Abstract
BACKGROUND:
Because of the continually changing nature of work, workplace spirituality (WPS) has drawn more attention in recent years from studies, organizations, and both public and private sectors. Organizations strive to enhance employee well-being and general job satisfaction while developing a feeling of community inside the workplace through fostering WPS.
OBJECTIVE:
The study aims to assess the literature on WPS in an attempt to provide a broader perspective on the impact of spirituality in the workplace to strengthen and comprehend how an individual or collective spirituality is integrated and manifested in the workplace.
METHODS:
The literature was reviewed between 1994–2022 (including articles published online in 2023) and the deductive method was used.
RESULTS:
As a new and significant contribution to knowledge in this study, maintaining a work environment of otherworldliness can help to advance work commitment (sympathy, mindfulness, significant work). Human resources practices should consider including care contemplation as an individual development program that results in increased empathy for others to support care and sympathy in the workplace. WPS centers around the humanistic idea of representatives in the work environment regarding how they experience a feeling of association, which means satisfaction and arrangement with the working environment. There are three ways to look at WPS: individual, authoritative, and intuitive.
CONCLUSION:
This study has a significant contribution to knowledge enhancement and development. Such an approach to the development of a spirituality program within an organization can make a positive contribution to the improvement of business achievement and competitive gain. This model has some implications for organizational management where an internal spirituality program is desired. Future and additional research on model assessment under the same topic is strongly recommended.
Keywords
Introduction
Workplace spirituality (WPS) is the concept of bringing one’s whole self to work, including their values and beliefs [1]. It recognizes that employees are not just machines or a set of skills but individuals with unique qualities. The idea is to create a positive work environment that fosters personal growth, meaning, and purpose in life. It can be expressed through various activities like meditation sessions, yoga classes, prayer groups, or regular employee meetings where colleagues share their experiences on how they apply spirituality in their daily lives. By nurturing WPS, organizations aim at improving employee well-being and overall job satisfaction while fostering a sense of community within the workplace. Simply put, it’s about creating an atmosphere where individuals can bring their best selves every day and achieve a healthy balance between personal and professional growth [2].
WPS has received increased attention in recent years from researchers, organizations, and both public and private sectors due to the constantly changing nature of work [3], and primarily due to its ability to generate meanings of value and social goodness [4]. When one’s interactions with others result in a deeper connection between self-awareness and something outside of oneself, it leads to clarity and growing commitment to beliefs, values, and goals, which in turn can motivate a way of life that benefits others [5]. Professionals understand the significance of finding ways to “leave a legacy” [6]. Modern professionals seek all-encompassing values that allow them to investigate the meaning and purpose of their work lives [7], they want to connect with a larger community [8].
Professional workers today are increasingly recognizing the importance of WPS, which refers to the integration of one’s values and beliefs into their daily work life [6]. This not only enhances job satisfaction but also fosters a sense of purpose and meaning in one’s professional career [9]. Embracing WPS can help employees cope with stress, manage ethical dilemmas and conflicts, and improve interpersonal relationships with colleagues. By creating a sense of community within the workplace, companies can benefit from greater engagement, productivity, and innovation from their employees. However, employers need to understand that WPS should be voluntary and inclusive rather than imposed or exclusive to certain religious or spiritual beliefs. Encouraging professional workers’ full expression of their personal beliefs creates a positive working environment that benefits everyone involved.
The concept of WPS arose as a response to the growing interest not only in spirituality but also well-being in the workplace. As people started to prioritize personal growth and well-being over monetary gain, they sought workplaces that aligned with their values and beliefs. WPS also acknowledges the significance of transcendent experiences and spiritual development in enhancing employee motivation, creativity, and productivity. Overall, it recognizes that people bring all aspects of themselves to work: mind, body, heart, and spirit - thus encouraging an integrated approach to work-life balance [10].
The ideal working environment is one in which workers are actively and enthusiastically involved [11]. Recent studies in this area indicate that business foundations are beginning to place more attention on fostering the growth of a “spiritual component". Organizing representatives into groups and giving them the freedom to collaborate to find meaning and career opportunities at work can generally increase representatives’ commitment, job satisfaction, and retention [12]. According to Giacalone and Jurkiewicz [13], the logical investigation of spirituality in the workplace revolves around a crucial question: “Is spirituality fundamentally identified with various parts of authoritative conduct and execution, and if so, how does it happen?". Because of their similarities in discourse and practice, the spiritual dimension is viewed as a type of authoritative shrewdness. In other words, how employers perceive spirituality will influence how they manage their businesses. Spiritual wisdom is viewed and experienced in this case as a solution to obstacles such as authoritative wisdom [14].
The distinction between religion and spirituality is still debatable. Some people believe that the development of the two is unclear, while others believe that they are completely different [15]. Nonetheless, the concepts of otherworldliness and strictness have something in common: they intend to support a common turn of events [16], and development in other areas of life [17]. The level of religiousness is a person’s emotional viewpoint, which influences the person’s abstract viewpoint to act [18]. Strictness alludes to a collection of convictions, practices, various customs, and images intended to work with a supernatural relationship with God and keep up connections and obligations with others in society. For example, some proposed profound practice and otherworldly qualities are believed to be the most strongly linked factors with individual, group, and hierarchical viability, whereas others stated that representatives’ work conduct would be affected by their strict inclinations [19]. Spirituality supporters claim that WPS can influence executive commitment to work performance [20, 21]. WPS is an attempt to discover a definitive goal of representatives in their lives, to foster great primary relationships with partners and different staff at work. Additionally, WPS is following an individual staff’s convictions and the qualities of their specific associations. Another viewpoint is that WPS can influence salesmen’s temperament, allowing them to meet targets and keep up with deal execution. Workplace otherworldliness and worker execution are thus regarded as viable powers for deal leader execution [22].
There are three fundamental spiritual viewpoints, which are particularly close to personal, workplace, and authoritative [23]. Spirituality can be viewed from an individual (miniature) or hierarchical (full-scale) center, or singular (individual) or authoritative (public) spaces of discernment and activity [13]. According to human resources (HR) management, spiritual tendencies in organizations are relied on to provide solid proof of their central goal and convictions. Indeed, otherworldliness in the workplace has an impact on common trust, representatives’ boldness and self-assurance [24]. Andregg [25] clarifies the role of otherworldliness in shaping the worth and mode of work, and otherworldliness can frame a sense of neighborhood connection. As a result, numerous organizations are eager to create a work environment otherworldliness because it can incorporate the hearts and minds of their representatives in their work [26]. Spirituality assists workers in discovering meaning and purpose in their daily lives, focusing on natural qualities, experiencing greatness, and having faith in their community [27]. Similarly, Dutta et al. [28] stated that initiated workers’ otherworldliness is strongly associated with their physical, intellectual, and passionate capacities. This connection leads to more visible commitment at work. Petchsawang and McLean [4] attempted to investigate the relationship between working environment otherworldliness and representative contribution. Incidentally, Houghton et al. [7] discovered a relationship indicating that fulfillment has an overflow impact, implying that people who have a fulfilled profound life will be more fulfilled in their work life.
Based on the foregoing, this study seeks to answer the main question, which is: How is workplace spirituality (WPS) associated with different aspects of organizational behavior and performance?
Methodology
One can determine what is known and what is unknown about a subject by studying the pertinent literature, as well as addressing the most recent theoretical concerns [29]. In a similar vein, it offers a framework to describe “the domain of knowledge” that a particular study seeks to advance [30].
The authors conducted a thorough search of the literature across numerous databases from a variety of fields (e.g., Google Scholar, Scopus, Web of Science, Crossruff, Social Sciences Citations Index, Business Source Complete, etc.) to include all articles that were not indexed in one of the mentioned databases. This literature review concentrated on reviewing journal articles and academic book chapters from the management, organizational behavior, and vocational psychology disciplines. Also, the authors included phrases based on their knowledge of the literature and ancestry research (i.e., examining the references of included articles). To locate both conceptual and empirical literature, the authors employed a variety of search terms (e.g., “spirituality at work", “workplace spirituality", “spiritually based organizations", “spirituality in the workplace", etc.).
The authors analyzed articles published between 1994 and 2022 (including articles published online in 2023). Recent meta-analyses show that the majority of empirical research on WPS has been conducted after 1998 [31]. The authors first explore elements associated with WPS at each level of analysis in the sections that follow (individual, job organizational, and societal levels). Following that, the authors went over the review’s boundaries and explained how different level aspects relate to and affected one another. The current review differs from previous studies in that it develops an integrative model of characteristics that promote WPS [31–35].
Discourse analysis, a qualitative and interpretive form of text analysis was used in the study. Discourse analysis involves making interpretations based on the specifics of the source material and the context [10]. The steps taken for the discourse analysis are shown in Table 1:
Define the research aims and select the content of the analysis. The study designed the research question based on the aims identified in the WPS context to provide a broader perspective on the impact of spirituality in the workplace. Gather information. The documents for analysis were extracted from research database research papers. Analyze the content. This step involved a close examination of a variety of elements from the collected material such as words, sentences, paragraphs, and the overall structure of the content extracted for analyses, and then retaining the ones that were relevant to the research aims of the study. The study undertook a narrative approach to analyzing the content. The study focused on a thematic analysis of WPS development classification and extension, WPS implementation and humanistic approach in organizations. Review the strategy. Limited to English articles and on WPS only. Review of an abstract, methodology, data collection and analysis based on the aims of the research.
Definitions of Workplace Spirituality
Definitions of Workplace Spirituality
WPS development classification and extension
WPS is regarded as a profoundly abstract and detached viewpoint, with the most scholarly translation consisting of a sense of presence and a profound association with work environment values. Romero-Hall [36] sees otherworldliness as an extraordinary cycle that joins various parts of genuine life, passionate, expert, intellectual, and rational [37]. WPS has been defined in a variety of contradictory ways. Khatri and Gupta [37] defined WPS as “individuals expressing and perceiving spiritual values within an organizational framework". However, Walt and de Klerk [23] observed that WPS is the normal arrangement and articulation of comparable profound convictions and practices among hierarchical individuals. Furthermore, at the authoritative level, the most exhaustive and methodical investigation is a profound observational investigation, which places work environment otherworldliness at the hierarchical construction or key level, as a portrayal of the hierarchical substance.
An accepted definition of WPS has yet to be agreed upon, owing to the term’s complexity and diversity [37]. Some definitions include Guillory’s [38] definition of WPS as an inner awareness and Collins’s [39] definition of WPS as a specific type of feeling that energizes the actions commonly used in the workplace. According to Ashmos and Duchon [40], WPS is an affirmation of a representative’s inward life that is supported and cultivated by significant work that occurs within the setting of a local area. Afsar [41] expands on Ashmos and Duchon’s [40] definition of “work” and characterizes otherworldliness in WPS as where people discover meaning in their work and fulfillment by working locally. They believe that the three components of WPS should be aligned with organizational values rather than inner life because they value inner life highly. As a result, many scholars regard spirituality as a source of long-term competitive advantage for organizations in the twenty-first century, capable of assisting them in times of crisis and resolving organizational contradictions. WPS as a concept has developed over time. Sarlos and Fekete [42] claimed that association with others, the environment, the climate, and the cosmos are all related to WPS [42]. The study also reveals how fundamentally and hypothetically formal and informal elements influence the scope of the board and hierarchical hypothesis. In the twenty-first century, authoritative hypotheses have focused on morality, staff spirituality, and religious issues as the main problem [20].
According to some researchers, WPS can be perceived as the essential persuasive constituent required to meet higher-request needs, as depicted by Maslow’s hierarchy of needs hypothesis, Herzberg’s two-factor Herzberg’s hypothesis, and Vroom’s ERG hypothesis [25]. When these requirements are met, they become far more powerful than meeting more mundane requirements [21]. Tyler was interested in transforming human characteristics into relatively simple machines that could perform relatively simple tasks. Tyler asserts that the management strategies used in American industrial facilities and based on the fundamental standards of monetary returns or financial returns do not achieve the required viability [51]. It is inefficient and should be replaced with a logical premise. Today, it can be seen that some traditional school practices focus on the body, where it breaks down the work precisely and ensures the individual dealing with the machine, and arranges it towards material factors that influence its exhibition more than any other requirement for security and logical agreement and regard Bakker [52]. As a result, the authors discover that this fundamental stage isn’t regarded as a significant column in the hierarchical achievement measure factor and has ignored the employees’ sympathies.
The Human Relations Movement (1930s-1940s) was seen as a reaction to systematic administration. The Hawthorne study, directed by Elton Mayo, was the main investigation done by human relations development. This study demonstrates that there is a strong relationship between worker behavior and sentiments, that gatherings influence individual behavior, and that cash isn’t nearly as important as specialist yield because gathering principles incorporate sentiments and security [53]. Furthermore, researchers such as Mayo, observed that work environment fulfillment is dependent on the casual idea of the workgroup. Some creators point out that this increased interest in humanity is due to a shift in management practices within organizations, where they are aware of the significance pretended by staff. Within the organization, they transition from a rigid and administratively inflexible management style to a group-centered methodology [54].
It was asserted in 1954, based on Maslow’s theory, that states of aggregate possession and collaboration should be made and that people have a progressive system of five requirements: physiological, social, well-being, confidence, and satisfaction. According to Maslow, people must fulfill lower essential requirements before moving on to higher essential requirements, and it has been observed that unavoidable individuals are those who have been completely cultivated and have accomplished all that they can do [22]. Maslow’s [55] workplace represents the pinnacle of self-actualization for him.
According to the two-factor theory, which is also known as Herzberg’s motivation-hygiene theory, which was developed by psychologist Frederick Herzberg in 1959, particular workplace factors contribute to job satisfaction while a different set of factors, all of which act independently of one another, contribute to job dissatisfaction [56, 57]. According to Herzberg, the absence of hygiene elements led to job discontent whereas the existence of motivators guaranteed employee satisfaction. According to the two-factor theory of motivation [58], job satisfaction and discontent are two distinct categories with totally dissimilar underlying causes. According to Herzberg’s motivation-hygiene theory, employers must raise workplace hygiene standards while also raising employee motivation levels to maintain harmony. On another side, Khatri and Gupta [37] stated that people are pleased with their work if it is easily accessible.
McGregor [59], a social psychologist, developed the theories of Theory X and Theory Y. It describes two opposing sets of assumptions made by managers about their employees: People dislike work, have little ambition, and are unwilling to accept responsibility, according to Theory X. Managers who hold this belief motivate their employees through a strict “carrot and stick” approach that rewards good performance and punishes poor performance. People are self-motivated and enjoy the challenge of work, according to Theory Y. Managers who hold this assumption have a more collaborative relationship with their employees and motivate them by allowing them to work on their initiative, delegating responsibility, and giving them decision-making authority. Though assumptions about what motivates people are likely to have the greatest influence on which of these two approaches to take, the decision can also be influenced by several other factors. These include organizational structure (tiered or flat), work type (repetitive or challenging), and skill level (amateur or experienced) [49]. As illustrated in Fig. 1, the WPS movement is the product of a humanistic approach that began a century ago.
Presents the Humanistic Approach.
WPS can be viewed from three perspectives: individual, authoritative, and intuitive. WPS is defined as the practice of bringing religious thoughts and qualities into the workplace. WPS otherworldliness can be defined as the perception of individual profound qualities in the workplace. The third point of view incorporates the communication of the connection between one’s qualities and different qualities. Ideas began to generate a lot with the steady rise of thought of the executive’s figures, the foundations of their perspectives were in each stage centered around one side without the other [60]. Houghton et al. [9] updated the field of WPS that they support. There is a three-dimensional framework of spirituality in the workplace, namely: inner life, meaningful work, and a sense of community, as shown in Table 2.
Definitions of Workplace Spirituality
According to Marques et al. [50], creating a meditation room would allow employees to recharge their batteries after a long day at work. Furthermore, care can be applied in daily life by deliberately seeing what is going on in the present without imposing judgment. The authors also believe that to ensure work association, increasing working energy is an important step. As a result, maintaining a work environment and otherworldliness can help to advance work commitment (sympathy, mindfulness, significant work). HR practices should consider including care contemplation as an individual development program that results in increased empathy for others to support care and sympathy in the workplace [51].
According to a study by Seshadri et al. [22] on a few instructive staff occasions, authoritative equity can be achieved through representative confidence in the organization, while equity positively affects worker work fulfillment. Perception of justice has consequences for the formation of individual behavior, then the climate of justice also has consequences for the formation of unit/group behavior [11].
HR functional pioneers should endeavor to enable supervisors to experience the characteristic benefit of having a positive outcome in the lives of others to acquire a higher sense of direction in their work. Furthermore, the models in administrative execution surveys should be expanded by their ability to select representatives who share otherworldly qualities that emphasize the importance of serving others and who can impart their profound qualities to rouse front-line staff [52].
According to Hasbullah et al. [20], to adapt to the changes and address the issues, it is the responsibility of senior management in the organization to comprehend that otherworldliness in the workplace is a behavior that can be learned, so HRM should incorporate the worldliness esteems in the training program. Cordiality has been shown to have a significant beneficial effect on the climate, and business associations have recognized the genuine benefits of being proactive in mitigating natural effects and participating in practical exercises [77, 78].
Discussion
This article aims to provide a broad overview of spirituality in the workplace, highlighting numerous incidents and detailing previous research to better integrate spirituality at work within the organization and over time. The results of this study indicate that WPS has a positive impact on businesses. This exemplifies the cause-and-effect relationship of moral principles: if a company practices spiritual values, good things will follow. Employees who bring their souls to work are more likely to develop spiritual awareness in the larger community. As a result of this technique, which has sparked academic interest and practice in management, change has occurred. In management parlance, the value of performance is frequently referred to as the organization’s minimum expectation. This component is important in the operation of any business. However, it is also acknowledged that focusing on so-called soft issues in business, such as HR management are critical.
WPS centers around the humanistic idea of representatives in the work environment regarding how they experience a feeling of association, which means, satisfaction and arrangement with the working environment esteem [70]. Work environment otherworldliness is significant today due to the role the working environment plays in fulfilling representatives’ profound and mental necessities (e.g., association, supernatural qualities) [6, 58]. Benefiting in a more extensive range, associations will get grants for local area maintainability, because social equity and harmony are being worked on in the presence of moral organizations that empower spirituality [39].
Since the end of 2019, the global economic upheaval caused by the COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in layoffs, delays in promotions and salaries, business closures, and the concept of working from home. This has resulted in a significant increase in stress levels among employees at all levels of the organization. During the crisis, financial and family problems have resulted in a significant increase in cases of depression and turnover across countries and continents [28]. Therefore, the role of WPS takes on greater significance and has the potential to play a significant role in further developing representative government assistance if properly ingested and practiced in the institutions [5].
Conclusion
The concept of WPS has been studied extensively in academic literature. There are various models and definitions of WPS, and scholars have identified its past, present, and future development. The literature review in this study suggests that WPS is a framework of organizational values that promote employees’ experience of transcendence through the work process, facilitating their sense of being connected to others in a way that provides feelings of completeness and joy. Therefore, the concept of WPS is important for leaders to consider as they strive to create a positive work environment that supports employees’ well-being and sense of purpose.
WPS can have a positive impact on both workers and businesses. Incorporating spiritual practices and beliefs into the workplace can help to create a sense of community and purpose among employees. This can lead to a more positive work environment, which in turn can help to ensure the safety of workers and reduce the risk of mental health issues. When employees feel valued and supported, they are more likely to be engaged and productive. This can lead to improved product and performance, which can benefit the business as a whole. Additionally, when employees feel a sense of purpose and meaning in their work, they are more likely to be committed to the organization and its goals. Overall, WPS can have a significant impact on the well-being of workers and the success of businesses. By creating a supportive and positive work environment, businesses can help to ensure the safety and mental health of their employees, while also improving productivity and performance.
This study is not without limitations. First, the study focuses solely on WPS, which may not provide a comprehensive understanding of the impact of spirituality in the workplace. While it is important to examine the role of spirituality in the workplace, it is also necessary to consider the broader context of an individual’s spiritual beliefs and practices outside of work. Additionally, there are limitations in the measurement tools and theoretical development of WPS, as well as legal concerns that may hinder a more in-depth study of this topic. Therefore, future research should aim to provide a more holistic perspective on the role of spirituality in the workplace and its impact on individuals and organizations. In addition, this study only covers the period between 1994–2022. While this timeframe provides a comprehensive overview of the literature during this period, it may not capture more recent developments or changes in the field. Future studies could consider expanding the timeframe to include more recent literature.
Ethical approval
Not applicable.
Informed consent
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Conflict of interest
None to report.
Footnotes
Acknowledgments
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Funding
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