SPIRITUALITY AND ETHICS IN BUSINESS

Many people today are finding that there’s more to life—and business—than profits alone.  Money as the single bottom line is increasingly a thing of the past.  In a post-Enron world, values and ethics are an urgent concern.  The hottest buzz today is about a “triple bottom line,” a commitment to “people, planet, profit.”  Employees and the environment are seen as important as economics.  Some people say it’s all about bringing your spiritual values into your workplace. A poll published in USA Today found that 6 out of 10 people say workplaces would benefit from having a great sense of spirit in their work environment.

What is spirituality in business?  There’s a wide range of important perspectives.  Some people say that it’s simply embodying their personal values of honesty, integrity, and good quality work. Others say it’s treating their co-workers and employees in a responsible, caring way.  For others, it’s participating in spiritual study groups or using prayer, meditation, or intuitive guidance at work. And for some, it’s making their business socially responsible in how it impacts the environment, serves the community or helps create a better world. 

Some business people are comfortable using the word “spirituality” in the work environment, as it’s more generic and inclusive than “religion.”  Instead of emphasizing belief as religion does, the word spirituality emphasizes how values are applied and embodied.  Other people aren’t comfortable with the word “spiritual” and prefer to talk more about values and ethics when describing the same things that others would call spiritual.  But there are some businesspeople who talk about God as their business partner or their CEO.

There’s some fear about spiritual beliefs or practices being imposed by employers, but to date this has been extremely rare.  On the other hand, some observers warn about the potential for superficiality and the distortion of spiritual practices to serve greed.

Key spiritual values embraced in a business context include integrity, honesty, accountability, quality, cooperation, service, intuition, trustworthiness, respect, justice, and service. The Container Store chain nationwide tells workers they are “morally obligated to help customers solve problems” – they’re not just to sell people products. The CEO of Vermont Country Store, a popular national catalogue company, honored--instead of fired--an employee who told the truth in a widely circulated memo.  This greatly increased morale and built a sense of trust in his company.

by Corinne McLaughlin