Spirituality at work
MOST OF us dissociate ourselves from our work when away from office as if unburdening our lives of a sore, difficult reality. We try to interact with family and friends. Work- related issues or people are the last thing we would want to talk about or meet up with. Most of the times, such an attitude can paradoxically relax you and you can return to work refreshed after a weekend, a holiday or a sabbatical. However, it would be worth while to pause and think: What it would be like if one could find the work that evokes a feeling of belongingness, which typically doesn't induce antagonistic feelings for the large amount of time spent, for the unpleasant interactions that one may have to go through while dealing with people of temperaments that are different from ours. What are the possibilities of developing a deeper connection with our workplace?
Understanding spirituality
Spirituality at work involves getting to "know oneself at work" and relating to the communities that we form at workplace.
It relates to bridging the gap between the real self and the habitual, robot like conditioned being that one is at the workplace. It relates to transcending man- made mental barriers like prejudices and dislikes. It amounts to utilising these insights to get a beneficial bottom line and stay in excellent health. Spirituality is not all about religion and enchantments. Retrenchments, mergers, deadlines and workplace conflicts can all lead to a build up of steam that is harmful for both the employee and the organisation.
Incorporating a philosophy that is rooted in spirituality will give a direction to all, irrespective of levels, to deal with these issues. It acts as an effective stress relieving mechanism that the organisations could make use of.
Developing a spiritual workplace
The management has to know what can make an employee relate in an insightful way with himself and others. It has to nurture a sense of belongingness that makes the employee feel worthwhile. For this, the management must take the following steps:
Provide opportunity to be innovative - a poet finds himself on the brink of self realisation while writing poetry. Some famous poets have wished they could stay in that state forever. It is creativity, which brings us closer to our real self and potential. An employee who can express his ideas without inhibitions will be more tuned towards self-awareness.
Respect the employee - it means respecting individual differences and providing space to the employee to function within the framework. Accepting all differences, whether they are regarding views, origins or personal traits.
Share a vision - spiritual values must be part of the vision that the organisation shares with its employees. The vision will help both the employer and the employee look beyond petty issues. It helps them become better people and thus better co-workers.
Encourage communication - poor communication fuels conflict and ego clashes. Communication aids clarity by helping people understand better. It involves thinking beyond the immediate situation.
Keep place for some fun - it is a tad difficult to identify with a serious work place, no matter how loaded it may be with values and goodness. In fact, a little bit of fun at workplace will lighten up the atmosphere and help employees go about their work without any inhibitions.
Be flexible - spirituality has got nothing to do with rigid standards of perfectionism. An open mind and spirit will help both the manager and the employee to be flexible in their approaches. It will help tackle explosive situations where flared tempers can only make matters worse. Being assertive is important for the manager but it should be tempered with a pliant attitude.
Offer a sense of control - a sense of control will come with a little bit of autonomy in handling of the work. It helps a person get to know his or her capabilities and incapacities and thus makes them accept themselves unconditionally.
An unconditional acceptance of oneself and by others improves one's self- esteem and self- awareness. Any individual in such a state will perform at his best. Organisations must look towards harnessing this positive energy that is present in every person rather than using the carrot and stick method. A spiritual approach will help maximise the gains for both the employees and the employers.
DEEPSHIKHA MEHTA
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