Spiritual behaviour in the workplace as a topic for research

Abstract

Spirituality at work is a fascinating and complex variable. It is linked to findings for business management such that it makes organizations grow faster, increases efficiency, enhances organizational performance, improves communication and a greater sense of team and community, and is related positively to employee's attitudes towards their work. Consequently, more employers are encouraging the expression of spirituality in the workplace as a way to boost loyalty and increase morale. However, there is empirical evidence that runs contrary to the common assertion of employees that they desire or expect organizational and supervisory involvement in their spirituality in the workplace. With the aim of specifying the construct of spirituality at work, the article proposes a theoretical approach that assumes that spirituality in the workplace is not independent of environmental influence. It investigates the various processes and elements that interact at individual, organizational, and societal levels.

Engaging work as a calling: examining the link between spirituality and job involvement

“…The integration of the concept of spirituality into the literature of job involvement is important, not just in extending the existing research, but also in enhancing the ability of organizations to create workplaces that engage the "whole person" (Hernandez Lopez et al 2009). The existing research on job involvement also gives organizational researchers and managers a vehicle to understand if the outcomes of initiatives to integrate spirituality in organizational contexts have been successful.…”

“…Hernandez Lopez et al (2009) suggest that there also may be dangers in poorly or improperly integrating spirituality into the workplace. This is especially true for organizations that only attempt to integrate spiritual messages on the surface without real commitment to espoused values or implementation of policies that are consistent with those values (Polley et al 2005).…”

Spiritual Leadership: Meaning in the Sustainable Workplace

“…Spiritual leaders, identifying the basic needs of employees, can motivate them intrinsically by giving them faith and hope so they can be a highly committed, motivated, and productive team [31,78]. This strong intrinsic motivation provides task involvement and goal identification because it meets the higher-order needs of individuals, such as self-efficacy, a sense of autonomy, and connections [79]. Several studies have shown that these qualities are positively associated with higher levels of organizational commitment and productivity not only at an individual level but also at team level [39,54,74,80].…”

“…A sense of life satisfaction [65] Human health and well-being improvement [69] Greater morale, and commitment [73] A sense of meaning and calling a job [73] Greater employee and leader motivation, satisfaction, and task involvement [30,79] Self-career development, engagement, loyalty [55] Less conflict, frustration, absenteeism, turnover, and job burnout [54,55,65,70,74] Less counterproductive work behavior [75] Higher unit productivity, self-efficacy [39,54,55,74,80] A sense of autonomy, competence, and connections [79] Team level…”

An exploratory study of workplace spirituality and employee well-being affecting public service motivation: an institutional perspective

“…Similarly, Bakke (2005) relates the work environment to the well-being of employees, suggesting that the environment should encourage employees to prosper and reach their full potential and to improve their well-being, the spirituality of the workplace is considered of utmost concern among organizations and communities (Krishnakumar and Neck, 2002). In this view, Hern andez L opez et al (2009) have argued that the environment of an organization promotes spirituality in the workplace; it does not happen independently without the influence of the environment, and if the work environment is conducive to spirituality, it will improve the well-being of employees.…”