by Alan L. Pritz

Peter Vaill, author of Managing as a Performing Art, coined a term, “permanent white water”, to paint the picture of modern society, and in particular, the workplace. This term evokes an image of dynamic, turbulent activity evident in the unsettling pace of most people’s lives. From the demands of single parenting and elder care to the concerns of balancing domestic with career activity, permanent white water is not simply about jobs and technology, but reflects the state of human attitudes, issues, and global events woven into the tapestry of an increasingly high-tech world.

And times truly are changing. In a period of unprecedented electronic sophistication our society has shifted from a production orientation to a knowledge-based one. As a result, people are compelled to manage uncanny amounts of data, stay abreast of evolving techno-gadgetry, and theoretically maintain a healthy lifestyle; all this when a large portion of their duties keeps them spinning like a top. Ironically, the technology designed to enhance job efficiency and create more time for life enjoyment has boomeranged, generating longer workdays and a host of problems non-existent before high-tech systems were developed. These statements aren’t made to condemn technology, but to address the pains of its birth, the chaos of its adolescence, and to encourage consideration of possible solutions.

People in this transitional age are realizing a great need, to learn how to embrace the flux of evolving technology – because it’s not going away - with the continuity of perspective and moral values that keep work and life in focus. Despite a fascination with computers, we’re not mechanized drones like the notorious Star Trek “Borg”, but biological beings with multi-dimensional components. As such, accelerated job environments can’t help but affect employees, often detrimentally. Anyone can work themselves to a nervous breakdown, but it requires wisdom to recognize personal needs and skill to develop them. Ultimately, the best way of coping with our fast-paced, plugged-in society is to cultivate the age-old treasure, balance. Perhaps this is one reason why organizations are witnessing a rising interest in spirituality themes within the workplace. Let’s examine that further.

What is Workplace Spirituality?

Spirituality and religion are sometimes considered the same thing. Though compatible, they aren’t identical. In office settings, it is crucial to understand the difference.

Definitions:

Spirituality

In “A Study of Spirituality in the Workplace” by Ian I. Mitroff and Elizabeth A. Denton, Sloan Management Review (Summer, 1999) spirituality was defined as:

“the basic feeling of being connected with one’s complete self, others, and the entire universe.”

The Mayo Spirituality in Healthcare Committee defined spirituality as:

“a process by which one discovers inner wisdom and vitality that give meaning and purpose to all life events.”

And in my book, Pocket Guide To Meditation, I describe spirituality as:

“the essence of all traditions, the Truth hiding behind and within every form…the medium through which individuals establish direct communion with God, regardless of formal orientation. Spirituality is both the immediate experience of That-Which-Is-Holy, the Higher Power by whatever name, and living by those principles and practices which foster this relationship.”

Religion

The Mayo Spirituality in Healthcare Committee defines religion as:

“a formalized system of beliefs and practices shared by a group.”

The definition my programs use is:

“the organization of spiritually based rules, rituals, and doctrine surrounding, and developing from, the life and teachings of a Founding Individual or Revelatory Source.”

The Sloan article offers no specific definition of religion yet ascribed to it more organized, formal, and denominational attributes than spirituality. The latter was perceived to allow for and support religious beliefs, yet the reverse was not always so.

The Sloan article also points out a very significant thing; HR executives and managers felt religious expression at work was inappropriate whereas spirituality was viable. What’s the difference? Spirituality was considered universal and embracing of diverse expression while religion was seen as dogmatic, exclusive, divisive, and narrow. A generalized sentiment, it was nevertheless shared by many study participants. Spiritual beliefs could be pursued without demanding doctrinal complicity from peers, a sure safeguard against religious freedom lawsuits.

How Has Spirituality Entered the Workplace?

Spirituality in modern enterprise hails from multiple factors of which I’ll briefly address three. The first is we possess an innate curiosity about our origins and destiny. The desire to examine spiritual issues is natural and the exploration of such things has rapidly grown in national, if not international, appeal. The sheer increase of “higher perspective” books on topics ranging from romance to coaching, pet communication to employment proves this to be so. Commerce is investigating spirituality in part because current interest is so pervasive.

Secondly, from a historical perspective, the 70s and 80s economy generated widespread distaste towards corporate butchery. Slash-and-burn practices produced incredible stress with subsequent employee burnout, absenteeism, increased medical leave and turnover. Having weathered that nightmare, seasoned employees became cynical and next-generation workers, antagonistic, to de-humanizing treatment dispensed in the name of fiscal policies. 90’s prosperity subsequently fostered greater entrepreneurial activity, a tighter job-market, and more empowered employees. As a result, HR departments had to creatively scramble to recruit and hold quality staff. Sensitivity to workforce interests showed employees wanted to associate with ethical, socially responsible organizations that nurtured holistic work models. This catalyzed corporate recognition that personal integration, i.e. harnessing emotional sensitivity with spiritual awareness and intellectual capability, could promote peak performance by tapping frontiers of human potential.

A third piece contributing to workplace spirituality stems from baby-boom executives experiencing mid-life review. Exploring the domain of Spirit invites examining purpose beyond occupation. It also evokes the desire to integrate what’s most meaningful in life with where one spends a major portion of their time. That such individuals have often reached powerful jobs is both a function of “time in” and serendipity. They’re better able to influence corporate culture than an average employees is, and, such top-down interest creates a foundation for spirituality-related programs to be explored, if not implemented.

Value

The question of how to address spirituality in the workplace is undeniably challenging. From a scientific and healthcare perspective, investigations in behavioral science and PNI (psychoneuroimmunology) have established that physical fitness and positive attitude can mitigate stress plus reduce health care costs; that certain meditation practices lower blood pressure and mental tools like guided imagery / visualization can enhance overall health. Because of such findings, corporate executives have been given a legitimate go-ahead to turn their attentions within, if only to harness the healing power of mind.

More recently, empirical research in Emotional Intelligence ™, creativity, and spiritual integration (the number of these studies is few but growing) has pushed beyond the mere measure of health benefits. Projects such as the “Sloan” one already mentioned and work done by the High Tor Alliance (on contemplative practice in business settings) conclude that spirituality in the workplace is both beneficial and quite possibly necessary for long term organizational survival.

Some findings on the value of religious belief and spiritual practice, include:

• Younger Biological Age
• Decreased Substance Abuse
• Greater Immune System Function
• Decreased Incidence of Violent Behavior
• Enhanced Cognitive & Emotional Functions
• Greater Efficiency, Productivity, Job Satisfaction

Objections

Despite that, workplace spirituality is frequently handled as intriguing yet uncomfortable. It commonly elicits an ambivalent response, one of inquiry that simultaneously strives to maintain a distance. As such it’s a topic often couched in palatable terms of ethics, vision, values, meaning and working with passion. Some organizations believe “higher domain” issues are beyond the scope of their training and responsibility. For them the separation of church and state, spirituality and employment, represents an appropriate status quo. Others feel workplace spirituality offers a safe reconciliation between higher life purpose and the tapping of innovative potential needed to effectively compete in a global market. Ultimately, organizations realize something here is worth considering. They must broach the topic to explore it and, if they choose, learn how to implement programs without offending co-workers or causing discord.

How to Proceed

This brings us back to the subject of cultivating balance.

As a specialist society many of us have trained extensively in singular job roles and can get occupationally myopic. Lives are so filled with responsibility that simply having the opportunity to examine balance is almost a luxury. That said, a time comes when personal priorities must be honored, if only to successfully dispatch professional ones. From my experience as both corporate consultant and executive coach, the new wave of employee training and organizational development will include spiritual exploration and retreat.

Of all things, the ability to skillfully retreat from the work and family world, perhaps only for one day, serves as a means for renewal and balance that is unsurpassed by anything else. Everyone, particularly those in the busy business world need a retreat, a “dynamo of silence” to focus exclusively on being recharged by the Infinite. It’s also imperative to integrate what’s been learned into daily activity. For such retreats or private coaching it is essential that facilitators have inner credentials. It is not enough that they express interest in such matters. They must be steeped in it themselves to acquire the requisite experience necessary to guide others. This isn’t an easy thing to find, but such is the value of worthy experts in any field.

Activity In The Field

When I began work in this area in 1988, it was virtually unheard of. Now, the number of enterprises, schools, and healthcare institutions exploring spirituality is rapidly increasing. Websites exist, as do international conferences, on business and consciousness as well as spirituality in healthcare. Harvard, a pillar of quality education, explores spirituality in its Business School. The American Management Association, a very notable organization recently published a volume with training content (written by yours truly) specifically addressing spirituality in the workplace. Yes, times truly are changing.

In Minnesota

Local interest in these matters is substantial and continuing to grow. In 1999 the U of St. Thomas sponsored a work and spirituality conference that drew senior representatives from firms like American Express, American Red Cross, 3M, HealthSystem Minnesota, Hewlett-Packard, MN Federation of Teachers, NSP, St. Paul Companies, University of Minnesota, and Honeywell - not a lackluster audience.

National Interest
On the national scene, Exxon, AT&T, Boeing, Motorola, Levi-Strauss, Intel, Microsoft, Coors, and the National Institute of Health are just a few of the many organizations that have found value in exploring spirituality-based themes within their operations. And the list continues to grow.

Personal Anecdote

Although my work varies according to individual or organizational interest, the following is taken from some of my executive coaching activity.

¨ Two Minneapolis .com executives, a COO & CTO with 70 employees and budget of $50 million, were interested in a program to enhance personal growth and career development. They wanted to explore meditation, spiritual philosophy, and hatha yoga instruction as a foundation process for mood and stress management, creativity development, problem solving, team building, and related spin-offs. Sessions were structured to meet twice weekly with an open-ended timetable. One was tutorial instruction; the other, experientially based training.

Goal: Extend personal growth principles/techniques into practice by integrating new understandings into a larger venue of business and domestic dynamics.

Conclusion

Business is investigating new frontiers. Technology can enhance bottom-line results but its application is often upsetting peoples’ lives. Spirituality has emerged as both a symbol and force of balance. Although popular, its presence in the workplace is still fragile. The challenge for many commercial environments is to accept that spiritual realities can play a significant role in employee satisfaction and performance as well as corporate wellbeing. While definitely novel terrain, those who are exploring the spiritual dimension in business may well foreshadow the inwardly balanced shape of things to come.