Does spirituality have a place at work?

Adele A. Lim, a research-practitioner in personal and organisational development, shares some recent research with us.

Ask a colleague that question, and chances are you’d get a thoughtful expression followed by a reflective “Hmmm…”

Quite a few may say that they are “ill-qualified” to respond to such a question. Some would reply with a “no” in an expression of shock. Yet others, after having a bit of time to reflect, come back with a “maybe”.

My quick probe into the opinions of working executives in various sectors revealed that no one, apart from those who worked in religious-based organisations, actually said “yes”.

The disparate views are no surprise. In 2005-2006, Dr Jonathan Smith, Lorraine Flower and a small research team interviewed leaders in organisations with the intention of understanding how the leaders viewed their role and the place, if any, of the spiritual dimension of their leadership.

The nature of respondents’ responses to the question of ‘spirituality’ and ‘spiritual leadership’ showed wide disparate views. Some respondents were puzzled, while others were very clear about what these terms meant to them. The majority of respondents though, generally reacted negatively to those terms. 1

Similar to the pilot research, the individuals I spoke to often made links to religion, remarking on a subtle distinction between ‘spirituality’ and ‘religion’. For many, they seem to mean the same thing.

Perhaps the wide variance in responses is due to how people define ‘spirituality’?

It’s another dimension

Mobolaji Owoade, Training Advisor in a Compliance Solutions company believes that “there is no coherent definition for what spirituality really means. It means different things to different people, and people do not even agree on it! I think it could be divisive rather than an advantage because of diverse views.”

A Marketing Manager in Commerce agreed, but then equated spirituality at work with having to propagate belief-induced behaviours that will probably not go down well, and promote discord instead of collective vision.

Those who completely axed spirituality from the work place either are treading along the lines of caution, or simply had defined ‘spirituality’ along the lines of ‘being religious’. Some completely disproved of the “fluffy and mystical” word.

“It’s a touchy-feely area that does not quite belong to the corporate world. I don’t think it has a place in my company. Our brand is not really ‘spiritual’, strong as it is. We work for sales. The company wants us to generate sales, not brotherhood,” remarked a Business Manager in Retail.

“We don’t really talk much about spirituality where I work. To be honest, I don’t really know how and where it would fit in. I think people should be free at work to express spiritual beliefs, but I am not sure how that would tangibly work,” said Simon Gosney from the NHS.

On the other hand, May Lowe, an IT professional in Financial Services prefers to see it as personal growth, if one chooses, and that could potentially be a contribution to the organisation.

“A lot of people associate spirituality with making a difference in other lives, forming meaningful friendships and generally bringing compassion back into work. But it is not an easy task. Anyone embarking on this journey would be thoroughly tested, may become frustrated and disillusioned, and could give up. At the end of the day, it’s how you define success,” she said, implying that practicing spirituality at work is a personal goal.

The common theme is ‘contribution’

Semantics and negative connotation aside, there appear to be a few common themes. So instead of getting caught up in the word spirituality itself, why not find the bigger picture.

Respondents of the Smith & Flower pilot research highlighted a list of qualities related to spirituality: humility, empathy, resilience, trust, inspiration, passion, energy, connected, positive, authentic, courage, mindful of common aspects to humanity, working together, compassion, caring, tolerant, calmness in the face of difficulty, ethical, and raised consciousness, amongst others.

These words can be found in organisational values in one form or another. Organisational values form the basis for development of a unique culture that resonates across the organisation. It becomes, if you may, the spirit or the ‘religion’ of the organisation, which comes into existence through each individual. In this context, does spirituality not exist, however artificial it may seem to certain individuals?

We all face challenges at work at one time or another. Isn’t learning to understand different behaviours and motivation, and then having to cope with polarities, part of a practice for spiritual growth?

Why can’t demanding work environments prompt a spiritual experience?

True, the business needs to go on making money, non-profits and charities still need to have a surplus, and spiritual experiences are quite personal and differ from person to person… but can we actually say that spirituality has no place at work?

Personally, I believe that spirituality can have a place wherever one wants/needs it to be, because really, it exists within each individual, who then collectively make up a community. I wouldn’t even want to introduce the word ‘transcendence’, but hopefully, point made!

1. Smith & Flower, 2006 – Leadership: The Spiritual Dimension Research Project www.spiritualityatwork.org

Adele Lim can be reached via email, adeleaili@gmail.com .