The ManicaPost
Sifikile Songo
Post Correspondent
Workplace spirituality is about leaders and followers who understand themselves as spiritual human beings who have a calling that provides meaning and purpose to an individual’s life.
It is also about membership where people experience a sense of belonging and connectedness with one another and their workplace community.
Spirituality is creativity
Creativity is when people enjoy what they do.
It involves conscious efforts to see things differently, to break habits and outdated beliefs and to find new ways of doing things.
Spirituality is vision
This is a trait that describes leaders and entrepreneurs who learn to broaden their perspective and follow their dream.
They see possibilities beyond the status quo and head for them regardless of obstacles
Spirituality is energy
When people feel creative and have the freedom to express their opinions and feel respected by their peers and management, positive energies are released.
Collective positive energies entail working well with others and also enjoying what you do.
Spirituality is communication
Communication allows people to work together and make an effective team leading to productivity.
Spirituality is partnership
Partnership encompasses individual responsibility and trust that other people will perform with commitment for the good of the team.
It accepts different view-points and beliefs and uses these for the good of the team.
It encourages employees, to work together in a balanced and fair way without over ruling or dominating each other.
Spirituality is respect
It includes respect for the environment people’s personal privacy, their private /space and personal belongings, different view- points, philosophies, religion, gender, ethnicity, life style and personality.
Spirituality is fun
Workers who enjoy their work, work hard, generate a good income and have more confidence in themselves.
Spirituality is flexibility
It includes the ability to adapt to changing situations, allowing one’s own beliefs and habits to change as needed.
Employees learn to see trends, learn their strengths and weaknesses.
It entails learning about who you are, how you can control your world by changing your attitude and learning respect and accept others.
Spirituality is about finding your self
It entails learning about who you are, how you can control your world by changing your attitude and learning respect and accepting others.
Emphasises sustainability
A systematic view and contribution to work promotes links between sustainability and an awareness of limited resources.
This awareness to design production and commerce is a sense of spirituality because it seeks to contribute to great good to one’s work.
Value contribution
A spiritual organisation is deliberate in implementing a vision that is built around provision of excellent services for customers.
It also promotes the “give back” to society through community and volunteer services.
Thus, spiritually- aware managers and businesses give high regard to employees, customers and the community.
Prizes for creativity
A spiritual workplace recognises that every employee has creative capacities.
It thus provides resources to help employees to uncover their creative potential and practise creativity within the organisation.
Cultivates Inclusion
A spiritual organisation deliberately includes individuals who bring appropriate skills sets to a job.
Such an organisation should see the value of its employees working together towards a commonly held vision.
Thus, discrimination of any sort should be put aside and individual life experiences must be respected and valued.
The concepts of love and acceptance within a cultural context of care should be upheld.
Develops principles
Spiritual organisations need to help employees to integrate personal growth, learning and faith with job performance.
This is done by providing resources which help employees better understand themselves and develop personal and professional relationship.
Promotes vocation
Organisations need to understand that one’s search for spiritual growth and fulfilment should not be separated from their work.
Employees need to be encouraged to develop a sense of calling or identification of passion about their lives or work.
Emphasis should be put on utilisation of an individual’s giftedness and encourage employees to use their unique skills within the organisation.
Sifikile Songo is a psychologist and a lecturer at the Manicaland State University of Applied Sciences. She writes in her personal capacity.
