The Many Delicate Issues of Spirituality in the Office
Eilene Zimmerman (New York Times, 15 August 2004) link


Madeline Homan
(Susan Stava for The New York Times)

Every three weeks or so, Buddy Brandt, a partner at the Manhattan law firm of Brandt, Steinberg & Lewis, closes the door to his office, turns off the phone and sits down to study a facet of Judaism.

Mr. Brandt said this kind of study — it might be a book in the Old Testament, the history of Zionism or an aspect of Jewish law — brings “peace and relief” in the middle of a hectic day. On a deeper level, he said, “It fills an important spiritual niche in my life. And it helps put life’s difficulties in proper perspective.”

With Americans spending so much time on the job, some of them are finding ways to bring spirituality to the office, rather than relegating it to weekend religious services. This can mean simply trying to treat others well, saying a prayer to start the day or thinking about the sermon heard on Sunday.

This phenomenon is virtually impossible to quantify, but studies by the Tanenbaum Center for Interreligious Understanding, as well as the Harris Poll and the Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life, suggest that religion is increasingly important to Americans, both in private life and in public. “We know the percentage of Americans that identify themselves as religious and God-believing is probably the highest in the developed world: 90 percent,” said Georgette F. Bennett, a sociologist and the founder of the Tanenbaum Center. “And we know from our surveys that as people get older, religion becomes more important to them.” The work force is aging, so it would not be surprising to find religion playing a larger role in the workplace, she said.

Several organizations exist to help make that mixing of faith and work easier, like Spirit at Work in East Haven, Conn., an information clearinghouse for people and organizations interested in spirituality in the workplace. In addition, groups like Forum for Faith in the Workplace in Columbus, Ohio, and Marketplace Network in Boston aim to motivate and equip Christians to apply biblical principles in their work.

Christopher Scott, executive director of Forum for Faith in the Workplace, said interest in spirituality has grown tremendously. “It’s a very uncertain world, and people are looking for an anchor to hold onto,” he said. “We find people increasingly feel they can’t live two lives: doing one thing on Sunday and something else the rest of the week.”

The organization, which serves Central Ohio, holds an annual dinner honoring those in the secular workplace who exemplify “living out their faith,” and attendance has risen in the last four years to just under 300 from 50, Mr. Scott said.

Many experts on religion and culture say the desire to incorporate personal religious faith into work has been rising for at least a decade, but some also say there was a burst of interest after the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001.

David W. Miller, executive director of the Yale Center for Faith and Culture, whose research specializes in ethics and spirituality in the workplace, helped edit a list of groups like Spirit at Work or Forum for Faith in the Workplace well before Sept. 11. “After the attacks, the growth of these groups was simply exponential,” he said.

Ken Blanchard, co-founder and chief spiritual officer of the Ken Blanchard Companies, a management consulting firm based in Escondido, Calif., exemplifies the intertwining of religion and work. He says he is a devout Christian and uses Jesus as his leadership model.

Each morning, Mr. Blanchard sends an inspirational voice mail to all 250 employees. The message includes prayer requests from employees but no actual praying. “I also praise people for a job well done,” he said. “I quote from the New and Old Testaments, Buddha, Moses, Martin Luther King. I talk about movies I’ve seen, books I’ve read.”

Mr. Blanchard said employees who are not religiously or spiritually inclined are not treated differently from those who are. “Everyone here knows I think they should have something in their life that is bigger than themselves, but that’s it.”

There can be a fine line, however, between religious self-expression and proselytizing. Christy Munger, an associate publicist at Ruder Finn in Manhattan, recalled a conversation that began when a colleague asked about Ms. Munger’s occasional use of alcohol. Ms. Munger, who describes herself as an evangelical Christian, said she answered with an explanation about using the Bible as a guide in life. Ms. Munger told her colleague that the Bible “teaches us not to rely on things, but to rely on God for strength and joy.”

Ms. Munger said she considered her explanation “standing up for truth,” not proselytizing. “I haven’t made anyone uncomfortable — I think maybe angry — and I hope, perhaps, have caused some questioning,” she said.

In general however, complaints about proselytizing and other forms of religious discrimination have risen substantially over the last decade. The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission received 2,532 complaints of religious discrimination in 2003, an increase of 75 percent from 1993, said Dianna Johnston, assistant legal counsel for the agency. Those complaints run the gamut from proselytizing to failing to accommodate someone’s religious beliefs.

Employees who are uncomfortable in a workplace where faith is frequently discussed can simply steer clear of those discussions. But that can mean missing out on office gossip and networking opportunities.

“It’s hard to have a pot-luck Bible study with fellow employees and not talk about work; if you aren’t there, you will wind up missing out on important information,” said Myrna Marofsky, president of ProGroup, a diversity consulting firm in Minneapolis and author of “Religion in the Workplace: A Guide to Navigating the Complex Landscape.”

Employees who feel uncomfortable with visible expressions of faith at work should confront the situation head on, Ms. Johnston said. “You should always handle the situation immediately and very directly, whether it’s a colleague or your employer,” she said. “You can say, politely, ‘When you talk to me about the Bible, it makes me uncomfortable.’ “

Still, some employees feel that they can manage in an overtly religious work environment even if their views differ sharply from those of their co-workers. Or the boss.

When Madeline Homan joined the Blanchard Companies four years ago as a vice president, she worried about the atmosphere. Friends who had heard Mr. Blanchard speak told her he was “over-the-top Christian,” she said, and she opposes all organized religion.

“I told Ken’s son, whom I worked with, that I was worried,” she said. “There must have been discussions among the leadership, because after that, Ken confined talk about Jesus or being saved to his dealings with the Christian community.”

Ms. Homan said she had never been offended by Mr. Blanchard’s morning messages. “I was very skeptical at first, but now, that voice mail is a minute or two of my day where I stop and connect with the better part of myself.”