Spirituality is increasingly accepted as an emerging area in management literature (Chawla and Guda 2003). Spirituality in workplace was found to be positively related to job satisfaction (Gupta et al. 2014), unit-level performance (Fry et al. 2011), and organization performance (Fry and Matherly 2006). India presents the perfect context to examine the relationship between spirituality and the workplace, given its history as the land of spiritual pursuits through different religions. Indeed, many of the worldâs major religions originated/spread from India, including Hinduism, Jainism, Sikhism, and Buddhism. In addition, the Indian culture and people have always welcomed other religious practicesâfor example, Islam, Judaism, and Zoroastrianism found a home in India centuries ago. The chapters provide exciting readings on spirituality in management.
Spirituality is relatively a new concept in the management domain. Chapter 2 puts spirituality in the context of management. It describes the evolution of 100 years of management thought into four stages of development: (1) scientific management, (2) human dimension in management, (3) environmental sensitivity, good governance, and ethics in management, and (4) spirituality in management. The chapter further argues that the four stages of evolution and development of management thought broadly correspond to the evolution of human consciousness from âmatterâ to âheart-mindâ and âspiritual consciousnessâ corresponding to the body-heart-spirit (BHS) perspective of human beings.
Chapter 3 derives the essential characteristics of spirituality (Indian concept of adhyAtma) from the bhagavadgItA. The bhagavadgItA is a spiritual treatise revered in India. It presents an evidence of how spirituality (adhyAtma) translates in the daily behaviour of an individual. The chapter provides a synthesis of both the micro-world and the life-world in order to define and elaborate the construct of adhyAtma.
Chapter 4 argues that the sociocultural and the religious prism of every society colours a concept into its realities. Being a culturally sensitive construct, spirituality has had multiple interpretations. Based on in-depth interviews of 23 working professionals, this chapter tries to construct spirituality as perceived by the working professionals of India. It further establishes a close link between religiosity and spirituality, which is in contrast with those who propose them to be very distinct concepts.
Chapter 5 argues that rather than managing conflict, organizations should strive to promote nonviolence. Nonviolence behaviour focuses on positive human values and it believes that the triggers of violence can only be broken by nonviolence interventions. AhiMsA or nonviolence is a construct derived from Indian wisdom traditions normally associated with Gandhiâs âpolitical weaponâ to free India from the colonial supremacy. The chapter argues that organizations high on spiritual climate can relate to nonviolence behaviour and thus lead to outcomes such as compassion, empathy, and forgiveness at the workplace.
As work continues to become more demanding, âanxiety and stressâ are increasingly becoming common among the workforce. Indeed, studies have noted that in addition to rising stress levels among workers, over half of the global workforce is close to burnout (see Fernandez 2016). In fact, sustaining the workforce productive is a major challenge for many organizations. In this connection, scholars have identified numerous factors that can help in reducing the negative consequences of a demanding workplace. As an example, empirical studies have provided support for the role of mindfulness in decreasing stress and increasing well-being. Relatedly, it has been argued that, as âspiritual elements enhance the effectiveness of mindfulnessâ, there is a case to be made for looking at spirituality in organizations (Feuille and Pargament 2015, 1092). Given the importance of spirituality in management, there is a need to understand how to fulfil the spiritual need of the workforce.
Chapter 6 agrees that spirituality at the workplace has beneficial effects for both the employees and the organization. As a result, there are increased initiatives by the organizations aimed towards the spiritual fulfilment of their employees. Scholars have predominantly looked at the internal mechanisms and neglected the external mechanisms that might fulfil the spiritual need of employees. Based on interviews of the volunteers, the chapter argues that volunteerism provides the external mechanism for employeesâ spiritual fulfilment. The chapter examines two perspectives of employee volunteerism: namely, compensatory and spillover effects in relation to workplace spirituality.
Chapter 7 challenges the scholars citing that studies on spirituality have predominantly been discussed in the context of large organizations and paid limited attention on its manifestations in the emerging forms of organizations. Based on an in-depth interview of the leader in an organization named Faking News, a pioneering venture in online satirical news content in India, the chapter elaborates how the elements of spirituality helped the venture.
Chapter 8 brings the concept of family into the discussion, citing its importance in India. It provides instances to support this assertion. For example, marriage in India is not just between two individuals; rather it is between two families. The chapter investigates the impact of work-family enrichment on both forms of well-being: hedonia and eudaimonia. Based on an empirical study among 504 married individuals having at least one child, the chapter argues in favour of work-family enrichment.
Given the increasing interest in the role of spirituality in the workplace, scholars have recently begun examining spirituality in diverse settings, from banking (Iqbal and Hassan 2016) to healthcare (Bhat and Yadavannavar 2016). In this connection, Sandelands (2003, 170) has argued that âWithout God ⌠management theory is nonsenseâ. In fact, spirituality is argued to be important for management and management education (Neal 1997).
Chapter 9 highlights the emergence of âgig workforceâ, that is, the on-demand workforce or contractual employees. Given the absence of any formal contract and its virtual nature, the chapter argues the challenges in managing gig workforce compared to the traditional workforce. The authors bring in the concept of âspiritual intelligenceâ to argue that it will help integrating by bringing together the goals of the gig workers and the organization. The chapter concludes with a conceptual understanding of spirituality to advance the discussion on spiritual intelligence.
Chapter 10 of the book provides a review of the literature on workplace spirituality and investigates its effect on employee engagement. In addition to the direct effect, the chapter argues that workplace spirituality affects work engagement indirectly through meaningful work.
Chapter 11 turns the attention from management to management education. Indian management education is realigning itself with global trends, striving for academic excellence. The chapter is based on the teachings of Swami Vivekananda, a spiritual leader, who believed that education is the way by which lack of knowledge is replaced by intelligence and spiritual wisdom. Based on his work, the chapter argues in favour of spiritualism to instil among the students the sense of interconnectedness, empathy, and compassion.
In the drive to improve their bottom line, organizations run the risk of trivializing spirituality. Carrette and King (2005) argued how religion has silently taken over spirituality. They argued that â...