Having a sense of meaning and being part of something bigger than ourselves has a profoundly positive impact on our wellbeing (as discussed in this article) and some employers are grappling with how it could be possible to bring spiritual health into the overall wellbeing mix.
Obviously with its close association with organised religion – and the divisions that can arise in the melting pot of religious diversity that our society now is – starting this conversation can be tricky.
However, with the widespread move to be more embracing of all parts of an employee at work – and for some, their spirituality is an intrinsic part of who they are – we’ve put together some practical ideas for potentially introducing the idea of spirituality, and its benefits, to the workplace.
Don’t impose your language or beliefs on others
As we said in this feature, spirituality can be polarising and people can be put off speaking up because of this. The best way to approach it is by embracing all different manifestations of spirituality and invite people to talk about activities which make them feel enlivened, says Dr Shaun Davis, Group Safety, Health and Wellbeing Director, Belron International:
“I get my spiritual fulfillment in different places. I do get it from church, but I also get it from being with my nieces and from having a sense of purpose at work. So I talk about what it means to me and I ask how that feels for others. What you don’t want to do is push the idea out there in a way that is going to jar with people so they turn around and say ‘that’s all rubbish’ and you kill the conversation.”
The important thing is to make sure people understand spirituality is a very broad aspect of emotional health and wellbeing and it’s a personal choice.
“I always make clear that what I’m not saying is that people should go to church. Of course they can if they want to channel spirituality that way, but it’s completely a personal choice,” says Dr Davis.
Talk about relatable language like ‘heart and soul’
One way some companies have found useful as a gateway into a conversation about spiritual health is by using the concept of the ‘soul’.
Most people understand what it means when someone says they put their ‘heart and soul’ into a piece of work and it connects them with that idea of caring deeply about something, and putting a part of themselves into it. Equally, most people know what you mean when you describe a workplace as ‘soulless’.
“If I talk about putting my heart and soul into something it means I put my best self into it,” says Nicholas Brice, CEO of Soul Corporations and author of The Mindful Communicator. “I’m not just being logical and pragmatic but I’m also putting my all into it because I believe it’s the right thing to do. There’s an element of passion, desire, fun, joy and this sense of ‘something more’.”
An analogy that Brice finds useful, too, is soul music – while this genre originally came from the gospel fused with the blues tradition, the reference to soul is now much more widely understood as music that connects to a deeper part of us, to our common humanity, and moves us emotionally, often allowing us to recognise and process our emotions and not feel so alone in them; all benefits of a spiritual practice.
Create a space, either physical or time in the working day, for reflection
Many organisations now have prayer rooms to accommodate those employers for whom regular prayer is part of their religious practice. However, again, this language may put other employees off.
At their heart, many religions have some kind of mindful, meditative, quiet, reflective practice (prayer is an example). Reflection doesn’t need to be aligned with any particular religion but is undoubtedly a valuable thing to do in our busy working lives, so employers could create secular spaces for everyone to take time to reflect, or generally encourage this practice as part of the working day.
“If you set up a ‘prayer room’, perhaps your Muslim employees would go and perhaps nobody else. But companies could say ‘why don’t you take 15 minutes and put your earphones on, listen to your own music, and just have a time of solitude and grounding to reflect and focus your thoughts?’” says Dr Alistair Appleby, an academic GP and health and spirituality researcher.
As he says, this could be an individual reflecting on their own communication style in a meeting because spiritual insights usually start with ourselves “taking responsibility for how we behave”.
Reflection, especially in the form of journalling, is increasingly recognised and used as a healthy way to process emotions after stressful situations so they don’t linger and affect the rest of the working day.
“One of the challenges with modern life is we’ve squeezed out these valuable moments of reflection because of smartphones, or because we’re so busy and there’s so many ways to contact us 24/7,” continues Dr Appleby. “Even for the three minutes we go to the loo, people often are on their phones!”
HSBC is realising the power of taking these reflective minutes out of the day and created a successful mindfulness programme which won a MAD World Award. At the time, Award winner Seam Tolram, Programme Manager at HSBC said:
““You’d be amazed at what insights come to you while staring out of the window for ten minutes and giving your brain a chance to rest. What we’re trying to do is create those types of opportunities where employees can access a different part of their brain so they can achieve their true potential.”
While he agrees that “reflection is so important”, Hasan Reza, Head of EDI at Kent Community Health NHS Foundation Trust, who is a devout Shia Muslim, believes employers need to tread carefully when it comes to encouraging (arguably) spiritual practices at work, like reflection or meditation:
“I think offering the space for ‘health and wellbeing’ to do that is probably as far as companies should go right now. Then employees can use it in whatever way they want, to reflect or pray, or whatever. We are actually currently trying to find a physical space for our employees to do this.”
What Wellbeing professionals need to be aware of in this spiritual space is not coming across as if they’re telling someone what to do or believe (as per our first point), or endorsing a particular belief or practice, adds Reza:
“Negating someone’s self-right to believe in what they want to believe I think happens too much in EDI. As EDI practitioners we shouldn’t be overly prescriptive in delivering our work and setting the vision of organisations we support. We need to ensure, too, that employees understand that there is a divide between the workplace and the personal, and we sometimes risk crossing that boundary a little too often.”
As he explains, a colleague may have different views or beliefs that are opposite to what he believes, but the important thing is that we respect and recognise we each have the right to hold our own beliefs.
“It’s only when a belief becomes an action, and therefore impinges on someone else’s rights that we then begin venturing into the territory of the Equality Act and other legislative protections,” he adds.
Encourage more connection and less distraction in interactions
A central part of spirituality is being self-aware and present in the moment, particularly in our interactions with others. This, again, can be challenging in the modern workplace with so many pressures on our time and technology that pings 24/7.
Being present is not only good for our spiritual/emotional health, but also for our creativity and ability to problem solve, says Brice:
“When we are fully present, we can work together in a completely different way. We access a deeper level of creativity too. It doesn’t take a lot more time but it means that we make a true connection, even on a Zoom call, and we can find fresher solutions to problems.”
However, there are an increasing number of obstacles getting in the way of being present with colleagues, especially in the hybrid working world, such as looking at phones when people are talking, doing multiple tasks when in a meeting and putting cameras off completely in online meetings. These behaviours can undermine team collaboration.
If employers want to encourage better connection between colleagues in meetings they need to consider whether a new code of conduct is required before these behaviours, which would previously have been considered rude and disrespectful to the people talking, become the new normal.
“Technology is allowing us to be in connection with so many more diverse people across the world but that technology also brings a disconnection from each other too,” says Brice.
Tap into the ‘monk’ trend to start the conversation in a relatable way
There are a couple of high profile examples recently of monks who have successfully taken their wellbeing learnings from the monastic world and applied them to the modern world and attracted huge followings on the back of this.
Headspace Co-founder Andy Puddicombe, for example, was previously a monk and used what he’d learnt about mindfulness and meditation to create this app, now widely used in organisations.
Jay Shetty, too, a British podcaster (On Purpose) and author of ‘Think Like A Monk’ has successfully translated his spiritual teachings into accessible guidance on how to live (and work) better. Since 2022, he’s also been Chief Purpose Officer at rival app Calm.
The success of these two entrepreneurs clearly shows the appetite for spiritual-led content in the corporate environment. As Dr Appleby says “humans still have spiritual needs even if we’re not adopting a traditional, orthodox framework like a religion”.
“Monks often have set points in the day when they create time for gratitude, reflection, worship and shared values,” he continues. “Their thinking is that these practices would then permeate their whole day.”
Could you have the equivalent of a ‘chaplain’?
NHS Research shows that patients are discharged earlier if they’ve had contact with the hospital chaplain, indicating a clear link between this interaction and wellbeing outcomes, says Dr Appleby.
“There’s even some evidence from studies that contact with a healthcare chaplain can be as effective as anti-depressant medication,” he adds.
Chaplains in the NHS are highly trained individuals who have a psychology background as well as counselling skills. While the title ‘chaplain’ has religious overtones, and many chaplains are affiliated to a certain religion (but many aren’t, too), there is no reason why a similar secular role couldn’t be replicated in corporations.
Currently the closest is probably the likes of an inhouse psychologist, who helps you process situations and emotions around work, as Simon Ursell, Chair at environmental consultancy Tyler Grange and board advisory to several SMEs, talks about in this feature as providing pastoral support to employees so they “bloom”.
Introduce the idea of ‘letting go’ and prioritising personal wellbeing
One of the tenets of many religious traditions, and Alcoholics Anonymous’s 12 Step programme, which is built on a spiritual foundation, is to ‘let go and let God’; with ‘God’ being what you personally deem a higher power, which could be anything from nature to the Universe generally.
This way of thinking – to let go of an outcome and have faith – can help to accept things you can’t control, and avoid falling into negative patterns like overworking in order to exert control, as YuLife Co-founder Sam Fromson has found, who also works as a Community Rabbi.
One of the biggest supports to his wellbeing that spirituality brings him is the “realisation that you’re not in control”, which is particularly helpful when running a fast-moving tech start-up:
“This belief allows me to create those boundaries, making sure I’m able to take time off, for my family, for Shabbat, for the Sabbath… Ultimately, I could spend those extra hours working, but I put in my absolute best in the time I have and I realise that I’m not in control of the outcome. So I let go of it.”
Reza builds on this idea, adding that his spiritual belief that life is unfolding as it should, for a reason, has helped him enormously, especially in dealing with having childhood cancer and the subsequent after-affects he still deals with to this day:
“The way I choose to look at my life, informed by my spirituality, is – would I be doing what I’m doing now, had I not had the experiences I had as a child? Would I be in the place I am personally, with my family, with my connection to my beliefs? Probably not. For me it’s about seeing the blessing in disguise, rather than it being a terrible life experience.”
