Is Their Room for Faith in the Workplace?

IS THEIR ROOM FOR FAITH IN THE WORKPLACE?
by Zara Newman

In our modern times, gone are the days (you hope!) when work meant abject slavery, with never a thought for the employee. Now there are rules and regulations that ensure employers can no longer take advantage of their workers in any way. Another positive addition to workplace well-being is the recognition by most employers in touch with reality, that incentives and bonuses provide motivational boosts.

Now a new and alternate way of thinking is having an impact on the business environment, something that only a decade ago would have seemed inconceivable - spiritual and moral conceptions. In an age where resourceful enterprise is advocated, managers and executives clearly see the advantages of promoting honesty, integrity and social responsibility in the workplace. It encourages a moral and ethical environment where workers are increasingly satisfied and where people are willing to help each other, not compete. Research has shown that these trends are a good move and make business sense. Not only does spirituality and morals have a positive affect on the attitude of workers, but it improves working relationships and has the added benefit of increasing productivity. Some companies nurture spiritual awareness by, for instance, providing reflexology or perhaps arranging offices using feng shui forces. According to Glaxo's R & D head Joe Wolley, who used a Native American ritual to help colleagues cope with a recent merger, people need more than pay. "Giving them work with a deeper sense of purpose helps them work more wholeheartedly and with greater personal satisfaction."

On a more global scale, Corporate social responsibility enables large organizations to make policy decisions that have an impact on society at large. It adds an element of stability and balance to some troubling aspects of the free market, such as sharp end practices and the principle of profits at any cost. However, in an article in the Financial Times, Martin Wolf cautioned against getting carried away with the idea of corporate social responsibility "The role of well run companies is to make profits, not save the planet" and concluded that the mistake is to confuse the two.

With a growing tendency to increase morality and integrity in work, many businesses adopt a code of conduct to aid employees with how to react in certain circumstances. The fact that businesses have mission statements - some sort of altruistic goal - incorporates the notion of spirituality. Those codes that combine business aims with values and belief are the most powerful. However Codes of conduct can never cover every eventuality. Individual perception of morals and ethics differ from person to person. This reiterates the need for a decision making structure that propounds a universal ethic. Jewish values fulfil this requirement as they are based on ancient biblical principles that are accepted throughout western societies. Discussions and exploration of how these ideals are to be applied in the 'real world' is what Jewish Ethics are about today.

And that is where Faith has a vital role to play in the workplace. Of course people are influenced and swayed by their cultural and religious lifestyles and background and bring their own spiritual and personal influences to work. According to corporate consultant Martin Rutte, author of Chicken Soup for the Soul at Work, "When a person can bring their whole self to the workplace and not check their soul at the door, the benefit is a more moral and ethical environment, where workers are more satisfied."

Some might argue that concepts associated with Corporate social responsibility and ethical management should be firmly kept within the realms of religion and faith, as this removes the difficulties associated with debatable political judgements and provides a truly objective standard. Whether or not this is true, what does make sense is that there should be a recognition that any type of meaningful business ethic cannot develop in a vacuum.