Connecting religion and work: Patterns and influences of work-faith integration

Abstract

Religiosity can significantly impact human behavior yet little is known about how religious belief and practice integrate with work. Using the Faith at Work Scale, we surveyed Christian workers in the United States (n = 374) and found that work-faith integration was positively associated with faith maturity, church attendance, age and denominational strictness, and negatively associated with organizational size. Denominational groups varied in their degree of integration but displayed similar patterns across dimensions of integration. Work-faith integration was manifest most strongly in integration related to the self, and somewhat less so in areas related to others and in transcendent aspects of work. Respondents attributed spiritual disciplines and workplace mentors as salient influences of work-faith integration. Implications for workplace spirituality scholarship and management are explored.

Expressing religious identities in the workplace: Analyzing a neglected diversity dimension

“…In addition to the moderators we discussed, it seems sensible to also analyze the (moderating) effects of the type of the organization (e.g. religious/non-religious; profit/non-profit; Smith et al, 2006), the size of the organization (Lynn et al, 2010) and the type of workplace -for example, in terms of the frequency of social interaction (Davidson and Caddell, 1994). In part because the effects of these moderators are controversial (Lynn et al, 2010), we did not refer to them in our analysis.…”

“…religious/non-religious; profit/non-profit; Smith et al, 2006), the size of the organization (Lynn et al, 2010) and the type of workplace -for example, in terms of the frequency of social interaction (Davidson and Caddell, 1994). In part because the effects of these moderators are controversial (Lynn et al, 2010), we did not refer to them in our analysis. Moreover, our framework would benefit from an analysis of the effects engendered by the changes in the religion-related workforce composition (e.g.…”

“…Second, our framework helps to establish the missing link (Stevens et al, 2008) between religious studies (e.g. Lynn et al, 2010) and identity-disclosure research (e.g. Ragins, 2008) on the one hand and management-oriented diversity research (e.g.…”

Exploring Calling Work Orientation: Construct Clarity and Organizational Implications

“…Having a sense of calling is strongly related to purpose for one's life; therefore, it should also make up a considerable portion of one's self-concept. In one study of the self and transcendence, researchers found that most respondents tended to overemphasized aspects of the self as compared to aspects of transcendence or spirituality (Lynn, Naughton, & Vander Veen, 2010). The work roles that are psychologically central to our self-concept are fundamental in predicting behavior that corresponds with our identity (Farmer & Van Dyne, 2010).…”

“…Integrating spirituality and work is critical because work serves the function of connecting behavior, values, and meaning for many employees (Bean, 2000;Tisdell, 2000). The workplace spirituality literature has highlighted the idea that employees bring their entire selves to work and religious identity influences work behaviors; however, the conclusions that can be drawn about how religious belief influence work have been limited (Lynn et al, 2010). Despite the limited empirical evidence, spirituality remains an important area for future research.…”