- Title
- Quality of life in the workplace : Spirituality, meaning and purpose
- Creator
- Fisher, John; Sellers, Eileen
- Date
- 2000
- Type
- Text; Conference paper
- Identifier
- http://researchonline.federation.edu.au/vital/access/HandleResolver/1959.17/41126
- Identifier
- vital:2170
- Abstract
- This paper reports on research which aimed to investigate relationships between meaning and purpose in life and workplace expectations. It provides an overview of the methodology and outcomes of a survey conducted at a regional university. Survey methods included the distribution of two valid and reliable instruments to all employees of that university with data analysed using SPSS procedures. Analysis of the Spiritual Health and Life-Orientation Measure (SHALOM), developed by the principal researcher, and a purpose-designed questionnaire pertaining to meaning and purpose in the workplace, provided interesting findings. Overall, participants classified as administrators, professionals, service workers or labourers reported that they feel good about themselves and their relationships with others and the environment. The relationship with a god-type figure was of lesser importance for the spiritual well-being of the majority of participants. The participants do not expect the workplace to provide a major role in their spiritual well-being. They also reported significantly high levels of feelings of turbulence at work, and trends toward high anxiety and discomfort with autocratic managerial practices characterised by a focus on profits over people. The female staff described the workplace as more friendly, warm and caring than the males. The females also reported greater work satisfaction and were less depressed in doing their job than the males. Interpretation of these results indicates that a somewhat anxious and turbulent work place environment prevails. The personal impact of this unrest appears to be mediated by the support of families and friends of employees. The notion that workplace feelings which are negative (eg., anxiety) emanate from administrative practices, while those which are positive are a function of collegial behaviours, merits further exploration.
- Publisher
- Mt Helen : Victoria
- Relation
- Paper presented at Proceedings of the 3rd Annual Conference on Spirituality, Leadership and Management, Mt Helen : Victoria 1st - 4th December 2000
- Rights
- Copyright Unknown
- Rights
- Open Access
- Rights
- This metadata is freely available under a CCO license
- Subject
- SHALOM; Spiritual health; Workplace expectations
- Full Text
- Hits: 1512
- Visitors: 1553
- Downloads: 159
| Thumbnail | File | Description | Size | Format | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| View Details Download | DS1 | Accepted version | 41 KB | Adobe Acrobat PDF | View Details Download |