Benefits of spirituality in the workplace

Abstract

Purpose: Existing literature has uncovered many benefits of spirituality in the workplace. However, building a sound theory of spirituality in the workplace requires testing its benefits in narrower contexts. We test spirituality’s effects on employees’ well-being and the company’s relationship with customers in the context of the retail industry in Puerto Rico. Design / methodology / approach: We developed a model using Structural Equation Model-Partial Least Square. Then, we use the expert debriefing triangulation technique to assess the validity and reliability of our sample of 131 employees. Findings: This research shows spirituality in the workplace has positive effects on employees’ well-being and the company’s relationship with its customers in the retail industry of Puerto Rico. Originality: Our model links spirituality in the workplace with two variables of (Heskett et al., 1994) Profit Chain Value. Although our subject has been widely studied, literature in narrow contexts is needed to develop a unified theory. We contribute insight into spirituality in a narrow context plus a quantitative model to be used when large samples are unfeasible.