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Personal Spirituality
March 2004
by Amy Betit and Mary E. Lynch
Spirituality in the Workplace
In recent years the topic of spirituality and business, or spirituality
in the workplace, has gained increasing attention. There are national
and international conferences and web sites devoted to this topic and
a wealth of new books on the subject. As an example, the Eighth International
Conference on Business and Consciousness, held in Santa Fe in 2002, had
a 26% increase in attendance from the year before! As people seek a greater
sense of purpose and meaning in their work life and are unwilling to settle
for the status quo, many are finding new ways to bring their spirituality
to work and to develop a more genuine sense of community in their workplace
as well as outside of work.
But what exactly would it mean to bring spirituality into the workplace?
What would it look like to integrate our spiritual life with our work
life? How would our businesses and places of work change if more and more
people shifted towards greater spiritual consciousness in all areas of
their life? In this article we will explore what spirituality at work
might look like and put forward some practical suggestions for integrating
your spiritual self with your working self.
With the advent of technologies such as the Internet and television, we
can no longer see ourselves as separate from the rest of the world. The
impacts of our business practices are now much more visible, in terms
of damage to other countries, to our own and the global environment, and
to important social structures both here and around the globe. The old
paradigm of "profit as the bottom line" is no longer viable.
Instead, we need to move towards a paradigm that incorporates our most
deeply held spiritual values and our concerns for the whole of our world,
even as we pursue prosperity and sustainability in our businesses.
It would be well-nigh impossible to check our spiritual selves at the
door of our office, picking them up again as we punch the time clock or
shut down our computers at the end of the day. We are all spiritual beings,
so in fact we have no choice but to bring our spiritual selves to work.
What we are really talking about are ways to more consciously integrate
our spiritual values and spiritual practices with our work life.
In the realm of attitudes, one of the first things that we can do is to
bring our whole selves to work. This would mean bringing our spiritual
ideals and purposes into our places of work and also bringing our greater
imagination and creativity. It would mean maintaining our vision of what
the workplace might and could look like, instead of becoming jaded and
cynical. Bringing our whole selves to work might mean asking ourselves
each day: Am I limiting my view of what can happen here at work? Or, Have
I accepted circumstances that I could perhaps change? It is important
to be at peace with those things we cannot change, but often we limit
ourselves out of complacency or fear.
Another important spiritual attitude to bring with us to work is that
of personal responsibility for cooperation and harmony in our business
or organization. Taking responsibility in the workplace means more than
getting our jobs done. It means taking responsibility for our judgments
and projections onto other people. A very simple daily spiritual practice
can consist of regularly asking oneself: What is it in me that irritates
(scares, bores) me about that person? And, What can I learn about myself
from these uncomfortable feelings? It takes work to see other people as
they really are, and not through the lens of our projections. In many
spiritual philosophies, we are that other person, so now is the chance
to get to know ourselves!
A simple but profound practice we can bring to work is that of taking
time to listen, both to ourselves and to others. There is often a sense
of urgency at work, as deadlines loom and tasks are seemingly endless.
But do we really profit by continuing to work as a co-worker calls us
on the phone or stops to convey something to us? Do we profit by not stopping
to listen to our bodies and give them the two or five minute stretch that
they need? Do we profit by not taking time to organize our work and to
finish one task before starting another, or time to allow a creative solution
to bubble up? Taking time to listen to and transform our negative self-talk
can make the difference between a 'bad hair' day or a fun, productive
day.
The power of a short conversation with another person or oneself to lighten
the workload, to streamline a process, or to simply give an energy boost
is often underestimated. On the flip side, to spend too much time talking
and not focusing on the task at hand can bog down an entire office or
business.
Bringing spirituality into the workplace does not mean being meek, submissive,
and tentative. No matter what our position, our contribution is important,
and if we fail to speak up or to contribute, hiding behind a "no
one cares what I have to say" attitude, we deprive the whole organization
of what we have to offer. There are, of course, situations in which speaking
up has negative consequences and even situations where we might be fired
or censured. In those cases, it is time to check with ourselves whether
our mission and purpose can be in alignment with that company at that
time, and if not, to gracefully move on.
In some respects, the workplace is an extension of our family; we carry
the same dynamics from our family into the workplace. Work can be an excellent
place to heal long-standing issues, problems, projections, and judgments.
Who reminds you of your judgmental father or your irritating sister? Do
you become the aggressor or withdraw when faced with a difficult situation?
Do you find yourself complaining and holding back, rather than addressing
issues? Often we blame others for our work problems, rather then first
looking inside to see what we can find out about ourselves, then addressing
things with others, if needed
Our spiritual self must be encouraged consistently in order to flourish,
and the workplace is a wonderful place to carry out this encouragement.
If we are mindful each day at work and remind ourselves of our ideals
and practices, our spiritual selves can continue to grow and develop -
then there is no limit to what we can achieve together with others and
to the transformation of our businesses and organizations from profit
as the bottom line to harmony, love and prosperity as another bottom line.
Profit is only one dimension of a far greater prosperity that is ours
to share if we consciously bring our spiritual values into the workplace.
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