Employee Needs: Workplace Spirituality a Workplace Reality

Here's how this got started:

1. Graeme Codrington's Corporate Chaplaincies post from an article in The Economist grabbed my online attention.

The factual heart of The Economist article is that spiritual support is being made available to workers in many places. I found the "spirit" of the article to be snarky and condescending to people of faith.

2. While reading the articles, I received this brief email:

Steve

Thanks for your time.  I appreciate your help; does this make you (company name)'s
spiritual advisor?

What had I done?

I had spent about an hour listening to a client's struggles for which I had no solution. The only thing I could do was acknowledge the depth of the situation and how it must feel.

But I was struck by his reference to the spiritual nature of the interaction.

3. Science Daily popped up on my RSS reader with the research finding Thoughts Related to God Linked to Altruism.

Researchers Azim Shariff and Ara Norenzayan found that people just having thoughts about "God concepts" increased altruism.

After discussing their experiment, Shariff said:

"These are compelling findings that have substantial impact on the study of social behavior because they draw a causal relationship between religion and acting morally -- a topic of some debate."

Based on a lifetime of experience and observation I can't say that the conclusion was startling. But for those seeking research-based evidence to help put certain pieces of life together, the findings could be profound.

Why Does Any of This Matter in the Workplace?

Everyone who has ever held a job knows that workplaces are social communities. They reflect the breadth, depth, intellect, emotions, and expertise of the people who inhabit them. And people are inhabiting them for longer hours due to demands for productivity.

At the same time, organizations ask for engagement and commitment as well as espouse the merits of "authenticity".

What that really means is that companies are asking for the "whole" person to be present.   

If that's true, then any fragmentation of one's "self" would, by definition, weaken one's ability to  engage completely and in a fully authentic way.

Asking employees to park the spiritual foundation of their belief systems at the door is, therefore, a recipe for weakness. Just google Workplace Spirituality and you'll find that this post is only one of the 1,780,000 search results. The reality of spirituality has meaning to many.

What's going on in your world of work when it comes to faith and spirituality?

Comments

[Wally Bock]

I have a special window on this issue. My uncle Jack was the first full-time paid police chaplain in the US. He was hired in that role by the Albuquerque Police Department. He was a Lutheran pastor, but his work with the police department was with people of all faiths, primarily employees of the police department and their families.

He started part time, then went fulltime after resolving all kinds of bureaucratic issues with both the church and the city. His official title was Chaplain Commander and part of his work was overseeing the work of thirty plus volunteer chaplains. The highest award now given out by the Police Chaplain's Association is named for him.

Did his work matter? Mostly the evidence is anecdotal, but there is one fact that's hard to miss. In 1998 the City named their new police building the John A. Price Law Enforcement Center.

[Mike Wagner]

Super post Steve!

"companies are asking for the "whole" person to be present"

Who would have thought that the ultimate killer app would be "being fully human" in the midst of a competitive marketplace?

You are right when you say, "Asking employees to park the spiritual foundation of their belief systems at the door is, therefore, a recipe for weakness."

But I suspect the prevailing assumption is the opposite; many business leaders believe that inviting the spiritual into the work world is a recipe for weakness.

Maybe it's time to reexamine our assumptions about the nature of strength and weakness?

Great conversation...keep creating,
Mike

[Scott M]

Oh boy......

This has special significance for me, because I am an agnostic in an office full of believers. Luckily, most people here keep their religion to themselves. Likewise, I try not to cringe too much at the invocation given at the company Christmas reception and the stockholders meeting.

While it would be nice if we could be ‘whole’ at work, I cannot imagine how this will ever be the case. As you said, workplaces are social communities. And in social communities, we have to learn to get along. This means that we have to be aware of how we affect other people. How we express our religious beliefs is one of ways we affect other people, and affect them deeply. This is because religion is a very personal thing. Many religions expressly “look down” upon those of different religions, or of no religion at all. Now, many believers have moderated this to a great extent, but the basic conflict is there.

Most people should be able to filter their beliefs in such a way that they could still act ethically at work without having to call on god during the middle of a staff meeting.

[Steve Roesler]

Now that is a truly interesting family factoid, Wally.

Every place I've lived in the U.S. has had a chaplain for the police and fire departments--now I know where it started!

The desire to have someone in those arenas is rather high. Chaplains with whom I've spoken have said that their biggest challenge is not getting burned out by the number of requests for help and the intensity of many of the situations.

When confronted with issues of life and death, the common human reaction is to try and make sense out of the seemingly senseless.

[Steve Roesler]

Thanks for the encouragement regarding the issue, Mike.

It's not an easy one for employers or employees, given the wide range of belief systems and even the nuance within those. Let's face it, it's easier to say "None of that stuff here" and try to be done with it.

Yet for those whose lives are committed to living out their faith, trying to make it go away for 8 hours a day is diminishing and creates a great deal of conflict within the worker.

My hope is that, as you noted, by trying to frame the issue as one of strengths and weaknesses it may be seen, experienced, and dealt with from a new perspective.

As always, thanks for adding to the conversation...

[Steve Roesler]

Scott, I am so thankful that you weighed in on this one with your thoughtful explanation from an agnostic viewpoint. I was honestly concerned that the comments might be one-sided or simply include a series of rants. Which still could happen :-)

Given the number of expressions of spirituality and faith in the U.S., we could probably have a fascinating--and never-ending-- conversation about how each impacts the others, including non-believers.

Your description of your personal experience is probably representative of many peoples' experiences. And your calm call for mutual respect in the work setting would be consistent with the actual doctrines of most faiths with which I am familiar that include some variation of "love your neighbor".

I'm curious to see where this overall conversation leads. Thank you for adding to it in a way that gives an articulate voice to one of the constituencies.

[Scott M]

I wonder; What exactly is it that people do at work that conflicts with their religion?

Are they being asked to lie, cheat and steal? There are secular rules, and laws, against these things anyway.

Are they expected to be rude, unkind and inconsiderate? Are they expected to take advantage of the weak? I can't imagine anyone really expecting this kind of behavior at work.

Are they expected to listen to immodest talk at the workplace, such as the sexual conquests of a coworker? Certainly this behavior violates company policy, if not federal sexual harassment law.

What about tolerating alcohol or drug abuse at work? Same as above.

Are they concerned that they can't display religious icons at their desk? I think that recent laws have shown this is allowed as long as it isn't offensive to most people (explicit messages denigrating others being excepted).

To me, it seems that most of the major rules of religion are already covered in most secular laws and accepted business practices.

So if you live most of your faith during the workday (the large part that overlaps the secular world), and explicitly pray to your god after hours, where is the conflict?

I'm not being clever. I really want to know!

[Steve Roesler]

Scott,

Not only do I not think you are trying to be clever, but I think that your questions--and the existing associated regs--should be required reading.

Since I work with lots of different companies, here are examples of actual related issues, including some quotes, that have prompted discussion and action. The names have been changed:

1. "Ralph won't consider Phyllis for a promotion because she is a well-known seminar speaker at church women's events. He thinks that she won't be able to make difficult business decisions when things get tough."

2. I (Steve) was a workshop leader when the discussion of power and influence was part of the agenda. One participant stated that he believed that his power and abilities came from his relationship with God and, as a result, this relationship was his first priority. Someone scoffed at him, called his posture "childish', and questioned his ability to lead.

3. Another woman was quietly put on the "do not promote" list because she had expressed joy about her upcoming marriage and also said, "I hope God blesses us with kids. I look forward to being a mom." When the manager who was found to have initiated the "red flag" was asked about what prompted his (illegal) response, he said: "I'm not sure which is worse. Her craziness about saying 'God' or the fact that now I have an employee) who is thinking more about kids than work.(Now, that part was a stretch!

Now, it's my understanding that all of these are covered by rules and regulations. The comments made are simply insensitive and just plain goofy regardless of the bias (he's too fat, she's too short, Phil belongs to a nudist group, 'Amir's worry beads make me worry"... ). The impact, though, causes those singled out to wonder whether or not it's a "safe" place to work and then to look carefully at whether or not the organization will quickly intervene to reinforce the regs or say, "Oh, that's just Ralph. He's ok 90% of the time."

Scott, what it really looks like is that even though all concerned knew the rules, they just weren't followed. Interestingly, in none of these particular instances did the affected individual take any formal action against the company. They simply went to the appropriate person and said "Hey, this is uncomfortable and outside of the realm of mutual respect." To each company's credit, they followed through. No one lost a job. No one got crazy.

What did happen was the kind of conversation that I think we're trying to have here. Situation by situation, each of the secular-oriented folks described their belief systems in detail, what made them uncomfortable, and why. The other people described a bit about their spiritual belief systems, why they were important, and how their lives were lived out 'in toto' as a result. Each expressed the belief that it (faith) made them a conscientious employee.

So I guess what really happened at the end of these discussions might be a model for what could happen as a matter of course. That is, when people--agnostic, spiritual, atheist--talk (and listen) openly but calmly about who they are and why, things become more understandable. Even if you don't agree, you at least "get" each other. When any one person or group starts finger-wagging, no one scores any points for their position or for themselves.

Waddya think?