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Social identity as shaped by religion or spirituality is unique in comparison to some other social identity dimensions because it may be invisible unless a person wears a symbol…
Abstract
Social identity as shaped by religion or spirituality is unique in comparison to some other social identity dimensions because it may be invisible unless a person wears a symbol or dress widely regarded as synonymous with a given religious tradition. Yet, some employees choose to fuse their personal and work lives when religion or spirituality is a salient dimension of their social identity. Problems emerge, however, and can make for an awkward fit in the business world.
Perhaps the primary advantage to religion or spirituality at work is potential for high employee morale and residual benefits in enhanced performance. Scholars who research the God gap suggest that abundant and ongoing airing of political and religious difference can benefit everyone. Numerous business organizations endorse respectful pluralism and lived religion, enabling employees to participate in community service activities, retreats with nature walks, physical exercise, meditation, spiritual contemplation, physical space for individual prayer and group discussions throughout the day, faith-related reading materials, and faith leaders to provide counseling. Yet, even though religion is a federally protected class and employers in some parts of the world are mandated to accommodate employees’ religious beliefs and observances so long as no undue hardship on business operations results, this does not mean that conflicts do not arise. To explore religious identity and spirituality with a focus on workplace dynamics, Chapter 11 is divided into subthemes of: what is religious identity?, accommodating faith/spirituality at work, faith/spirituality in organizations and health, the formal religion-spirituality dichotomy, lived religion, and conflicts about faith/spirituality in the workplace.
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A religious revival is occurring in the United States today as the traditional wall preventing faith from entering the work place is crumbling. With workers increasingly…
Abstract
A religious revival is occurring in the United States today as the traditional wall preventing faith from entering the work place is crumbling. With workers increasingly practicing their religion at work, employers face a growing cavalcade of dilemmas, including those where employees discuss religious tenets, wear religious symbols, object to employer edits on the basis of faith, and proselytize. The faith/work challenge is made even more complex because of the greater number of religions practiced today (both traditional religions based on Judeo‐Christian principles and the so‐called “immigrant religions” that have blossomed during recent decades) coupled with the growing popularity of a host of “spirituality” movements. As the mixing of faith and work becomes common place, employers and employees naturally look to the law to establish concomitant rights and duties.
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This paper aims to explore the changing nature of religion (also described in terms of faith or spirituality) as experienced in the USA, particularly regarding the…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to explore the changing nature of religion (also described in terms of faith or spirituality) as experienced in the USA, particularly regarding the interrelationship between business and religion within the contexts of culture, law and management. With a solid understanding of these subjects, business leaders, judges and public policy officials will be able to more effectively deal with issues arising from a more religious workplace.
Design/methodology/approach
This paper begins by examining the religious nature of the USA, with attention paid to the embrace of religious tolerance from a cultural perspective and religious liberty from a legal perspective. The piece then looks at the characteristics associated with religious vibrancy. Then, the paper delves into the impact of religion on business, both yesterday and today. Legal and managerial literature, studies and perspectives are used to determine how business can respond and perhaps even embrace a more religious business environment.
Findings
After describing and critiquing cultural, legal and managerial dimensions associated with an increasingly religious business environment at worker and owner levels, this paper suggests there exists currently an adequate legal structure to serve the needs of religious workers and owners, if properly managed. More research is needed to find solutions to situations where competing interests conflict, but this paper provides a foundation upon which further study can be conducted.
Originality/value
This paper draws from cultural, legal and management sources to provide an understanding of the current religious environment facing business, legal and public policy leaders.
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The purpose of this paper is to investigate the relationships between job satisfaction, interpersonal trust, intrinsic motivation and job‐related tension in this non‐Western…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to investigate the relationships between job satisfaction, interpersonal trust, intrinsic motivation and job‐related tension in this non‐Western context. And to establish whether there is evidence of similarity in the nature of the relationships between these variables and those found in Western contexts.
Design/methodology/approach
Data collected from different employees who are working in deterrent organizations in Egypt (N=140). Reliability test is computed for the measures used in the research. Descriptive statistics, inter‐correlations and regression analysis are computed for the variables used in this research to test the research hypothesis.
Findings
The findings indicate that employees are satisfied, intrinsically motivated, trust their peers and managers and suffer from relatively low levels of job tension. The significant predictors of job satisfaction are intrinsic motivation, confidence in the competence of management and the lack of work‐related tension.
Practical implications
Some tentative conclusions regarding the policies and practices that should be pursued in order to maintain or enhance levels of job satisfaction among employees in the Egyptian context.
Originality/value
There are no reported studies examining the relationship between these variables in Egypt. The findings of this research would help deriving conclusions concerning employees' likely perceptions and responses; which is not available up‐to‐date.
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Bert Schreurs, Hetty van Emmerik, Nele De Cuyper, Tahira Probst, Machteld van den Heuvel and Eva Demerouti
Departing from the job demands resources model, the purpose of this paper is to investigate whether religion, defined as strength of religious faith, can be viewed as resource or…
Abstract
Purpose
Departing from the job demands resources model, the purpose of this paper is to investigate whether religion, defined as strength of religious faith, can be viewed as resource or as demand. More specifically, the authors addressed the question as to how job insecurity and religion interact in predicting burnout and change-oriented behavior.
Design/methodology/approach
The authors conducted moderated structural equation modeling on survey data from a sample of 238 employees confronted with organizational change.
Findings
Results were largely consistent with the “religion as a demand” hypothesis: religion exacerbated rather than buffered the negative effects of job insecurity, so that the adverse impact of job insecurity was stronger for highly religious employees than for employees with low levels of religiousness. Religious employees appear to experience more strain when faced with the possibility of job loss.
Originality/value
The results of this study challenge and extend existing knowledge on the role of religion in coping with life stressors. The dominant view has been that religion is beneficial in coping with major stressors. The results of this study, however, suggest otherwise: religion had an exacerbating rather than a buffering effect on the relationship between job insecurity and outcomes.
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This paper seeks to shed light on Islamic perspectives on motivation and personality. It argues that original Islamic thinking in the seventh and eleventh centuries offer useful…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper seeks to shed light on Islamic perspectives on motivation and personality. It argues that original Islamic thinking in the seventh and eleventh centuries offer useful organizational insights for today's organizations.
Design/methodology/approach
This research contrasts an earlier Islamic writing on motivation and personality with contemporary humanistic theories on motivation. This study suggests that religion and spirituality can positively influence behavior and organizational performance.
Findings
It shows that religion may provide a potentially useful framework within which to study the relationship between faith and work. It was documented that the Islamic profile of human existence (Mutamainna) challenges most of the prevailing management assumptions on human beings.
Practical implications
Opens up a new avenue for viewing the nature of human existence and dispels the widely held belief that human beings by nature are destined to engage in destructive behavior.
Originality/value
The paper provides original conceptualizations and perspectives that are of value to researchers in the fields of spirituality and international comparative management. The paper offers a new perspective on how the degree of internalization of spiritual needs influences an individual's behavior and expectations.
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In a world teeming with concurrent processes and associated chaos, organizational working procedures have adapted to new trends; employees must keep up with everything while…
Abstract
In a world teeming with concurrent processes and associated chaos, organizational working procedures have adapted to new trends; employees must keep up with everything while maintaining their mental health. Spirituality lends a person's life significance. Spirituality in the workplace can both physically and psychologically engage employees. Spirituality in the workplace is reflected in the organizational culture, which is founded on fundamental values such as trust, honesty, appreciation, innovation, care, respect, and loyalty. Workplace spirituality encompasses the pursuit of one's ultimate purpose in life, the development of a solid connection to colleagues and other people associated with work, and the consistency or alignment between one's fundamental beliefs and the organization's values. To have a competitive advantage and attract the best personnel, an organization's working environment must be based on strong ethical and spiritual values such as compassion, integrity, respect, harmony, trust, teamwork, and forgiveness, among others.
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Gary R. Weaver and Jason M. Stansbury
Religious institutions can affect organizational practices when employees bring their religious commitments and practices into the workplace. But those religious commitments…
Abstract
Religious institutions can affect organizational practices when employees bring their religious commitments and practices into the workplace. But those religious commitments function in the midst of other organizational factors that influence the working out of employees’ religious commitments. This process can generate varying outcomes in organizational contexts, ranging from a heightened effect of religious commitment on employee behavior to a negligible or nonexistent influence of religion on employee behavior. Relying on social identity theory and schematic social cognition as unifying frameworks for the study of religious behavior, we develop a theoretically informed approach to understanding how and why the religious beliefs, commitments and practices employees bring to work have varying behavioral impacts.
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