Spirituality, Sustainability, and Success

During the past few decades, the topics of spirituality and sustainability have received considerable interest from both industry and academia, influenced by the increase in corporate scandals, and industry-related environmental disasters. In this chapter, spirituality will be examined from a secular perspective, and sustainability from a pragmatic business perspective. The interconnectedness of spirituality and sustainability will be explored within the context of traditional and nontraditional religious doctrine, and contemporary thought. This foundation of the nexus of spirituality and sustainability will provide a foundation upon which the remaining chapters will build, demonstrating that spirituality and sustainability are beneficial for individual and organizational success. The remaining chapter themes and topics will also be summarized.

While many scholars have been reluctant to study spirituality, research on spirituality and religiosity increased beginning in the latter decades of the previous century. Popular interest in spirituality has also increased because of the rise of secularism, and popular disillusionment with, and declining confidence in religious institutions. In this chapter, individual spirituality will be examined from a secular perspective. Contemporary spirituality movements such as alternative spiritualities, occulture, Lifestyles of Health and Sustainability (LOHAS), and Spirituality 2.0 will be explored. The spirituality discourse concludes with an examination of spiritual capital, spiritual intelligence, and the benefits of spirituality at the individual level. The focus of the latter portion of the chapter will be spirituality and success, with a primary focus on career success. Popular interest in spirituality has increased with the rise of secularism, and popular disillusionment with, and declining confidence in religious institutions. Concurrent with the increasing interest in spirituality, more employees are seeking avenues for spiritual expression in the workplace and career. The chapter concludes with an examination of the individual benefits of spirituality in terms of career, health, and relationships.

The exponential growth in interest in workplace spirituality is influenced by many factors including contemporary post-materialist workers seeking meaning and purpose at work as alternatives to, or in addition to wealth accumulation as the primary function of work. The focus of this chapter is to expand upon the spirituality discussion by introducing and examining the concept of workplace spirituality, including the definition, theoretical framework, and literature summary of workplace spirituality. This is followed by the establishment of a valid construct, and research on the effects and consequences of workplace spirituality. The relationship between workplace spirituality and religion is also examined. The role of ethics in workplace spirituality will be examined. The servant, authentic, spiritual, and values leadership styles and models will be examined within the context of workplace spirituality. The chapter concludes with examination of spiritual leadership, and spiritual capital within the context of workplace spirituality.

While contemporary society has been established on a foundation of human-made institutions and structures, most Indigenous cultures recognize the interconnectedness of nature and humankind, and that we cannot live and survive outside of nature. Indigenous spirituality is often characterized by a holistic, comprehensive way of living. Although spiritual beliefs vary among the millions of Indigenous cultures, commonalities exist between many of the dominant Indigenous cultures. Common Indigenous cultures and their respective spiritual beliefs and practices will be explored within the context of the role of spirituality in individual and collective success. The similarities and differences of these Indigenous cultures will be examined to develop a better understanding of their role and importance in achieving spirituality. The absence of a spiritual-secular binary in Indigenous cultures will add an important perspective to the discussion about spirituality.

While religious affiliation and participation began declining decades before the COVID-19 pandemic, the pandemic stimulated inward reflection in many individuals and cultures. Many individuals were reminded of their mortality and used time working at home and loss of friends and loved ones as opportunities to find meaning and spirituality in their lives. The concept that spirituality exists both within and absent religious institutions became more evident as churches were closed or provided services virtually. The role of spirituality in the post-pandemic era will be examined within the context of individual and organizational success. The content and reflection topic will provide perspective on the role of spirituality during and after unexpected global crises.

The following chapter includes an examination of the benefits of sustainability in terms of individual and career success. We begin with the definition(s), theoretical framework, and a synthesized literature summary of sustainability. The benefits of applying sustainability at the individual level, and the methods by which individuals have successfully applied sustainability to achieve success are explored. While individual sustainability is an important consideration, research examining individual sustainability, and how sustainability initiatives provide individual meaning or fulfillment at the individual level is limited. The focus of this chapter is the examination of how sustainability contributes to individual and career success. Success is explored in terms of finance and career, as well as quality of life and well-being. Contemporary movements influencing individual sustainability, including simple living or voluntary simplicity, and the tiny house movement will be explored. Career theory will be examined as a lens through which to examine the relationship between sustainability and individual success. Responsible careers, boundaryless careers, and the differentiation between job, career, and calling will be discussed. Various sustainable careers opportunities will be explored, and the chapter concludes with a personal interview of someone who has been successful in a sustainability career.

Because of the career and business focus of this text, in this chapter sustainability will be examined from a business perspective. The emerging sustainable business model is compared with the traditional business models. While many have argued that capitalism may be the cause of our current environmental state, others argue capitalism is a powerful means to create value while solving our environmental problems.

While contemporary society is established on a foundation of humanmade institutions and structures, Indigenous cultures recognize the interconnectedness of nature and humankind, and that we cannot live and survive outside of nature. Creation is conceived as a living process wherein all inhabitants are members of a living universe. Most Indigenous traditions and belief systems regard nature with deep respect. They have a strong sense of place and belonging which sustains knowledge and ways of life that promote nature conservation and sustainable natural resource use. Common Indigenous cultures and their respective spiritual beliefs and practices will be explored within the context of the role of sustainability in individual and collective success. The absence of a spiritual-secular binary in Indigenous cultures will add an important perspective to the discussion about sustainability.

The increase in work from home (WFH) employment during and following the COVID-19 pandemic demonstrated that many business and organizational activities can be performed remotely, in a more sustainable manner. The brief pause in atmospheric CO2 rise gave hope that meaningful climate change mitigation was possible.

In line with the broad, interdisciplinary, and non-religious framework of the text, the business and organizational benefits of workplace spirituality from a secular perspective will be examined in this chapter. The characteristics and development of spiritual organizations, workplace spirituality programs, demonstrated benefits, and methods of implementation will also be explored. Moreover, the potential risks, challenges and controversies surrounding both spiritual organizations and workplace spirituality will be discussed. Spiritual intelligence is briefly examined because the development of organizational spiritual capabilities is an antecedent to the development of successful triple bottom line strategies. Finally, the Spiritual Incorporated Argument (SIA) is introduced as a method of providing intrinsic justification for the incorporation of spirituality into business management. Existing literature will be synthesized to demonstrate the benefits, and a case study to assist with practical application of workplace spirituality on a business/organizational level concludes the chapter.

In this chapter, the business and organizational benefits of sustainability will be examined. However, this chapter would be incomplete if the focus was solely with the benefits of sustainability at the organizational level, without discourse concerning the methods by which organizational leaders have applied sustainability to achieve success. Existing literature will be synthesized in order to demonstrate the benefits, and the chapter concludes with a case study to stimulate critical thinking and provide instructional tools for academic use and practical application.

In this chapter I will argue that the combination of spirituality and sustainability is beneficial for individual success. Existing literature will be synthesized to demonstrate the benefits, along with a personal interview to assist with practical application of spirituality on an individual level. Recognizing that limited research exists concerning the relationships among sustainability, spirituality, and success at the individual level, much of the focus of this chapter will be with the development of an argument for, and a conceptual framework from which to examine the proposed relationship of these constructs at the individual level. The premise of this book is that spirituality (individual and workplace), and sustainability are beneficial for individual (and organizational) success.

In this chapter I propose that the combination of workplace spirituality and sustainability are beneficial for business and organizational success. Existing literature will be synthesized to demonstrate the benefits, along with interviews to assist with practical application of workplace spirituality and sustainability on a business/organizational level. I included a comment in Chapter 12 concerning the intuitive sense that spirituality and sustainability would contribute to the success of an individual, which nonetheless would require a theoretical foundation or framework which can be researched and proven to be considered scientifically valid.

In this text, the author has examined two seemingly unrelated, yet mutually intertwined topics, presenting the case for both to be characteristics of, and tools for both individual and organizational success. The underlying framework of both topics is the interconnectedness and oneness of everyone and everything on the planet. In this concluding chapter, I will summarize the key principles of the preceding chapters, as well as identify future recommendations, trends, and applications relevant to the application of spirituality and/or sustainability for success at both the individual and organizational level.