Is there a place for God in the corporate world?
Can spirituality provide us with a competitive advantage? Yes it
can, says Ian Mitroff, co-author of A Spiritual Audit of
Corporate America.
Indeed spiritual intelligence courses and their ilk are gaining
popularity with many companies, like Orange, the World Bank and
McKinsey. And, where America leads, Britain has often followed,
so be prepared for yoga to kick off your day, meditation breaks,
and even meetings to discuss esoterica like reincarnation.
"The burden created by not acknowledging the souls of employees
has created a deep ambivalence with corporate America."
(Spirituality in the Workplace) The same could be said to be
true for British business, so there is definitely room for inner
improvement.
Yet, with much of the modern world in turmoil due to religious
differences, could it really be possible to bring spirituality
into the workplace? Indeed is it advisable?
Many people would find religious expression in the workplace
highly inappropriate. However, spirituality is generally seen as
more inclusive. It is viewed as embracing diversity of
expression while underlining the interconnectedness of all life.
Within that frame of reference are elements such ethics, vision,
values, meaning and mission.
Spirituality should not be mistaken for religious belief. They
are not one and the same. With the former, there is more
emphasis on personal experience. In my opinion, it is a
metaphysical expression for a subjective relationship with a
higher, more complex aspect of ourselves and others. It is, as
Mitroff and Denton define in A Study of Spirituality in the
Workplace, "the basic feeling of being connected with one's
complete self, others and the entire universe".
The Mayo Spirituality in Healthcare Committee class spirituality
as "a process by which one discovers inner wisdom and vitality
that give meaning and purpose to all life events." While Danah
Zohar in The Quantum Self believes that we are all part of
everyone and everything.
If we then follow that logic, it might make sense to incorporate
moments of spiritual time into the work schedule, if only to
maximise the collective energy to mutual advantage. Unless the
office is peopled entirely with nihilists (in which case a
review of recruitment profiling might be in order), spirituality
should be accommodated.
Strip away outer dogma, and the mysticism inherent in all faiths
is the same. Belief in an intelligence of some sort exists even
for atheists, and pragmatic spirituality simply means expanding
the limitations of our conscious mind, and tuning into this
other type of intelligence. Intuition, higher power, God,
whatever we choose to call this unlimited intelligence, it can,
and should, be tapped to corporate advantage.
One school of thought is that an ageing workforce feels more
need for 'divine reconciliation' in its daily life. While I
concur with the spiritual sentiment, I dispute the view that age
is making us more aware of our mortality. Today, more pressing
issues - like terrorism, natural disasters and war - affect
everyone. Our beliefs are being questioned, and in some cases,
pushed to the limits.
Mitroff and Denton conclude that corporates today are
'spiritually impoverished', suggesting that meaningful change
can only occur when 'companies find ways to integrate personal
beliefs with organisational values'. However, inspirational
emails and group 'Morning Mantras' may not go down too well with
the traditional Brit, no matter much inner confusion they may
feel. Indeed, some ideas may raise cynical hackles, often with
reason, having a reverse effect on the corporate unconscious!
But that is not a reason to deny the enhanced creativity and
proven stress reduction from moments of focused silence.
Meditation works.
In the battle for shareholder value, too often corporates forget
social value - the infrastructure, of people, on which profits
are fleshed. It takes an exceptional soul to sell their shares
portfolio because of environmental reasons or because a board
member is a warmonger. However, an employee's thoughts and
actions do have positive or negative repercussions on revenue
growth. The fact that one in four fakes a sickie bears this out.
Needing to find meaning and purpose in our lives is nothing new.
What could be viewed as revolutionary in our secular world is
that people 'who are more spiritually involved achieve better
results'.
One of the major challenges with bringing spiritual awareness
into corporate life, is that most people are too embarrassed to
even discuss their religious preferences let alone practise them
in the perceived materialistic confines of an office
environment. Yet as this earlier study shows, attention to one's
spiritual life can increase creativity, competitiveness, and
even profitability.
Factor in costs of employee burnout, turnover and absenteeism,
then the value of focusing attention on our inner lives should
not to be dismissed.
If spiritual awareness can be brought within commercial
paradigms, then reactions may skip the hostile, and move from
open-minded indifference to acceptance - to the benefit of all.
801 words
Euphrosene Labon is the author of several books including Profit
From Unlimited Thinking and A Little Book of Self-Coaching Tips.
She teaches about creative thinking - with a difference -
through floreo NEWS and through corporate workshops. More
information can be found at
www.floreo.org. İEuphrosene
Marie-Louise Labon/floreo 33/2005
About the author:
Euphrosene Labon is the author of several books including Profit
From Unlimited Thinking and a series of pocket guides designed
to make learning easy. More articles and insights, including a
free ezine and blog, can be found at
www.floreo.org
