Workplace Spirituality or Spirituality in the Workplace is a movement that began in the early 1920s. It emerged as a grassroots movement with individuals seeking to live their faith and/or spiritual values in the workplace. One of the first publications to mention spirituality in the workplace was Business Week, June 5, 2005. The cover article was titled "Companies hit the road less traveled: Can spirituality enlighten the bottom line?"

Other works:

 William Miller wrote an article titled "How Do We Put Our Spiritual Values to Work," published in "New Traditions in Business: Spirit and Leadership in the 21st Century," 1992, San Francisco: Berrett-Koehler.

Gilbert Fairholm wrote "Capturing the Heart of Leadership: Spiritual Community in the New American Workplace" in 1997 and Jay Conger wrote "Spirit at Work: Discovering the Spirituality in Leadership" in 1994, both considered germinal works in the field. 

In the late 1990s, the Academy of Management [5] formed a special interest group called the Management, Spirituality and Religion Interest Group. This is a professional association of management professors from all over the world who are teaching and doing research on spirituality and religion in the workplace. This action by the Academy of Management was a significant step in legitimizing workplace spirituality and spirituality in the workplace as a new field of study.

DEFINATION

The International Center for Spirit at Work (ICSW)[6] uses the following definition in the application

form for the International Spirit at Work Awards:

"The Selection Committee offers the following broad interpretation of spirituality and spirituality in the

workplace as a starting point for consideration, with the recognition that each individual may have

his/her own personal definitions:

The innate human attribute in spirituality. All people bring this as an integral part of themselves

to the workplace. Spirituality is a state or experience that can provide individuals with direction

or meaning, or provide feelings of understanding, support, inner wholeness or connectedness.

Connectedness can be to themselves, other people, nature, the universe, a god, or some other

supernatural power.

The “vertical” component in spirituality – a desire to transcend the individual ego or personality

self. The name you put on the vertical component might be God, Spirit, Universe, Higher Power

or something else. There are a great many names for this vertical dimension. This dimension is

experienced as a conscious sense of profound connection to the Universe/God/Spirit. This might

be experienced internally as moments of awe or peak experiences. A strong, sustained vertical

component reflects in outer behaviors as a person (or group) who is centered and able to tap into

deep inner strength and wisdom. Generally quiet time, time in nature, or other reflective activities

or practices are required to access the “vertical” component of our spirituality. Examples of the

vertical component of spirituality might be meditation rooms, time for shared reflection, silence

before meetings, ecumenical prayer, and support for employees to take time off for spiritual

development.

The “horizontal” component in spirituality – a desire to be of service to other humans and the

planet. In the horizontal we seek to make a difference through our actions. This dimension is

manifested externally. A person with a strong “vertical connection” who is also able to

demonstrate the “horizontal dimension” has a clear grasp on his/her mission, ethics, values. A

strong “horizontal” component is demonstrated by a service orientation, compassion, and well-

aligned vision/mission and values that are carried out in productive effective services and

products.

Spirituality in the workplace means that employees find nourishment for both the vertical and

horizontal dimensions of their spirituality at work. Spirituality in the Workplace is about

individuals and organisations seeing work as a spiritual path, as an opportunity to grow and to

contribute to society in a meaningful way. It is about care, compassion and support of others;

about integrity and people being true to themselves and others. It means individuals and

organisations attempting to live their values more fully in the work they do.

Examples of vertical organizational spirituality include: meditation time at the beginning of

meetings, retreat or spiritual training time set aside for employees, appropriate accommodation

of employee prayer practices, and openly asking questions to test if company actions are

aligned with higher meaning and purpose.

Companies with a strong sense of the horizontal will generally demonstrate some or all of the

following: caring behaviors among co-workers; a social responsibility orientation; strong service

commitments to customers; environmental sensitivity; and a significant volume of community

service activities.

The vertical and horizontal dimensions should be well integrated – so that motivations (sourced

from the vertical) and actions (horizontal manifestations) are explicitly linked. When done

properly, Spirit at Work enhances the overall value of the organization.

Different Cultures, Different Definitions of Spirituality?

Indicators suggest that cultures other than that of the U.S. may not be engaged in the same exploration

of and confusion about the topic of spirituality in the workplace. Debaters on one side seem to

recommend adapting a uniquely individualized Western view of spirituality that says one’s personal

beliefs or ideas about spirituality are private and potentially too volatile to discuss in the workplace. The

other side argues that true spirituality is actualized only in conversation with others and within

community while lamenting that it is only in America that one’s spirituality is effectively separated from all

other concerns within an organization.

Robert Bellah sums it up this way, “The way ‘spirituality’ is often used suggests that we exist solely as a

collection of individuals, not as members of a religious community, and that religious life is merely a

private journey.”

Characteristics of a Spiritual Workplace: Suggestions for a Model

Regardless of this ongoing debate, identifying desired characteristics of spiritual workplaces can bring us

closer to understanding the role that spirituality can play in organizations, the way it can function to

positively impact the bottom line, and the value it might bring to members of the work community.

This article suggests six effects that can be associated with a model of workplace spirituality.

Emphasizes Sustainability

A systemic view of work and contribution in the world promotes links between sustainability and an

awareness of limited resources. This approach to design, production, and commerce is being

increasingly associated with spirituality because it seeks to contribute to the greater good in the

world. It also has the potential to actually increase market value and attract investors.

An understanding of sustainable growth and development includes a well-thought-out strategy that

identifies potential long-term impacts or implications of actions that could have an eventual negative

impact on business. This systemic view of global business means that a company will constantly

reassess the long view of risks and rewards associated with doing business in the long run, including

a careful ongoing review of potentially negative and unintended consequences of business decisions

on individuals, societies, or the environment.

2. Values Contribution

More than providing excellent service for customers, global service indicates a larger sense of

responsibility to contribute to the betterment of the world. While the local family business may not

provide products and services that will improve the quality of life in third world countries, American

companies historically have fundamentally understood that part of their role is to make the world a

better place through the products or services that they sell. Today’s spiritual organization is

deliberate in implementing a vision that is built around contributions to the betterment of mankind.

It promotes work outside of the organization that contributes to and “gives back” to society

through community and volunteer service. Spiritually aware managers and businesses consider

themselves servants of employees, customers, and the community.

Prizes Creativity

Creativity is a necessary part of the business cycle. When technology, markets shifts, and

demographic changes force organizations to rethink products and services, creativity is the key to

successfully navigating those changes. The artistic industries have long recognized the spiritual

nature of individual and group creative processes, and many educators understand the importance of

seamless, daily incorporation of creativity in helping their students learn. The spiritual workplace

recognizes that being creative is not necessarily reserved for a special few, but that all people have

creative capacities. A spiritual workplace provides resources to help people to uncover their creative

potential and to practice creativity within the organization.

Cultivates Inclusion

Businesses are increasingly becoming core sources of community for people in societies. The

spiritual organization respects and values individuals’ life experiences and the lessons learned from

them. Such an organization is intentional in its efforts to include individuals who bring appropriate skill

sets to a particular job, but who may have been excluded historically from participating in a

professional community of practice due to circumstances they did not choose. Such historic exclusion

from the workplace has included people with physical disabilities, people whose skin color or ethnic

origin differs from those of the majority population, and those who have been discriminated against

due to gender or sexual orientation. Increasingly, corporations are seeing the value of their

employees working together in community toward a commonly held vision. They have a 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.

Develops Principles

Organizations have begun to realize the benefits of treating the whole person by actively supporting

the formulation of ethical principles that promote personal growth, long-term character development,

and personal connections of faith and work development. Assisting employees in integrating personal

growth, learning, and faith with job performance benefits the organization. This type of principled

emphasis includes providing resources that help employees better understand themselves, develop

successful professional and personal relationships, and enhance personal management skills.

Employees are encouraged to develop an accurate and realistic sense of the impact that other people

have on them and the impact that they have on others.

Promotes Vocation

Organizations have long been aware of the benefits of shared ownership of corporate values by every

member of the organization. By acknowledging that one’s general search for spiritual growth and

fulfillment need not be separate from one’s work, organizations lay the groundwork for spiritual

development to assist in engendering understanding among employees. Companies that understand

workplace spirituality go beyond being supportive of learning and development by helping employees

develop a sense of “calling” or identification of passion about their lives and their work. Such

companies emphasize the discovery and appropriate utilization of individual giftedness and

encourage employees to use their unique skills within the organization. Grounded religious faith

development is recognized as an important and deeply personal part of growth for many people, one

that can help them more easily recognize their vocations.

Why the emphasis on spirituality in today’s organizations?

Historical models of management had no room for spirituality. These models typically focused on organizations that were efficiently run without feelings toward others. Similarly, concern about an employee’s inner life had no role in managing organizations. But just as we’ve come to realize that the study of emotions improves our understanding of how and why people act the way they do in organizations, an awareness of spirituality can help one better understand employee work behavior in the twenty first century organization.

For example, The Indian self is found to have a significant component of spirituality which has manifest implications for their workplace performances moral decision making or attitudes towards ethical issues.

Characteristics of Spiritual Organizations:

Strong sense of purpose: Organizational members know why the organization exists and what it values.

Focus on individual development: Employers are valuable and need to be nurtured to help them grow. These characteristics also include a sense of job security.

Trust and openness: Organizational member relationships are characterized by mutual trust, honesty and openness.

Employee empowerment: Employees are allowed to a make work related decisions that affect them, highlighting a strong sense of delegation of authority.

Toleration of employee expression: The organization culture encourages employees to be themselves and to express their moods and feelings without guilt or fear of reprimand.

HRM and Spirituality:

Ironically, introducing spirituality into the organizations is nothing new for HR. In actuality, many of the areas that HRM addresses, and has done so for many years. There are many of the same things that support spirituality, For instance matters such as work / life balances, proper selection of employees, setting performance goals and rewarding people for the work they do are all components of making the organization more spiritual. In fact as you review the characteristics of a spiritual organization, in every case, HRM is either the leader in making such things happen, or is the vehicle by which the organization helps employees understand their responsibilities and offers the requisite training to make things happen. In the end, it’s HRM that will make the workplace a supportive work environment, where communication abounds and employees feel free to express themselves.

SMALL PERCEPTS ON SPIRITUALITY INCLUSION:

Tatas, Godrej & Birlas- exhibited a high level of social and environmental consciousness- responsible corporate citizens

Collins & Porra- identified 18 visionary companies- achieved growth in shareholder vale 15 times greater than te general market- Indian examples are WIPRO & INFOSYS

Kyocera- spiritual covenants on website Corporate Motto- respect the Devine anf love people. Preserve the spirit to work fairly and honourably,

respecting people, our work and our global community. Management Philosophy- to coexist harmoniously with nature and society. IPAN (Indian Public Affairs Network)- staffs visiting cards donot mention their designation but simply

their names. Maruti Udyog Ltd- incorporated Japanese concept at Factories where workers and management sport a

common uniform and share a common cafeteria.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Workplace_spirituality

http://gbr.pepperdine.edu/2010/08/six-components-of-a-model-for-workplace-spirituality/

http://www.citeman.com/8980-what-is-workplace-spirituality.html