THE IMPACT OF SPIRITUAL GROWTH OF EMPLOYEES ON WORK LIFE BALANCE

Introduction:

Work-life balance which primarily deals with an employee’s ability to properly prioritize between work and his or her lifestyle, social life, health and family etc., is greatly linked with employee job performance. Employees tend to put in their best efforts at work where there is proper balance between work and life, because their family is happy. Managers are expected to render a very high job performance. There is no argument that the managers are the most important group of professionals for our nation’s future. Therefore, it is essential to study about the work life balance pattern on managers’ job performance in Sri Lanka. According to literature, most barriers to work-life balance cannot be overcome by external changes. They need spiritual growth in employees. This study is meant to investigate how spirituality could contribute to achieving work-life balance. Hence, the research question is ‘to what extent the employees’ spiritual growth could enhance their work-life balance?
Theoretical Framework:
The concept of spirituality is complex and has multiple definitions. According to Burton (2002) spirituality is an experience that includes – yet transcends – the self to generate a sense of unity or connection with something outside our self. Hamilton and Jackson (1998) argue spirituality has three main themes: (1) the further development of self-awareness; (2) a sense of interconnectedness of all things; and (3) a relationship with a “higher power”. In the management literature, spirituality is approached in three ways (Schmidt-Wilk, Heaton, and Steingard, 2000). The first approach focusses on the spirit within individuals as pure and elaborate: “It is a personal, inner, and deep domain within us that we can experience as a state of extraordinary calm and happiness, of awareness that is beyond the ordinary waking consciousness, or a state of harmony and oneness with the universe”. The second approach focusses on the practical aspects of spirituality: “the outer domain, the practical applications, and measurable outcomes that automatically arise from an inner experience of pure spirituality” (Schmidt-Wilk et al.,2000, p. 580). Some of such key outcomes are caring, kindness, love, and optimism. The third approach does not take into account the inner spirit and its outer manifestations, but views spirituality as principled behaviour. According to third approach, when spiritual qualities such as ethics, values, virtues, intuition and emotions are part of the organization’s behavior and policies, the organization is spiritually oriented. Based on this explanations of spirituality, it is hypothesized that the inner changes occur in employees help them balance their work and life. The work orientation theory (Wirzenniewski, McCauley, Rozin and Schwartz, 1997) identifies there work-orientations such as job orientation, career orientation and calling orientation. While job-oriented employees tend to perceive work as a means to an end and work to receive the pay and other material benefits, career-oriented employees are more likely to be interested in success, prestige and moving upward in their career. On the other hand, calling-oriented employees perceive their career as a form of personal fulfillment and find their work meaningful, and they are likely to be more satisfied with their work and their lives. Based on literature, it can be hypothesized that calling-oriented employees are at a higher level of spirituality than the job-oriented and career-oriented employees and also they are better than the others in balancing their work and life..

Objectives:

1. To identify work-orientation of the employees and group them according to their work orientation;
2. To ascertain the level of spiritual growth and the level of work-life balance of each group;
3. To explain how spiritual growth has contributed to work-life balance;
4. To suggest possible measures that should be adopted to integrate spirituality into organizations and thereby enhance work-life balance.

Methodology:

A mix method which entails organic inquiry and a questionnaire survey. An organic inquiry will be undertaken to qualitatively understand how one’s level of spirituality affects his/her work performance. Based on the information collected from organic inquiry, a questionnaire will be structured in order to collect quantitative data. The questionnaire will be administered to samples selected from all there categories of work-orientations. .

References:

Burton, L. (2002). Worship and wilderness: Culture, religion, and law in public lands management.Madison WI: University of Wisconsin Press.

Hamilton, D. & Jackson, M. (1998). “Spiritual development: Paths and processes.” Journal of
Instructional Psychology, 25(4), 262-270.
Schmidt-Wilk,J.; Heaton, D. and D. P. Steingard (2000) Higher Education for Higher Consciousness: Maharishi University of Management as a Model for Spirituality in Management Education. Journal of Management Education. 24 (5) pp. 580-611
Schmidt-Wilk, J. (2000) Consciousness-Based Management Development. Case Studies of International Top Management Teams. Journal of Transnational Management Development. 5(3), pp. 61-85

Wirzenniewski, A., McCauley,C.; Rozin, P. and B. Schwartz (1997) Jobs, Careers, and Callings: People’s Relations to Their Work. Journal of Research in Personality, 31(1) pp. 21-33

Key Words: Spirituality, Work Life Balance, Organic Inquiry

Chaminda Ramasundara
PhD Student – USJP
chamindaramasundara@yahoo.com
0772220741