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When we speak of "spirituality" do you conjure up images of esoteric practices, metaphysical belief systems, or energies outside the human realm? I suggest that spirituality, especially as applied to the workplace, has more do with basic human needs, experience, expectations, and choice.
We spend much of our life in the pursuit of and the doing of "work". The workplace provides much of the grist for, not only of career development, but also personal development. The assumption, especially for those of us in the human resources and training profession, is that every person's work life involves an ongoing process of learning new behaviors and skills that enhance our effectiveness and productivity. As the nature of work has evolved from purely "industrial" to "knowledge-based", our individual and collective effectiveness and productivity depend less on the "sweat of our labor" than the "essence of our being". As such, it is our "spirit" that now demands to be nurtured.
What is this nurturing we seek? What do we expect work to provide us? What beyond career growth do we mean by spiritual growth?
I propose we seek three essential elements that affect our spiritual growth: (1) the opportunity to discover and develop into who we are and what we are good at doing; (2) the engagement in relationship with other people to express our being; and (3) the sense that what we do contributes in some way to a good beyond ourselves. Are these not the core of what we mean by "spirit" -- the connection with an underlying essential, true, or sacred meaning in our endeavors? And where else but in the workplace do we have such an extensive opportunity to explore these aspects of our human nature?
First, through the work we do we can become who we are. In the workplace we are required to explore our attitudes, beliefs and values, to test our skills, to learn what we don't know, expand our limits and boundaries, and solidify a sense of self. Second, in the workplace we are given the unique opportunity to interact with the most diverse range of people who we may never have otherwise met through our friendships, families and community. The workplace, on a daily basis, forces us to negotiate and complement a range of styles and competencies, confront prejudices and biases, resolve conflicts of communication and perspective, and grapple to maintain our own integrity while teaming with others. Third, perhaps the greatest challenge, is finding meaning, value, and reward in the contribution we make to an organization in which we may play only a very small role. We work in environments operating under constant organizational change, multiple levels of authority and decision making, and with often no direct input into any "big picture", and often little control over our own individual job destiny.
Isn't all this the material for spiritual growth? Can we approach work life from the perspective of an ongoing quest to maintain awareness of our internal processes while coming to terms with what in our experience nurtures us and what we must move through or beyond? And is this guidance also what we, as human resource development professionals, need to offer to those we serve.
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