Introduction

A fundamental tension between rational goals and spiritual fulfillment now haunts workplaces around the world. Survey after management survey affirms that a majority want to find “meaning’ in their work (Schrage, 2000, p.306). Something has been stirring in people’s souls—a longing for deeper meaning, deeper connection, greater simplicity, a connection to something higher (Oldenburg, 1997).

In this article, an attempt will be made to define spirituality in the workplace, and focus on some of the ways Human Resource Management can accommodate this rising epitome of a desirable work-situation.

The Spirituality Movement

DeCenzo & Robbins (1999) stress that in any organization, success is contingent on how well its employees perform (p.99). According to these authors “an individual’s performance is a function of their ability to do their job and their willingness to do it.” (p.100). Bruce Jentner, president of Jentner Financial Group in Bath, Ohio underscores this by saying, “I have a deep conviction that everybody has a need for something bigger in life than just making money and going to work” (Goforth, 2001). Kahnweiler & Otte (1997) affirm that work is a spiritual journey for many of us, although we talk about it in different ways (p.171). Ashmos & Duchon (2000) claim, “there is increasing evidence that a major transformation is occurring in many organizations” (p.134). Introducing the term “spirituality movement.” Ashmos & Duchon (2000) mention 5 reasons for “Corporate America's growing interest in spirituality at work”:

1. The downsizing, reengineering, and layoffs of the past decade have turned the American workplace into an environment where workers are demoralized.
2. The workplace is being seen more often as a primary source of community for many people because of the decline of neighborhoods, churches, civic groups, and extended families as principal places for feeling connected.
3. Eastern philosophies, like Zen Buddhism and Confucianism, which encourage meditation and stress values such as loyalty to one's groups and finding one's spiritual center in any activity, are finding acceptance.
4. As aging baby boomers move closer to life's greatest uncertainty- death -there is a growing interest in contemplating life's meaning.
5. The pressure of global competition has led organizational leaders to recognize that employee creativity needs a fuller expression at work” (p. 134).

Ashmos & Duchon (2000) affirm, “organizations that have long been viewed as rational systems are considering making room for the spiritual dimension, [which] has less to do with rules and order and more with meaning, purpose, and a sense of community” (p.134).

Spirituality is not Religion

Judi Neal, associate professor of management at the University of New Haven, Conn., states “Some HR managers are terrified of the S-word, spirituality, because they confuse it with the R-word, religion (Brandt, 1996)”. When mentioning spirituality in the workplace one should realize that “there is a difference between religion and spirituality (Rosner, 2001)”. Rosner believes that you can have an exploration, a deepening of the spiritual experience at work without having people become upset with someone trying to shove a particular point of view down their throat (Rosner, 2001). Nonetheless, Ashmos & Duchon argue that “the language of the spirituality movement that is appearing in the workplace is grounded in the tradition of religious imagery: accomplishing personal transformation, rediscovering self, beginning a personal journey, having utopian visions, and experiencing renewal” (2000). Cash, Gray & Rood clarify that spirituality looks inward to an awareness of universal values while formal religion looks outward, using formal rites and scripture (2000).

Defining Spirituality

Defining spirituality in the workplace is like capturing an angel—it’s ethereal and beautiful, but perplexing. The term spirituality means many things to many people (Laabs, 1995).

According to Thompson (2001), spirituality is something we all possess. It’s more than what we know or what we can do. It comes into play when we decide to do what’s right. Spirituality has to do with how you feel about your work- whether it’s just a job or a calling. Spirituality gives birth to the values that make you who you are (2001).

Ashmos & Duchon (2000) explain “spirituality at work” as being about employees who understand themselves as spiritual beings whose souls need nourishment at work; about experiencing a sense of purpose and meaning in their work [and] experiencing a sense of connectedness to one another and to their workplace community (p. 137).

A dispirited workplace can manifest itself in low morale, high turnover, burnout, frequent stress-related illness, and rising absenteeism (Thompson, 2000, p.18).

Human Resource’s possible Role in applying Spirituality

According to Kahnweiler & Otte the mission of Human Resource Development is to provide:

1. individual development focused on performance improvement related to a current job;
2. career development focused on performance improvement related to future job assignments;
3. organizational development that results in both optimal utilization of human potential and improved human performance, which together improve the efficiency of the organization" (p.172)

Laabs (1995) asserts that even though Human Resources (HR), as a profession, is not pushing the envelope on spirituality at work, most HR managers think the spirituality concept has merit [and that] spirituality has a place at work (p.60). Caudron (2001) introduces the term “Enlightened HR” for business corporations that are “striving to find a better way of doing business”, while keeping a high awareness in the HR department that maintaining the balance between financial and human goals is not easy. Shift too far in one direction and business suffers. Shift too far in the other and morale withers. Yet, by staying aware that both goals are important- and by integrating that awareness into daily business practices- [companies can be] able to weather hard times (Caudron, 2001).

Tom Chappell, CEO of Tom’s of Maine, offers creative and easy-to-initiate ideas for making any company a more spiritually satisfying place at little or no cost. Some of Chappell’s ideas on how HR can help establish a spiritually satisfying workplace are:

1. Help employees connect with nature by bringing in natural features, e.g., plants
2. Holding outdoor meetings when possible
3. Allowing staff to take exercise breaks to promote physical and spiritual wellness
4. Stage frequent company celebrations to acknowledge milestones and achievements
5. Honor creative expression by decorating the workplace with employee-made “art”
6. Create an evolving mission statement employees are proud to live by.
7. Rotating those allowed to attend outside events
8. Start holding meetings in the round, thereby creating feelings of egalitarianism.
9. Encouraging employees to get to know each other better (hobbies, likes and dislikes)
10. Encourage employees to take turn at answering customer correspondence (Chappell, 1996).

Given the aforementioned definition of spirituality at work as an issue of “experiencing a sense of purpose and meaning in [one’s] work” (Ashmos & Duchon, 2000, p. 137), this phenomenon shows great similarities with DeCenzo & Robbins’ (1999) perception of job motivation (p.100). According to DeCenzo & Robbins (1999) motivation can be defined as an individual’s willingness to exert effort to achieve the organization’s goals, conditioned by this effort’s ability to satisfy individual needs (p.100). Dorsey (1998) agrees with this theory by asserting that people and companies do well, financially and otherwise, to the degree that their interests match their values (p. 227). Dorsey exclaims, “people need to believe in what
they do for a living before they can tap their deepest creative potential” (p. 227).

DeCenzo & Robbins (1999) advise that, in order for motivation to occur, Human Resource Management must:

1. analyze jobs properly, and update them regularly;
2. identify what the job incumbent must possess to be successful;
3. ensure that it has selected the appropriate person for the job (p.104).

Green (2000) suggests that managers can motivate employees by setting in motion the three conditions required for motivation – confidence, trust and satisfaction – and by creating an environment that reinforces those conditions (p.155).

Among the various Human Resource (HR) strategies that DeCenzo & Robbins (1999) suggest to enhance job motivation are,

1. Addressing individual differences by focusing on specific needs and accommodating those
2. Properly placing employees
3. Setting achievable goals, including continuous feedback
4. Individualizing rewards by realizing that different people appreciate different rewards
5. Rewarding performance of employees when they achieved set goals
6. Using an equitable system by matching rewards to performance
7. Not forgetting money as a way to increase motivation and recognition (p.111).
8. Enriching jobs (p.113), by increasing employee’s responsibility for planning and self-evaluation of their work.
9. Job rotation (p.114), to make work more diversified.
10. Enabling an employee stock ownership program (p.118), to make employees feel more connected to the organization.

McDonald (1999) offers another suggestion for increasing job motivation by mentioning the application of training programs designed to open spiritual dialogues [to] unfetter employees’ creativity. Cash, Gray, & Rood (2000) add “personal leave days” (131) to the list of options, by arguing, “while a personal leave day would cost a firm more money, the value to employee morale and company goodwill [among other advantages] could well offset the cost.”(p.131). Caudron (2001) suggests an open company culture though “open communication [between employees and the management team]” (p.45) as a way of increasing motivation.

Laabs (1995) recommends the formation of workgroups focusing on coping with the work environment by having a larger perspective on life, [thereby] aiming to find a voice in the workplace (p.63). Laabs (1995) asserts that the spiritual perspective is already causing a shift in workplace values. This shift is the move from fear [that comes from not being able to speak up and the fear of what other people might think] to cooperation in the workplace (p.65). Laabs states that others in the spirituality movement [also] agree [that] removing fear
can help companies achieve peak performance. "As you implement these new values - - leaving behind competition, promoting cooperation, making people equal and allowing them to live in a fear-free environment--you'll engage not only people's intuition and creativity; you'll also engage their ownership of the organization." (p.165-166).

Conclusion

Even though spirituality at work is increasing in popularity, it remains a very personal issue that, according to Judi Neal, can only be supported by organizations through creating a work environment that is more nourishing to spirit. Neal believes that while tomorrow’s corporations and workplace almost certainly must integrate spirituality and work to sustain itself, spirituality itself is not an organizational issue, so change must come from the individual. Companies that have family-friendly policies or who support work-life balance are doing things that nurture the spirit. So are companies that empower and trust employees. “But [establishing spirituality] cannot be done through a program,” she says. “It must come from the heart.” (Oldenburg, 1997)

References

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