Channelling new ways of perceiving and responding to everyday challenges, this book acts as a unique guide for professionals who are ready to elevate their internal leadership journey and assume the presence and self-awareness that will enable them to make a positive impact wherever they work.
Provides the tools to make your work experience a gratifying one. A common misconception equates workplace spirituality with religion in the workplace; this sets the record straight, providing a practical definition of spirit at work and explaining its benefits for employees, managers, the organization, the societies in which the organization operates, and the world at large. Whether you are a leader, a manager, or an employee who cares about the people and the place you surround yourself with, you'll find the broad focus presented here useful for improving your work and your life.--From publisher description.
This is a book for people who want to understand how spiritual ideas can help humanize business. Within, Paul Gibbons, a founder of the workplace spirituality movement twenty years ago, suggests that spirituality touches on every aspect of the human experience at work, on every aspect of human capital, and on the purpose of business and the capitalist economic system.In Meaning, Joy, and Purpose he explores how we can recruit spiritual ideas to help humans find greater meaning and purpose in their work and to improve business practices - that is, to make business more human.The first volume covers individual-level topics only: meaning, work, workaholism, vocation and purpose, happiness, mindfulness, altruism, motivation, engagement, and leadership. The second volume (tentatively called Culture, Capitalism, Sustainability) turns first to talent, employer brand, ethics, service, culture, values, and profitability. Then it turns to 21st century capitalism with its great triumphs and some of its limitations, exploring how spirituality might help us create a more human-centered version of capitalism more fit for the 21st century.To that discussion, Gibbons brings two decades of scholarship in philosophy, psychology, and spirituality and four decades in business from the perspective of an investment banker, consultant and adjunct professor of business. I also bring my perspective as (former) CEO of a start-up founded to bring spiritual principles to development of senior business leaders and their teams.Here are the questions Gibbons tackles in Volume I:?What do we mean by "spirituality"? How is it different from religion??What is the relationship between religion and science??Is the world becoming more or less spiritual??What is the historical relationship between spirituality and work? Where does that leave us today??Can we prove workplace spirituality is of value? What is the evidence??What are the benefits of private prayer or meditation at work??What insight does spirituality give us into human motivation??What is the purpose of purpose??How do we create purposeful lives and organizations??What is the link between leadership and spirituality??Can spiritual experiences at work be cultivated??What would a spiritual consulting firm look like?
'Spirituality at Work' is the recommended textbook for the 'Integral Karmayoga' course at IIT Madras In a world of rapid changes, Spirituality at Work will serve as an inspiration to find new gateways to success. This book is based on the wisdom of the Bhagavad Gita. It also draws inspiration from the renowned sage Sri Aurobindo's 'Essays on the Gita'. As Stephen Covey has stated: 'Despite all our gains in technology, product innovation and world markets, most people are not thriving in the organisations they work for. They are neither fulfilled nor excited.' Dr. Devdas Menon hopes to change this mindset of today's youth by inspiring, motivating and raising their aspirational levels. His book draws its content based on a theme-wise, judicious selection of 162 verses from the Gita. An integrated practice of spirituality through work, knowledge, and devotion - referred to as 'Integral Karmayoga', is the way forward. Its focus is on finding fulfilment in life through the application of conscious will. A professor at IIT Madras and author of the bestseller 'Stop Sleepwalking Through Life!' Dr.Menon makes Spirituality at Work come alive. He has introduced courses such as Self-Awareness and Integral Karmayoga with great success. He knows how to make the wisdom of the Gita relevant to young adults facing the challenges of a competitive work environment - and help them create an enriched life.
An explanation of how and why the economic downturn of 2007 became the Great Recession of 2008 and 2009. It explores the root causes of the cycle of boom and bust of the economy. It describes social equity in terms of its arguments and claims in political, economic, and social circumstances.
Workplace spirituality is an emerging field of study and practice and this book asks the questions: Where have we been in the last ten years as a field and where should we be headed in the next ten years? The editors asked these questions of thought leaders from around the globe, leaders who represent different sectors, faith traditions, worldviews and organizational functions. This volume represents the best of current thinking about the state of the field of workplace spirituality and of what the future holds. There are four themes: (1) management themes such as leadership, ethics, change management, and diversity; (2) workplace spirituality in sectors such as health and wellbeing, policing and creative industries, (3) key issues that are emerging, such as self-spirituality, mindfulness, storytelling and the importance of nature, and (4) cutting edge epistemologies and methodologies including indigenous studies, relational ontology, ethnography, and psychodynamics. These articles were chosen to provoke new thinking, new research, and new practice in the field of workplace spirituality, with the goal of helping the field mature in the next decade.
A guide to developing and maintaining a spiritual life on the job, drawn from the teachings and practices of Buddhist tradition. Most people associate Buddhism with developing calmness, kindness, and compassion through meditation. Lewis Richmond's Work as a Spiritual Practice shows us another aspect of Buddhism: the active, engaged side that allows us to find creativity, inspiration, and accomplishment in our work lives. With over forty spiritual exercises that can be practiced in the middle of a busy workday, Work as a Spiritual Practice is based on the principle that "regardless of your rank and title at work, you are always the chief executive of your inner life." Drawn from the author's diverse professional experience—as a Buddhist meditation teacher, business executive, musician, and high-tech entrepreneur—Work as a Spiritual Practice addresses a wide variety of on-the-job problems. Here you'll learn how to: • perform spiritual practices while commuting to and from work • meditate while sitting, walking, or standing—a minute at a time • understand ambition, money, and power from a spiritual perspective Work as a Spiritual Practice is an essential guide for anyone who wants to bring his or her spiritual life and work life together.
This book presents an up-to-date and comprehensive survey of the field of Workplace Spirituality. It uses a structured yet open-ended schema to capture the best of research and practices on the subject. Presenting a clear and concise approach to spirituality in the workplace, it traces the genesis and growth of this burgeoning field and suggests trends and future directions in Workplace Spirituality. Drawing upon various theistic and non-theistic traditions of the world, it negotiates a clear dialectic of different dimensions and models of Workplace Spirituality, including the best of emerging new age spiritualties. Weaving various strands of management, spirituality, religion, and positive psychology in a systematic manner, this Handbook provides an in-depth and critical appraisal of a wide array of topics such as: spiritual, social, and emotional intelligence; mindfulness, meaning and purpose and fulfillment at work; various forms of positive leadership such as servant, values-based, authentic, spiritual leadership; servant-followership and corporate citizenship behavior; workplace spirituality and organizational performance.
This book, the first of a groundbreaking series, provides a solid theoretical and empirical grounding from the psychology of religion and spirituality to the emerging field of workplace spirituality. Leading researchers in the psychology of religion have contributed up-to-date reviews within their areas of expertise to help guide the emergence of this exciting new discipline. Each chapter is written with the workplace researcher in mind. Not only is the relevant literature from the psychology of religion reviewed, but it is also made relevant to the workplace setting. The religious and spiritual aspects of such topics as meaning making, emotional resilience, sense of calling, coping with stress, occupational health and well-being, and leadership, among others are discussed within the context of work life. Surely researchers interested in workplace spirituality will keep this book, as well as others in the series, within arm’s reach for years to come.
Dozens of books about spirituality and management have demonstrated the yearning for spirituality in the workplace that exists in people like Kerry Hamilton. No longer content to abide the widening chasm between their deeply-held values and the all-too-common business practices they encounter, these readers long for congruence between their values and their work. They wonder whether the days of the giants of corporate character like Johnson & Johnson, businesses who believed that integrity and profitability could co-exist, are gone for good. Are we living in a state of business and organizational entropy? Are we doomed to endless repetition of the Enron, Worldcom, and Global Crossing scandals? Must integrity and profitability now be opposed? What has happened to American business, healthcare, and non-profits in the last forty years? Soul at Work: Spiritual Leadership in Organizations demonstrates vividly that another way is possible, based on the contemporary restoration of the partnership between integrity and profitability. It translates the core of what companies like Johnson and Johnson stood for forty years ago into contemporary forms. Through compelling stories of contemporary businesses, healthcare organizations, and nonprofits, Soul at Work shows how integrity, profitability, and personal and organizational transformation are all of a piece.