So many people are hungering for spirit in their lives and don't even know it.
Many who are awakening to that hunger have been disappointed by, disenfranchised from or disillusioned by traditional religion. As a result, they are looking in nontraditional areas, such as the workplace, where they spend most of their waking hours, to fulfill that spiritual longing. And they are making a mistake.
Don't we want the workplace to be a spiritual environment? It depends on what you call spiritual. I've seen many forms of bringing spirituality to the workplace, but most of them have major flaws. One of the biggest is that the "spirituality" espoused is actually a superficial, simplistic and secular approach to embracing spirit. That kind of approach shortchanges the workplace and cheats individuals of the richness and vastness of spiritual life.
In spite of the limitations, why not try to bring spirituality into the workplace? One reason is that doing so can terrify most of those who already feel alienated from spiritual and religious settings. The more frightened people become, the more rejecting, counterproductive and alienating their behavior toward others is likely to be.
Second, we would mislead people by thinking the watered-down, generic approach to spirituality (which is the only way to provide it in most work environments) is genuine. Employees therefore might miss the opportunity for deep exploration of a profoundly spiritual life because they think, "This is it."
Third, employees will miss the myths, stories and traditions that offer the texture and color of spiritual life. Those collections of antiquity remind us that the search for spirit is timeless, demanding and rewarding, extending far beyond how we treat each other daily.
Fourth, a workplace approach to spirituality may be motivated by people's desire simply to feel good. There's nothing bad about that, and we all have it; however, genuine spirituality teaches us not only how we can appreciate the goodness and joy in our lives, but how to embrace every aspect of our existence, not just intellectually but from our hearts and souls.
Finally, some people would feel compelled to force their personal religious and spiritual beliefs on others, creating a resentful and defensive environment.
