Workplace spirituality

1. 1
Workplace Spirituality

2. SPIRITUALITY
 Spirituality can refer to an
Ultimate or immaterial reality.
An inner path enabling a person to discover the essence of their
being; or the “deepest values and meanings by which people live.
Spiritual practices, including meditation, prayer and contemplation,
are intended to develop an individual's inner life; such practices often
lead to an experience of connectedness with a larger reality, yielding
a more comprehensive self; with other individuals or the human
community; with nature; or with the divine realm.

3. Workplace Spirituality
Is about people seeing their work
as a spiritual path, as an opportunity
to grow personally and to contribute
to society in a meaningful way.
It is about learning to be more
caring and compassionate with
fellow employees, with bosses, with
subordinates, and with customers.

4. Workplace Spirituality
 The recognition that people have an inner life that nourishes
and is nourished by meaningful work that takes place in the
context of community.
Characteristics of a Spiritual Organization
 Strong sense of purpose
 Focus on individual development
 Trust and openness
 Employee empowerment
 Toleration of employees’ expression

5. Benefits of Spirituality
 Reduction of employee turnover.
 Stronger organizational performance.
 Increased creativity.
 Increased employee satisfaction.
 Increased team performance.
 Increased organizational performance.
 Improved employee productivity.

6. Example of Sri Sri Ravi Shankar
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar is a world renowned
spiritual and humanitarian leader, and
the Founder of the “Art of Living”
(world’s largest volunteer NGO, active in over 140 countries),
which celebrated its
Silver Jubilee in February 2006. Sri Sri Ravi Shankar’s
message of compassion, commitment to society and a
universal understanding of life has resounded in the lives of
millions worldwide.

7. View Points of Sri Sri Ravi Shankar
 Spirituality is like the banana, and religion is like the peel.
What’s happening is that people are holding on to the peel and
throwing away the banana.
 Lack of trust and intellectual poverty are some of the challenges faced by the
world of business today. Spirituality can definitely play a role in overcoming
them.
 Spirituality is the basic truth for life. One can avoid it for some time, but cannot
escape it. One cannot turn away from the truth. Spirituality is a quest for truth.
One can avoid truth for a short time, but cannot dismiss it.
 Our experience is that spirituality at workplace has positive impact on the
bottom line of a company. Many companies which have participated in our
corporate executive program have recorded sharp declines in their medical bill.
Many companies are adopting spirituality in the workplace.
Several big companies including ONGC, and SAMBA Bank of Saudi Arabia,
have undergone our programs.

8. 8
Spirituality Impact On Workplace
Organizational Commitment,
Productivity,
Human Well-Being, &
Performance Excellence
SPIRITUAL
WELL-BEING
CALLING
Make a Difference
Life has Meaning
MEMBERSHIP
Be Understood
Be Appreciated
EFFORT
(Hope/Faith)
PERFORMANCE
(Vision)
REWARD
(Altruistic Love)
INNER LIFE
Spiritual Practice

9. Reasons for Growing Interest in
Spirituality At Workplace
• As a counterbalance to the pressures and stress of a turbulent pace of
life.
• Aging baby boomers, reaching mid-life, are looking for something
meaningful in their life.
• Formalized religion hasn’t worked for many people, and they
continue to look for anchors to replace lack of faith and to fill a
growing feeling of emptiness.
• Job demands have made the workplace dominant in many people’s
lives, yet they continue to question the meaning of work.
• The desire to integrate personal life values with one’s professional
life.
• In times of economic plenty, more people have the luxury to engage
in a search to reach their full potential.

10. Conclusion
Organizations that encourage spirituality as part
of their culture are bound to have more
positive bottom lines, as everyone in the
organization will act more ethically.