Spirituality in the Workplace Design

An Overview of Spirituality in the Workplace

I. Spirituality

  1. Over last 40 years
  2. Panoply of possibilities on how to understand
  3. In 60’s not even in vocabulary
  4. 70’s-80’s work associated with every element of life: family, friendship, marriage, men, women, art, music…
  5. Looking for the “depth” or “religious” (re-ligare to bind/tie anew) dimension to experience, touch, sustain...
  6. Past literature, such as Christian literature, especially ascetical/mystical tradition, often described the psychological experience and concrete practices to be in touch with God… these became basis and norm
  7. Individual: Desert, Spanish mystics
  8. Community: Benedictine/monastic
  9. Service: Franciscan/Dominican (contemplare et contemplata allis tradere)
  10. Apostolic/Active: Ignatian (contemplativus in actione)
  11. Eastern religions…. Hinduism, Buddhism, Taoism, many centering practices to ground oneself and view life from holistic, unifying way and to be in touch with the life truth/force/energy
  12. 2011 Google: 153,000,000 hits
  13. Issues
  14. Personal/social
  15. Spirituality/religion
  16. Secular/sacred
  17. Needs
  18. Human
  19. Spiritual/religious
  20. Inner/outer
  21. Core elements:
  22. Uncovering the operative images of one’s ultimate concern, the convictions that ground and guide one’s life
  23. Vision(convictions, beliefs, images – how one notices “ultimate importance” or how the Sacred is working)
  24. Living out in oneself a way of living consistent with those convictions, and
  25. Lifestyle(a way of being and acting based on fundamental beliefs)
  26. Discovering anew and reflecting on the importance/validity of (noticing, reflecting on, gaining new insights into) these fundamental convictions
  27. Experience(the context out of which we operate, how life talks back to us, how we undergo life in the midst of our choices, and how we reflect on what is happening to us in the midst of our living) “In the midst of all that I am doing what is God doing to/in/through me?”

II. Writings on Workplace Spirituality or Spirituality at Work

Workplace Spirituality (Google 170,000 in 2004, 400,000 in 2010, 11,000,000 in 2011)

Spirituality at Work (Google 98,000,000 in 2011)

Writings on corporate America and spirituality

  1. Inner Excellence: Spiritual Principles of Life-driven Business, Carol Osborn (1992)
  2. Care of the Soul: A Guide for Cultivating Depth and Sacredness in Everyday Life, Thomas Moore (1992)
  3. Who We Could Be At Work, Margaret Lulic, (1994)
  4. The Heart Aroused: Poetry and the Preservation of the Soul in Corporate America, David Whyte (1994)
  5. A Spiritual Audit of Corporate America: A Hard Look at Spirituality, Religion, and Values in the Workplace (J-B Warren Bennis Series), Ian Mitroff and Elizabeth A. Denton(1999)
  6. 12 Step Wisdom: Transforming Your Life and Your Organization, Hazelden Foundation, edited by JohnHammond, III (2001)
  7. Spirituality at Work: 10 Ways to Balance Your Life On-the-Job, Gregory F.A. Pierce (2001)
  8. A Theory of Everything: An Integral Vision for Business, Politics, Science and Spirituality, Ken Wilber, (2001)
  9. The State of Faith: God in the Workplace: Spirituality in America's Executive Suites,Gary Lawrence (Author) Rebecca Lunna (Editor) (2002)
  1. The Complete Idiot's Guide(R) to Spirituality in the Workplace, C. Diane Ealy(2002)
  2. Religion and the Workplace: Pluralism, Spirituality, Leadership, Douglas A. Hicks(2003)
  3. Working With Spirit: Engaging the Spirituality to Meet the Challenges of the Workplace, Lucy Reid and Fred Evers(2004)
  4. Handbook of Workplace Spirituality and Organizational Performance, Robert Surtman Giacalone(2004)
  5. Soul at Work: Spiritual Leadership in Organizations, Margaret Benefiel (2005)
  6. God at Work: The History and Promise of the Faith at Work Movement, David W. Miller (2006)
  7. Workplace Spirituality: A Complete Guide for Business Leaders, Nancy R. Smith(2006)
  8. Integral Spirituality: A Startling New Role for Religion in the Modern and Postmodern World, Ken Wilber (2007)
  9. Spirituality in the Workplace: What It Is, Why It Matters, How to Make It Work for You, Dr. Joan Marques, Dr. Satinder Dhiman, Dr. Richard King (2007)
  10. Spirituality in Business: Theory, Practice, and Future Directions, Jerry Biberman and Len Tischler(2008)
  11. The Soul of a Leader: Finding Your Path to Success and Fulfillment, Margaret Benefiel (2008)
  12. Spirituality, Inc.: Religion in the American Workplace, Lake Lambert(2009)
  13. The Workplace and Spirituality: New Perspectives on Research and Practice, Edited by Joan Marques, Richard King, Satinder Dhiman (2009)
  14. Spirituality and Business: Exploring Possibilities for a New Management Paradigm,Sharda S. Nandram (Editor), Margot Esther BordenMargot Esther Borden (Editor) › Visit Amazon's Margot Esther Borden Page
  15. Find all the books, read about the author, and more.
  16. See search results for this author
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(Editor), H.H. Sri Ravi Shankar (Foreword) (2009)

  1. Handbook of Workplace Spirituality and Organizational Performance, Second Edition, Robert A. Giacalone and Carole L. Jurkiewicz(2010)

III. Fundamental Workplace Spirituality Components

  1. Work environmentscan:
  2. Contribute to a disconnect of personal/work settings
  3. Affect professional restlessness
  4. Add Stress factors
  5. Potentially not align with fit to personal passion
  6. Challenge the balance of function/efficiency with the poetry of work
  7. Lead to personal/organizational balance issues
  8. Spiritual Issues
  9. Depth: attentiveness to the extraordinary ordinariness of what we do
  10. Wholeness: (source of loyalty, meaning, quality)
  11. Integrity: am I my real self at work
  12. Spiritual/moral grounded-ness
  13. Work experience and fundamental human issues:
  14. Meaningand Purpose
  15. Motivation (passion)
  16. Belonging (loyalty)
  17. Success (satisfaction)
  18. Sample of Goals for Spirituality in the Workplace
  19. Improve Interpersonal Relationships
  20. CultivateTalent, Purpose, and Passion
  21. Foster Morality and Building Trust
  22. Balance Spiritual Wellness with High Performance
  23. Six effects/components of a model for Workplace Spirituality (Ken Rhodes, Graziadio School of Business and Management/Pepperdine University)
  24. Emphasizes Sustainability
  25. contribute to a greater good, reviewing effects on individual, society, environment
  26. Values Contribution
  27. make the world a better place, service to employees, customers, community
  28. Prizes Creativity
  29. All possess creative capabilities, needed to navigate changing times
  30. Cultivates Inclusion
  31. Core source for community, working together for common vision
  32. “sense that the concepts of love and acceptance within a cultural context of care builds a sense of community that supports the work of the company and that has a direct impact on the bottom line.”
  33. Develops Principles
  34. Ethical principles, promoting personal growth, long-term character development, and personal connections of faith and work development
  35. Help “employees in integrating personal growth, learning, and faith with job performance benefits the organization.”
  36. Promotes Vocation
  37. Shared ownership of corporate values by every member of the organization
  38. “helping employees develop a sense of “calling” or identification of passion about their lives and their work”
  39. Spirituality in the Workplace
  40. Vision: a way of thinking about self, work, and the organization within one works
  41. Lifestyle: a way of living, and practices assumed to live out that vision
  42. Experience: noticing and reflecting on the way our work environment “talks back to us”

  1. Sample Health Care Definitions of Spirituality

“Spirituality is the aspect of humanity that refers to

  • the way individuals seek and express meaning and purpose and
  • the way they experience their connectedness
  • to the moment,
  • to self,
  • to others,
  • to nature, and
  • to the significant or sacred.”

(Journal of Palliative Medicine, Volume 12, Number 10, 2009, Mary Ann Liebert, Inc., “Improving the Quality of Spiritual Care as a Dimension of Palliative Care: The Report of the Consensus Conference.”)

“Spirituality is recognized as a factor that contributes to health in many persons. The concept of spirituality is found in all cultures and societies. It is expressed

  • in an individual's search for ultimate meaning
  • through participation in religion and/or belief in God, family, naturalism, rationalism, humanism, and the arts.

All of these factors can influence how patients and health care professionals perceive health and illness and how they interact with one another “(AAMC)

Critical Components to the Design of a Spirituality of the Workplace

Vision

  1. How do you name/define/describe what is meant by workplace spirituality
  2. How do you frame it in the context of the mission, vision, values of the organization

Provide a new “way of thinking about self, work, organization

  1. How do you identify key components/framework/qualities (what it is/isn’t)
  2. What is the “model”

Lifestyle

  1. Name what does living this look like?
  2. What are the resources, practices available to nurture it?
  3. What is the structure in place to support the behavior?
  4. What is the metrics in place to encourage it?

Experience

  1. What are the reflective practices in place to encourage noticing work talking back?
  2. What are the vehicles for sharing the sacred?
  3. How embedded are the reflecting on/celebrating experience of spirituality?

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