Spirituality at work: The contribution of mindfulness to personal and workforce development

Abstract

When we work at jobs that do not engage our mind, body, feelings or spirit we are not bringing our whole selves to our work. Whether they are acknowledged or not, there are emotional and spiritual undercurrents in organisations. We work hard to create physical safety in our workplaces. Can we also create mental, emotional and spiritual safety-safety for the whole person? There is a need to welcome and include all forms of human energy-physical, mental, emotional and spiritual-to our organisations. Through vignettes of school leaders and teachers coping with relational dilemmas at work, this chapter explores what can happen when we pretend that emotions and spirit do not exist and highlights the potential of mindfulness to contribute to personal, interpersonal and structural/organisational elements of workforce development. Within the emerging areas of spirituality and mindfulness it is entirely possible to transfer new knowledge across industrial and/or professional sectors, even when the contexts and processes are different, if the emphasis is placed on stimulating reflection and learning.