Workplace spirituality: a case of academics at state sector universities

Abstract

The concept of workplace spirituality is less explored yet considered as important in the management discipline. Workplace spirituality can be defined as the "recognition that employees have an inner life which nourishes and is nourished by meaningful work taking place in the context of a community. Practitioners and scholars consider workplace spirituality as important for work place performance, commitment and loyalty. Therefore, this paper aims to study the level of workplace spirituality among Sri Lankan academics using five dimensions namely team's sense of community, alignment with organizational values, sense of contribution to society, enjoyment at work, opportunities for inner life (Rego, Cunha 2008). Data was collected through a structured questionnaire from 150 respondents and unit of analysis was an academic. Convenience sampling method was used and validity and reliability were measured using alpha and factor analysis. Level of spirituality was measured using mean values and KS test. Findings suggested that there is a high level work level of work place spirituality among Sri Lankan academics.