limitations. It is worth discussing the purpose, “developing and becoming self” because the research found that the traditional practice of career development is only part of satisfying this meaning; people are looking for a process to go inward and develop the inner self. This concept is corroborated with Burack’s (1999) foundational research on workplace spirituality where he identifies that people centered companies that thoughtfully balance physical, intellectual, emotional, volitional, and spiritual development within the organization create an environment that allows for enterprise success “in response to fast changing circumstances” (p.282).
Another surprising finding is within the purpose of “serving others”. It is common for people to think of careers that “serve others” to include some form of social service work and are reserved to fit a certain personality type (such as nurturing, giving). However, findings indicate that “serving others” can apply across all occupations and personalities. Service to others can be found in small tasks and it is the intention that matters (Lips-Wiesma, 2002, p.514).
Organizations interested in employee satisfaction and enterprise efficiency should take interest in the finding that under the meaning making concept of purpose that, “quality relationships at work are meaningful for their own sake, and thus that relationships between employees, through the eyes of the employees are not just participatory tools, leading to possible greater efficiency, but are strongly connected to meaningful work” (p.515). Implications include creating a flat structure, or one where people work in small teams so that they develop deep interpersonal connection. Burack (1999) describes a newer type of organization that is flatter than the typical hierarchical model and emphasizes collaboration and empowerment in relationships.
Lips-Weiserm (2002) poses that individuals are seeking a balance of purpose (developing and becoming self, unity with others, expressing self, and serving others) to make sense of their lives. Under the second organizing principle of “sense making” this translates into behaviors where people change jobs to find, for example, more unity with others if they feel that their jobs are too remote, or a place where they can become more process orientated rather than goal oriented (a function of “development and becoming self”) (p.511).
Unlike purpose and sense making, the third spiritual principle of coherence has subcategories that were not found in every participant’s comments but is significantly consistent enough to discuss. Coherence refers to, “spiritual ordering or design outside the person, a connection with the divine and its influence on career behavior” (p.512). The subcategories include, “what is meant to be?”, “seeking guidance and strength”, “tests are designed for spiritual growth”, and “spiritual laws”. The notion that work is a place to find connection with God or the divine is similar to the purpose of a church or place of worship indicating that in today’s world, a job is not just merely a job, but a sacred place. De Klerk (2005) in his foundational paper about spirituality, meaning in life, and workplace wellness states, “Work is becoming the preeminent venue for discovering meaning in life and expressing one’s life purpose” (p.72).
The three studies reviewed in this paper reveal that the role of workplace spiritualty behooves the productivity of the organization, and enhances the life of the employee. The old model of organizational hierarchy limits meaning making, unity with others and ultimately job satisfaction. To optimize for employee wellness and enterprise wellness, it is essential that spiritual principles are incorporated into the structure of the organization.
How to Create Workplace Spirituality
If workplace spirituality is an integral component of developing an organization with satisfied and efficient employees, then an important question is how does an enterprise create a spiritual environment for an employee population that may have a range of religious and spiritual beliefs? In examining the literature there is limited information on the exact structures that successful companies have implemented. However, there is research on theories and principles that satisfy the common aspects of workplace spirituality that transcend religious beliefs. Lessons from Indian Spiritual Traditions
India, commonly known as a highly spiritual country and culture possess traditions that can inform implementation of a workplace spiritualty. A literature review conducted by Pardasani, Sharma, and Bindlish (2014) revealed the predominant spiritual dimensions important to the workplace from which they associated parallels within Indian doctrine to develop a framework for workplaces spiritualty. The rationale to conduct this research is that Indian wisdom has proven it’s staying power over the centuries, is focused on self-development, and provides a framework beyond short term profitability (Pardasani, Sharma & Bindlish, 2014, p.848).
The five components of workplace spirituality that emerged from the authors literature review are: meaningful work, interconnectedness, transcendence of self, alignment with organizational values, and holistic growth and development of the mind, body, spirit. The authors related the dimensions of workplace spirituality to traditional Indian practices that could provide a framework for organizations to facilitate spirituality in the workplace.
Karma yoga/meaningful work. As discussed in the studies above, people are seeking out meaning in their jobs and will adjust their behavior to find alignment with what creates meaning for them. Meaning making is different for everyone and varies across cultures however, the principle that employees seek meaning and fulfilment from work is universal. Indian worldview as told by Pardasani, Sharma, and Bindlish (2014) is that “the ultimate goal of human existence is to achieve salvation, and the best way this is done is through work, which is considered as a duty and contribution” (p.850). To behold a worldview that work is a pathway to salvation brings a richness to one’s job function that doesn’t exist if work is simply for making ends meet. Karma yoga is a fundamental belief in Indian philosophy that all actions have power to bring joy or sorrow in the future based on the quality of the action performed. The famous Yogic philosopher Ram Das explains,
Karma Yoga is the taking of the things you do every day with other people, of service, things like that, and making those all into an offering. And so it’s an attitude that one has. It’s an attitude of offering, and it’s an attitude of seeing how the actions you are performing mean so much more. (What is Karma Yoga and how can we take right action?, 2019).
The dual dimensions of performing work with devotion and as an offering, (or detaching from personal benefit for the benefit of the whole), suggests that any type of honest work can take on meaning. Karma Yoga offers a path for employees to release daily frustrations in favor of taking action to serve and seek fulfilment.
Interconnectedness/Loksangrah. Connection and service to others is a prominent need in workplace wellness and a vital component of workplace spirituality. Pardasani, Sharma, and Bindlish (2014) point out that, “work organizations have replaced the traditional social support institutions that makes interconnectedness all the more relevant” (p.851). In other words, because people spend so much time at work rather than with family or church communities, etc., the workplace is responsible for fulfilling connection to self and others.
Loksangrah is a social message of the Bhagavad Gita that promotes unity in the world and interconnectedness of society (Pardasani, Sharma & Bindlish, 2014, p.851). Should the modern corporate world adopt the Indian tenant, Loksangrah, it could shift the experience both internally for employees and externally in how companies impact the global community. The researchers suggest that within an organization the spiritual wisdom of Loksangrah could promote selfless concern for welfare of the employees, and develop emotional intelligence around compassion, forgiveness, and encouragement. Undoubtedly there is a need for this structure to be put in place. In Karakas’ (2010) review of spirituality and organizational performance, he points out that, “corporate scandals have resulted from self-centeredness, greed, egoism, and selfish passion instead of caring for others. As a result of the failure of trust in institutions, employees are searching for a sense of community, high quality connections and compassion at work” (p.96). Karakas concludes that spirituality in the workplace empirically fulfills the human need for community and connection and ultimately benefits the organization’s performance. Implementing the tenants of Loksangrah into the workplace could provide a structure within the enterprise to satisfy the employee need for community.
Transcendence of self/ Guna theory. As discussed in the Lips-Wieserma (2002) study looking at career behavior and spirituality, work is a place where people can go deep inside themselves and be connected to something greater than the self. In spiritual terms, Burack (1999) adopts Maslow’s hierarchy of needs and defines self-actualization as the inner-self connecting to one’s work, knowing no limits, and goodness being interchangeable with being (p.284). In other words, the spiritual development of the self at work allow for the True self to be expressed and not only satisfy individual fulfilment, but organizational productivity.
The Bhagavad Gita contains three qualities of the mind that can apply to transcendence of self: Sattva guna, Rajo guna, and Tamo guna. The three gunas are associated with goodness, passion/creation, and destruction/ignorance, respectively (Pardasani, Sharma & Bindlish, 2014). Indian spiritual philosophy suggests that it is possible to go beyond the gunas with full devotional service, and thus transcend to align with the immaterial part of the self to a state of fulfillment. Corporate companies that acknowledge the nature of the human mind, or the gunas, and facilitate the adoption of techniques to transcend the gunas can support employee self-actualization and wellness.
Alignment with organizational values/Daivi sampat. The argument that organizations should have values, a strong consciousness, and concern for the welfare of its employees is a spiritual principle that offers employees the ability to sync their personal values and purpose with the enterprise. Alignment with a workplace that encourages ethical decision making and behavior is a key component to workplace spirituality. In fact, Pardasani, Sharma & Bindlish (2014) found that organizations that go beyond the minimum level of citizenship to be positive contributors to society and operate with a high caliber of ethics and integrity are above average in societal contributions and employee wellness (p.852).
To build an effective spiritual workplace that inspires employees to align with the moral compass of the organization, Indian philosophy describes two human tendencies, good (Daivi) and bad (Asuri), and elaborates on how to grow Daivi. Daivi work includes, “fearlessness, purity, self-control, sacrifice, calmness, absence of fault finding, absence of greed, modesty, absene of envy” (Pardasani, Sharma & Bindlish, 2014, p.852). The suggestion is that corporations limit their selfish interests and focus their concerns on value-based principles. The researchers state that corporations who do the opposite and align with Asuri, may find short term gains and quick money, but will move quickly towards scandal and other unethical behavior.
Holistic growth and development/Pancha Kosha. The author of this paper has found in her studies at Saybrook University in Mind Body Medicine, that the discipline of mind body medicine recognizes that human potential and wellness is reached by addressing, honoring, and integrating the mind, body, and spirit. In relation to the workplace, organizations that can support the holistic growth of the mind, body, and spirit will help employees recognize their full potential (Pardasani, Sharma & Bindlish, 2014). The framework for this concept is found in the Indian spiritual tradition of Pancha Kosha which is the belief that humans have the ability to evolve to higher levels of existence by moving through five sheaths, or layers: physical, vital, emotional, intellect, and finally eternal bliss or spiritual consciousness (Pardasani, Sharma & Bindlish, 2014, p.853). Subjective wellbeing relies on addressing all layers, the Pancha Kosha, or the integration of mind, body, and spirit. Peace and harmony amongst the layers can lead to rapid growth and development in the workplace. Using Pancha Kosha as a framework, organizations may adopt spiritual practices that are already popular in modern workplaces. Some companies are able to address mind, body and spirit with mindfulness, offering healthy foods, and encouraging movement through group exercise.
Conclusion
As society evolves and corporations become more attuned to employee wellness, spirituality in the workplace will become more essential not just to retaining employees but being profitable and adaptive in our rapidly changing world. Based on the research, a high correlation exists between workplace spirituality and business performance (Karakas, 2010). There is a high potential that imposing religion at work would be controversial, however there is huge upside to enterprises that find ways to support non-denominational spirituality. The literature reveals that meaningfulness, connectedness, self-development, and alignment with organizational values are spiritual principles that lead to fulfilment, satisfaction, and productivity. Organizations that can implement corporate values around these spiritual principles require thoughtful structure. The structure must provide agency to employees to self-actualize and these types of organizations may find themselves not only a desirable place to work but withstanding global competition and realizing long-term profitability.
References
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