Magis March, 2017

| redefine work|

february 2017

magis

obtaining from them the food and clothing

we need. We have developed the earth by

extracting various natural resources, renew-

able and non-renewable, from the earth and

the sea. But we develop the earth much more

when we cultivate it and transform its prod-

ucts, adapting them to our own growth and

development. Humankind has developed the

earth through various native and learnt skills,

tools and technologies applied to and derived

from various industries. We should not

define work as “subduing” the earth, an old

concept and paradigm that smack of anthropo-

centricism – a philosophy that assumes we are

the center of the universe and the entire cos-

mos has been given to our use and disposal, to

our subjection.

Instead, we define work as the impression of

one’s personality on God-given earth and the

cosmos. Whenever we work, we can consider

the worker, (manual worker or the intellectual

decision-maker, the manager or the man-

aged) as impressing one’s personhood, one’s

personality, one’s values and meanings, one’s

beliefs and morals, and one’s spirit on matter

made up of manpower, machines, materials,

and money (Pope John Paul II: 1981).

What is Spirituality?

Spirituality is a phenomenon beyond legal-

ity, beyond ethics, beyond morals, beyond

any ethical theory or paradigm. Spirituality

is beyond any exercise, regime, program,

project, or enterprise. It is something internal

and intrinsic to humankind arising from being

created in the 'image and likeness of God'. It

is a gift from God by which we participate in

the spirit, love and holiness of God and of the

earth. Spirituality is native, inborn in us, but

can also be cultivated by wisdom and virtue,

renunciation (

tyaga

) and service (

seva

), integ-

rity and holiness.

We define spirituality above and beyond

one’s religion and worship. Spirituality is

uniquely human; it stems from our

atman

(soul) or spirit that defines us as rational

and deliberating and willful human beings.

Because of our spirit we are unique, irreplace-

able and irrevocable individuals. Because of

our spirit we are uniquely social, immanent,

and transcendent. In this sense, we cannot

univocally predicate spirituality to living be-

ings less than human.

WorkPlace Spirituality

Real workplace spirituality must, on the one

hand, derive both from the nature and dignity

of human work, and on the other, from the

nature and transcendence of human spiritu-

ality. From work it must seek concreteness

and practicality, and from spirituality it must

strive for the good, ethical, moral and deeply

spiritual cravings of humankind. Humans are

placed to be in the visible universe an image

and likeness of God himself, and thereby take

care of and develop the earth for posterity.

Work occurs at different levels depending

upon how we use our human resources. All

work levels are ultimately different forms of

impressing one’s personality (of skills, tech-

nologies and virtues) on matter and prescribe

a unique work-spirituality. For instance:

.Work that used much muscle power (e.g.,

hunting, digging, furrowing, and farming) was

the oldest form of work that represents work-

place spirituality of man and nature in closest

unity and harmony

.The next oldest form of work used one’s

hands and feet in skilled manual work (e.g.,

weaving, stitching, pottery, masonry, carving,

cooking, or carpentry) – primordial impres-

sions of one’s personality on matter

.The next high level of work of learning using

mental skills and abilities (e.g., learning to

read, write, speak, listen etc.) is a reciprocal

impression of teacher-student personalities

on each other

The next highly skilled level is creative

and artistic work (such as painting, music,

embroidering, sculpting, dancing, athletics,

drama, researching, and writing) involves very

imaginative and creative impressions of one’s

personality on matter

.A higher level of professional work dis-

played in administrative skills of leaders,

managers, corporates, politicians, bureaucrats,

lawyers, and entrepreneurs, calls for, among

other things, decision-making skills in the

midst of risk, uncertainty and market turbu-

lence.

.Arguably, the highest level of work that

deploys almost all human faculties (senses,

mind, heart, will, dedication) and uniquely

human skills (e.g. imagination, creativ-

ity, intuition, hindsight, foresight, analysis,

computing, experimentation) to conduct

scientific research and development that leads

to discovery and invention, new knowledge

and theories in all disciplines, represents the

highest level of impressing one’s personality

on matter.

Each level of work demands a different

type and degree of workplace spirituality to

respond to specific challenges of that level or

industry.

Workplace

Spiritualityand HRM

Workplace spirituality is never imposed on

workers or artificially fabricated in workplac-

es. It is a joint sacred undertaking between

the employer and the employee, the manager

and the managed. It must be nurtured and

nourished through respectful interaction

between various parties at the workplace. It

is a mutual discovery of sacred meaning and

organisational values that can be lived and

shared. It is a reciprocal experience of re-

spect, trust and love – a reciprocal impression

of one’s giving personality onto the other. It

is a hand-holding journey of corporate vision

and mission to an unknown destiny that is

jointly realizable within the chosen horizon.

Work as an impression of one’s personal-

ity on matter is a collective undertaking. All

have to bring their unique giving personality

together and meaningfully impress it upon the

matter the organisation chooses to work upon.

One’s personality, on the one hand, is a native

inheritance from one’s family and upbringing;

but on the other, it is something cultivated

and nurtured in one’s work environment

with a sense of belongingness, ownership,

involvement, responsibility, accountability and

commitment. HR directors should seek to re-

define, redesign, and reform work into an ex-

perience that could create a society in which

all citizens would be provided an opportunity

for self-discovery and self-expression, forming

identities rooted in their work rather than in

ethnic or class categories.

As long as work and the worker are alien-

ated from the dignity of the human person

and the nature of work, as long as labour is

considered merely as a factor of production,

then workplace spirituality is empty and futile.

Instead, if HR directors bring history, meaning,

identity, sincerity, integrity and commitment

to work and engender the same from among

workers, then work will be de-commoditized

and workplace spirituality will be firmly

grounded.

Concluding Remarks

Workplace spirituality, if creatively defined,

designed and implemented to realise work-

ers’ impression of their individual and team

personality on environment (matter), can be

a great source of effectiveness and happiness

in running PM, IR, OB, HRM and HRD projects.

If work is human, if work is universal and

universalising with humankind, if work is the

primary means for almost all people to earn

their living and for their families, then work

has to have a meaning far beyond its current

structures and infrastructures, beyond its

current economic and social, constraints and

limitations. Workplace spirituality is one such

avenue.

Please write to us at

magis@xlri.ac.in

Workplace spiritual-

ity is never imposed

on workers or

artificially fabricated

in workplaces