Covid-19 global pandemic, workplace spirituality and the rise of spirituality-driven organisations in the post-digital era

PurposeDespite the growing importance of workplace spirituality, organisations have been reluctant to integrate spirituality into their workplaces; this paper discusses how to integrate spirituality into the workplace.Design/methodology/approachThis is a theoretical paper that builds its arguments on the synthesis of workplace spirituality and contemporary management paradigms.FindingsThe study argues that workplace spirituality is an extremely important driving force for the sustainable and healthy growth of any organisation; however, infusing workplace spirituality into companies in the industrial and digital eras would be a futile effort, as industrial organisations are built on an ethos highly incongruent with spiritual principles. Therefore, in the post-digital era, spirituality-driven organisations (SDOs) will emerge, marking the beginning of a true “spiritual paradigm” for business and human society at large. The study also elaborates on the characteristics of the post-digital era and the nature of SDOs.Originality/valueWorkplace spirituality has been a research topic for years but has never gained sufficient momentum. The Covid-19 global pandemic has made workplace spirituality a more pertinent issue on corporate agendas. Therefore, this paper provides the theoretical foundation to embed workplace spirituality in contemporary management thoughts and practices.

Resolving stress of university teacher: exploring role of workplace spirituality and constructive workplace deviance

PurposeThe study explores the relationship between workplace spirituality and work stress among university teachers. It also investigates the mediating effect of constructive deviance amid the association between workplace spirituality and stress among Indian university teachers.Design/methodology/approachThe association between spirituality and stress is studied using correlation and multiple regression. The mediating effect of constructive deviance is examined using the Sobel test and bootstrapping estimates using Hayes' PROCESS macro. The hierarchical regression is used to report direct and indirect effects.FindingsFindings reveal a significant negative association between the six dimensions of workplace spirituality and stress. The results also concluded the mediation effect of constructive deviance, which means workplace spirituality promotes constructive deviance that influences educators' stress levels.Originality/valueThe study is based on primary data collected by the author. It is one of the first explorations of the mediating effect of constructive deviance in the relationship of six dimensions of workplace spirituality and work stress among teachers.

Benefits of workplace spirituality on real estate agents’ work outcomes: the mediating role of person-Job fit

Purpose This study aims to apply the person-environment fit theory to examine the effect of workplace spirituality on real estate agents’ person-job (P-J) fit. Moreover, P-J was proposed as a mediator to explain the effect of workplace spirituality on customer-oriented organizational citizenship behavior (CO-OCB) and job performance that real estate agents demonstrate. Design/methodology/approach A sample of 398 agents was obtained from 60 brokerage firms in Bangkok, Thailand. The data were collected through an online questionnaire survey. Data analysis was performed using partial least squares structural equation modeling. Findings The analysis supported the positive association between workplace spirituality and P-J fit. In addition, the mediating effect analysis showed that P-J fit mediated the association between workplace spirituality and CO-OCB in part, but mediated the association between workplace spirituality and job performance fully. Originality/value The findings overall clarify the theoretical mechanism by which workplace spirituality motivates real estate agents to demonstrate positive work behavior and enhanced performance.

Confluence of Workplace Spirituality and Leadership

Recent interest in the subject of workplace spirituality and leadership emphasizes the integrative potential of spirituality in the workplace as a means of increasing cohesiveness and leadership effectiveness. Relatively little attention has, so far, been devoted to how spirituality could act as a force of developing leadership effectiveness within organizations. Since workplace spirituality and leadership together are in a developing phase of postmodern discourse, the bridge between the two needs to be narrowed down by identifying the reasons for the evident disconnection between workplace outcomes and leadership spirituality and probing possible moderators and mediators of this relationship. The chapter encapsulates the existing research evidence on spirituality and leadership effectiveness to identify the future research agenda in the area. The review reveals that workplace spirituality and leadership share a significant positive relationship and that improving the core areas of spirituality can improve various dimensions of leadership.

Does workplace spirituality influence knowledge-sharing behavior and work engagement in work? Trust as a mediator

Management scholars view workplace spirituality as the main factor behind building trust among employees and playing a pivotal role in enhancing the organization's positive outcomes, i.e., knowledge sharing behavior & work engagement. Underpinning social exchange theory, we explored the linkage between workplace spirituality, knowledge sharing behavior, and work engagement. We further studied to look at the mediating effect of trust between workplace spirituality and positive outcomes. Data was collected from six private companies, the total number of respondents was (n=196). The study's analysis showed that workplace spirituality substantially positively impacts knowledge sharing behavior and work engagement. Furthermore, the link between workplace spirituality, knowledge sharing behavior, and work engagement is positively and statistically significantly mediated by trust. Thus, this work contributes significantly to the research paradigm by presenting workplace spirituality as a solution for high-rise trust among employees, fostering employee engagement in their work, and improving the capacity of knowledge-sharing behavior. Additionally, at the end of this study, theoretical and managerial suggestions, future avenues, and limitations are stated.

(How) Does Religiousness Impact on Job Satisfaction? Results for Germany

Although research has established a positive link between spirituality or religiousness and job satisfaction, this influence’s pathways remain a ‘black box’. Whether it is an effect of a trait- relationship or of a need-satisfaction-relationship remains an open question. Additionally, data and results for West European countries are largely missing. Following King and Williamson (2005), and with a large-scale dataset for Germany (N = 2,551), we empirically assess the link between religiousness and job satisfaction, considering individual employees’ desire to express religiousness and actual expression at work in a serial mediation model, scrutinizing also the influences of discrimination experiences and perceived employers’ stances on religiousness at work. Results strongly support the needs-satisfaction perspective, implying high relevance of workplace spirituality for human resource management (HRM) but also of the research field of management, spirituality and religion in general. Contrary to our expectations, experiences of religious-based discrimination and the perception of a negative employer stance influence the desire to express religiousness at work and de facto expressions positively.