Submitted By:

Workplace Spirituality
Group Project Report submitted to Prof. R. Ravi Kumar in partial fulfillments of the requirements of the course “Managing People and Performance in Organizations”

Group No. 8 (Section B) ASHISH PRAKASH PAWAR HILLAL W MOMIN KALPESH SHRIKRISHNA WANI MANGESH KUMAR SHARMA NEHA TIRKEY RAHUL RANJAN SENTHIL D VISHWAS SHARMA 1411084 1411092 1411099 1411102 1411107 1411120 1411126 1411137

TABLE OF CONTENTS
1. Introduction …..……………………………………………………………………....  Origins and Growth of Workplace Spirituality.………………………….... 2. Components of Workplace Spirituality ……..……………………...  The “Vertical” Component …..…………………………………….…………..  The “Horizontal” Component …..…………………………………………….. 3. Misconceptions ……………………………………….……….………….………... 4. Spirituality and Modern Organizations ……….………….………...  Reasons for emphasis on Spirituality …..…………………….………….....  Characteristics of Spiritual Organizations .…………………………....…..  Correlation with Managerial Effectiveness and its Implications ……… 1
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5. Inducing Workplace Spirituality in an Organization ……..... 7 6. Criticisms of Workplace Spirituality ……….…….………….………... 9 7. Current status in Corporate World ……………….………….………... 10

8. Conclusion ……………………………………………………………………………….. 11

1.

Introduction
Workplace spirituality by definition is the “recognition that employees have an inner life which nourishes and is nourished by meaningful work taking place in the context of a community”.1 It refers to a spiritual culture in which an employee with both mind and spirit tends to connect with other employees and becomes a part of the community. It fosters creativity, communication, respect, vision, partnership, energy and flexibility. In a business context, these principles help in inculcating a sense of honesty, integrity, quality, accountability, cooperation, intuition, service and trustworthiness within the workforce.

 Origins and Growth of Workplace Spirituality
It began as movement in early 1990’s where individuals were seeking to live their faith or spiritual value at workplace. A special interest group named, “Management, Spirituality and Religion Interest group” formed by Academy of Management in late 1990s, was seen as a prominent step in legalizing workplace spirituality as a field of study.2 One of the first business publications about spirituality at workplace was published in Business Week in 1995.3 The prestigious American Management Association held a conference in 1998 on “Profiting for value based corporate culture” about fourth dimension of the spirituality and its component of success.4 Though earlier seen as a passing fad, it is gaining acceptance as a topic of study in business schools, with a purpose of practice in organisation. Ashmos, D.P. and Duchon, D. (2000), “Spirituality at work: a conceptualization and measure”, Journal of Management Inquiry, Vol. 9 No. 2, pp. 134‐45 2 “About MSR”. Management, Spirituality and Religion Interest Group. Academy of Management, Crandl Publishers. 2010 3 Galen, M. , & West, K. (1995, June 4). “Companies hit the road less traveled: Can spirituality enlighten the bottom line?”. Business Week, pp. 82‐84 4 Corinne McLaughlin, 2009. “Spirituality and Ethics in Business”, The Center for Visionary Leadership”. 2009
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2.

Components of Workplace Spirituality
The International Centre for Spirit at Work (ICSW) has defined workplace spirituality as a blend of vertical & horizontal components that must be nourished5: 

The “Vertical” component:
It is the concept of going beyond the individual ego or personality self. The vertical component helps people in utilizing their strengths and abilities without getting affected by factors like stress, anxiety and external factors. For e.g. Silence before meetings, meditation rooms, time for shared reflection etc.

 The “Horizontal” component:
It is the concept of being able to serve other humans and the planet. A strong “horizontal” component is demonstrated by an individual who is well‐aligned with the mission of the company, ethics, a service orientation and compassion. The people with integrated vertical and horizontal dimensions have their motivations (sourced from the vertical) and actions (horizontal manifestations) explicitly linked.5

3.

Misconceptions
Over the years, Workplace spirituality has been a controversial topic.6 Its meaning and conceptualization changes from person to person which is also influenced by their intellectual, regional, cultural and social biases.7 Some of the major misconceptions are:

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Alan Harpham, 2012. “The Spirit of Project Management” , Gower Publishing, Ltd., 01‐Aug‐2012 ‐ Business &Economics

Rego and Cungha, 2007. “Workplace spirituality and organizational commitment: an empirical study” – Journal of Organizational Change Management, Vol. 21 No 1, 2008 7 Kent Rhodes EDD, 2006. “Six Components of a Model for Workplace Spirituality”. Graziadio Business Review [online], Volume 9, Issue 2

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 It is associated with Religion or God8
Many people immediately associate spirituality with religion and therefore run away from the subject when it is discussed in the context of workplace. However, it accommodates individuals with different beliefs and provides answers for enhancing the quality of their work life and the profitability of all associated stakeholders.

 It is all about getting people converted to a specific belief system9
Many people incorrectly think that brainstorming employees and aligning them to the company’s beliefs and values is the main part of workplace spirituality. It’s not about promoting any specific belief. Spirituality is about finding your purpose and how you are satisfying it through your work. It more focuses on ethical behaviour and maintaining honest and productive relationships between team members.

 It means promotion of meditation and yoga at workplace10
Many researches and studies conducted by several researchers suggest that workplace spirituality score is higher for the individuals who are regularly involved in meditation or yoga and many companies organize meditation sessions, lectures and even mental counselling by spiritual gurus. Workplace spirituality may be one of the outcomes of these sessions but it does not necessarily depend on these things.

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Spirituality and Modern Organizations
In this section, we review the importance of Workplace Spirituality in context of the modern day organizations.

“Spirituality and a Better Business Environment”. Optimal Performance. MoonView Santuary. MoonView LLC. 2010 Laabs, J.J. (1995), “Balancing spirituality and work”, Personnel Journal, Vol. 74 No. 9, pp. 60‐2 10 Patricia Doyle Corner, 2008. “Workplace Spirituality and Business Ethics : Insights from an Eastern Spiritual Tradition”. Journal of Business Ethics (2009) 85:377‐389
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 Reasons for emphasis on Spirituality
In the age old historic models of management, workplace spirituality had no place for itself. The models proposed that effectiveness of an organization was ensured when individuals had no feelings for one another.11 Today in the 21st century, our research of emotions and human behaviour has shown how and why individuals act in the way they do in organizations. Studies have shown that workplace spirituality inculcates a higher sense of attachment, loyalty and personal commitment (rather than instrumental commitment) among people towards their organization.12 As expected, more and more modern day organizations are emphasizing on Workplace Spirituality because of its key benefits such as:

o Improved attitudes towards work
More and more managers and staff develop a healthy, more positive attitude towards work and progress. High level of employee engagement is ensured.13

o Higher degree of objectivity
It inculcates an organizational culture that focuses on providing fair opportunities and means of performance assessment, thereby also addressing the problems created by work life conflicts.

o Enhanced creativity and productivity
As the employees feel more and more energetic and connected to their work and organization, they put in extra effort which results in better quality work. 11 12

Rama Rao, 2010. “What is Workplace Spirituality?”. CiteManagement Article Repository of Cit.Co [online] Rego and Cungha, 2007. “Workplace spirituality and organizational commitment: an empirical study” – Journal of Organizational Change Management, Vol. 21 No 1, 2008 13 Alan M Sacs, 2011. “Workplace spirituality and employee engagement” – Journal of Management, Spirituality & Religion, Vol. 8, No. 4, December 2011, 317‐340

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o Positive impact on the bottom line
An organization which practices the socially responsible business practices preached by Workplace Spirituality achieves a much better financial performance and creates value for all stakeholders.14

 Characteristics of Spiritual Organizations
The concept of Spirituality in an organization inculcates elements such as ethics, values, motivation, better work‐life balance and leadership. We believe that the following facets are the building blocks of a spiritual organization15. o Sustainability The holistic view obtained from Workplace Spirituality develops an understanding of sustainability and awareness of limited resources. Such an organization will put in a well‐thought‐out strategy that clearly identifies long term risks and rewards, along with possible implications of its business decisions on individuals, environment and the society. o Contribution In addition to providing excellent service to the customers/clients, spiritual organizations implement a mission statement of valuing the contribution into the betterment of the world i.e. giving back to the society. Managers of such organizations consider themselves as servants to the community. Orlitzky, Schmidt, Rynes, 2003. “Corporate Social and Financial Performance: A Meta‐analysis” – Organizational Studies, 24 (3): 403‐441, Sage Publications 15 Kent Rhodes EDD, 2006. “Six Components of a Model for Workplace Spirituality”. Graziadio Business Review [online], Volume 9, Issue 2
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o Creativity In this day and age, organizations cannot undermine the spiritual nature of creative process. In a spiritual workplace, all individuals are supposed to have creative capacities. Such a place, therefore, provides resources to extract this creative potential for the betterment of the organization. o Sense of Inclusion An individual’s life experience and lessons are respected in a spiritual organization. The concepts of love, care and acceptance build a sense of community in an organization. This has a direct impact on performance. o Principles By allowing employees to integrate their personal principles and ethics, learning and faith with job performance, a spiritual organization enables them to develop successful personal and professional relationships. This long‐term character development works for the benefit of the organization. o Vocation Through means of spirituality, such organizations help employees to develop a higher sense of “calling” or passion about their lives and work. While emphasizing this development, they encourage employees to utilise their individual gifts and skills within the organization. This recognition of vocation within the confines of the organization helps in strengthening the bond with the employee, while enhancing his/her productivity.

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Correlation with Managerial Effectiveness and its Implications
For an organization to be successful, it needs effective managers. Managerial Effectiveness is a complex concept which is difficult to quantify, especially in an Indian context.16 Fortunately, studies have shown that workplace spirituality can be recognized as a predictor of Managerial Effectiveness.17 Meaningful work, sense of community and proper association of values have been derived as critical factors to evaluate the effectiveness of a manager. The onus is on manager to ensure that:18 o Employees have a better sense of mission and purpose of the organization o Ample focus on nurturing a sense of job security and individual development o The environment is of mutual trust, openness and honest interactions o The employees are empowered and given ample freedom to make work related decisions related to them o The organization is tolerant towards different expressions of its employees and allows them to convey their point of view freely.

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Inducing Workplace Spirituality in an Organization
Implementing workplace spirituality is a gradual process and needs to be executed incrementally. The main task is making employees feel that work is more like a spiritual activity i.e. getting an inner satisfaction by their work and motivation to perform better. At the same time, removing any prejudices, misconceptions or any

Bamel, U.K., Rangnekar, S. and Rastogi, R. (2011) “Managerial effectiveness in Indian organizations: reexamining an instrument in an Indian context”, Research and Practice in Human Resource Management, Vol. 19, No. 1, pp.69–78 17 Sharma, S.K., Rastogi, R. and Garg, P. (2013) ‘Workplace spirituality and managerial effectiveness among Indian managers’, Int. J. Indian Culture and Business Management, Vol. 6, No. 3, pp.382–390. 18 Rama Rao, 2010. “What is Workplace Spirituality?”. CiteManagement Article Repository of Cit.Co [online]
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religious influence is also necessary. There are few ways in which this can be achieved:‐

 Cultural Change
The culture of the organisation should encourage Workplace Spirituality. It involves providing freedom, comfort and opportunity to employees for taking their work as spiritual activity and thus deriving complete personal satisfaction.

 Policy Change
Along with cultural change, organisations can bring new policies to boost the workplace spirituality. They can be as simple as sending motivational emails to employees every week/ month sharing experiences of the fellow employees (such as ‘Why do I love to work here’), flexible work timings, ‘Work from Home’ etc.

 Leadership perspective
A good manager can help bring these changes faster by leading the organisation with examples. If a leader is passionately devoted towards the work, the team gets influenced by the leader’s behaviour. Thus, leader plays an important role in implementing workplace spirituality and developing required culture for it.

 Effectiveness Measures
After implementing the workplace spirituality model, firm can put in several measures to evaluate its effectiveness:‐ o Performance Evaluation at every level This must be done even for the lowest designation. If the employee at the bottom of hierarchy is motivated, it is a good indicator of spiritual workplace.
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o Willingness to switch for higher salary If employees really love the work they are doing and feel that they are adding value in some way, tendency to switch jobs for higher salary would be low. Attrition rate and exit interviews are useful methods for checking the same.

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Criticisms of Workplace Spirituality
In spite of its effectiveness, there are limitations and criticisms of workplace spirituality:

 Lack of accepted conceptual definition19 Writers and researchers have argued over the precise definition of the term. The consensus on the exact definition is inadequate in the present scenario.

 Limited Theoretical Development20
As compared to other rigorously researched areas of psychology, most of the literature available on workplace spirituality is ungrounded and has taken a “soft” approach. Many‐a‐ times, writers disregard the existing empirical foundations.

 Yet another management fad21
An organization may adopt workplace spirituality so as to get legitimacy from the various stakeholders. The genuine commitment of an authentic practice is therefore questionable.

 Inadequate measurement tools22
From an organizational perspective, an even much greater effort is needed to integrate the delineating concepts, rather than add to the rhetoric and increase the volume of discussion.
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Sass, J. S. (2000). Characterizing organizational spirituality: Anorganizational communication culture approach. Communication Studies, 5(3), 195‐217. 21 Maria Fernando, 2005. “Workplace Spirituality : Another Management Fad”. University of Wollongong. Reasearch Online [online]. 2005 22 Giacalone and Jurkiewicz. 2010. “Handbook of Workplace Spirituality and Organizational Performance”. M. E. Sharpe, Inc. 2nd edition, Pg 5‐9

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Rego and Cungha, 2007. “Workplace spirituality and organizational commitment: an empirical study” – Journal of Organizational Change Management, Vol. 21 No 1, 2008

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 Legal Concerns22:
Often researchers and scholars ignore the field of study, based on the word “Spirituality” itself. The large no. of connotations of the word, deflate scholars and academicians.

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Current status in Corporate World
In the past, many people have been sceptical about the after‐effects of interactions between spirituality and business. Some say that it would hamper their ability to stay competitive.23 Some quote that corporate greed and corruption will overpower any kind of spirituality in the workplace.23 Due to a lack of understanding, this scepticism combined with the earlier cited misconceptions often still plagues the minds of managers. Though in the modern world, businesses and organisations are realising that caring for people and their spiritual fulfilment is a sensible thing to do. Companies such as Taco Bell, Tom’s of Maine, Atena International, Bic Six Accounting’s Deloitte and Touche and law firms such as New York’s Kayem, Hays & Haroller are giving out life‐lessons usually given in churches, temples and mosques.24 Workplace Spirituality is also gaining popularity in India, as an organizational practice. Various training programs and workshops are being provided such as the Art of Living Program to nurture the employees in companies like American Express, Citibank, Exide Industries Ltd. etc. Firms like HCL, Mahindra and Tata Steel cite employees and their holistic development as their top priority – also being cited in their mission statement.25 Firms like Aarti International Ltd., Ludhiana (textiles) in 2005; SREI International Financial Limited, Kolkata and The Times of India, Mumbai in 2003 etc, have been awarded the “International

Lisa R. Elliott, 2010. “Spirit goes to work : Spirituality in the workplace and its connections to organizational communication”, College of Arts & Sciences of John Carroll University. 2010. 24 Mitroff, I. A., & Denton, E. A. (1999). A spiritual audit of corporate America: A hard look at spirituality, religion, and values in the workplace. San Francisco,CA: Jossey‐Bass/Pfeiffer. 25 “Vision and Mission”. About Us. HCL. HCL Technologies Limited. 2014

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Spirit at Work” award.26 In Indian Institute of Management (IIM), Calcutta, Management centre for human values, conducts workshops on ‘’human values’’ for managers from different companies and academics.

8.

Conclusion
In today’s scenario where every individual is running a rat’s race to achieve success in life, they often compromise with their passion and interests. As the workplace consists of these individuals, workplace spirituality becomes important. It helps an individual and an employee to find their true inner self and thus recognize their inherent capabilities and skills to contribute as a whole with both spirit and body. Corporations with a higher sense of business purpose need to focus on their employees as a complete individual. Inducing culture and policy changes in a workplace would help the employees at every level, to feel as a part of the organization. Thereby they will recognize the importance and impact of their work. Even though it is not without its criticisms, workplace spirituality contributes in enhancing the managerial effectiveness of the employees of an organization. Therefore, it demands a higher degree of importance both in theoretical research as well as organizational practice.

Komala R. A. and Ganesh L.S. 2006. “Spirituality and Health Care Organisations”. Journal of Indian Academy of Applied Psychology. February 2006. Vol. 32, No. 2, 119‐126
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