A Person–Organization Fit-based Approach for Spirituality at Work

Abstract

Management of meaning inside organizations has been an enduring issue in organization studies. Issuesrelating to commitment and control through the meaning-making mechanisms have been studied by organization culture theorists for sometime now. However, rapidly changing dynamics of the business environment lend these issues a critical salience today. Two factors of this dynamic context are particularly noteworthy. Firstly, a redefinition of the long-standing employment relationship-loyalty no longer being traded for lifelong employment-has led management to look for alternative sources of gaining commitment from their employees. Second, several factors-socio-cultural, organizational and individual-have led the employees today to explore issues relating to meaning and purpose in their workplaces. Labelled variously by different scholars, the most widely accepted term for this growing movement is 'Spirituality at Work' (SAW). In this article we link the two factors to present a framework wherein the emergence of an issue from the private individual domain to the organizational is seen as having the potential of answering concerns of eliciting commitment from employees in a turbulent environment. However, the SAW movement is accompanied by vigorous debates about the concept itself and on how it is to be studied. In the course of this article we present the central conceptual debates that have characterized the SAW discourse to emerge with three definitional themes to understand and study SAW, and then argue for utilizing the person-organization fit lens to study SAW. We end with a conceptual framework that would enable researchers to make a comprehensive study of the elusive phenomenon of SAW.

Workplace Spirituality and Person–Organization Fit Theory: Development of a Theoretical Model

“…PO fit theory refers to compatibility between people and organizations (Kristof, 1996); the greater the compatibility between an individual and organization (i.e., needs and values), the more likely outcomes such as an individual's perceived need for meaning and purpose can occur. The complementary needssupply perspective of PO fit theory, where fit occurs 'when an organization satisfies individuals' needs, desires, or preferences' (Kristof, 1996, p. 3), offers a first step to integrating workplace spirituality into a more traditional framework of investigation (Ashforth & Pratt, 2003;Sheep, 2004Sheep, , 2006Singhal, 2007;Singhal & Chatterjee, 2006;Vallabh & Singhal, 2014). Singhal and Chatterjee (2006), for example, offer a framework built on the needs-supply perspective of PO fit to examine the antecedent factors and interactive effects of personal and workplace spirituality and subsequent outcomes.…”

Linking Person-Job Fit, Person-Organization Fit, Employee Engagement and Turnover Intention: A Three-Step Conceptual Model

“…First, although both forms of fit have long been the centre of attention for organizational behaviour and industrial/organizational psychology, studies have largely focused on examining them separately (e.g., Guan, Deng, Bond, Chen, & Chan, 2010;Mostafa & Gould-Williams, 2014;Singhal & ChatterJee, 2006;Wheeler, Gallagher, Brouer, & Sablynski, 2007) rather than incorporating both types in a single model. Second, most of the available research examined the roles of the P-J fit and P-O fit in respect of various individual and organizational outcomes, such as job satisfaction (Biswas & Bhatnagar, 2013;Wheeler et al, 2007), organizational commitment (Biswas & Bhatnagar, 2013), organizational citizenship behaviour (Cable & DeRue, 2002) and turnover (Arthur et al, 2006).…”

Does person–organization spirituality fit stimulate ethical and spiritual leaders: an empirical study in Jordan

“…Further, Milliman et al (2017) suggest that workplace spirituality is essential to improving the perceived P-O fit. In addition, Singhal and Chatterjee (2006) present a heuristic framework which identifies spiritual needs for workers inside the workplace, and provides guidance for organizations to implement them. The framework suggests that the congruence in individual and organizational spirituality will positively enhance the perceived P-O fit.…”