The Spirit of Work: Learning About Workplace Wellness From Sacred Texts

Culture and Leadership Connections Podcast

Learning About Workplace Wellness From Sacred Texts
Delve into the fascinating topic of workplace wellness by uncovering insights from sacred texts and exploring how they can draw inspiration from Hinduism, Christianity, and Islam to uncover principles that can guide us in creating a happier and healthier workplace culture.
The Golden Rule:
The Golden Rule requires that we consider other people as equals deserving of respectful treatment. Imagine if this rule were applied universally how golden would the world be? When people believe and feel the Golden Rule as a divine principle, it holds more weight than something that's just a personal preference. The Golden Rule becomes a way for us to measure our own behavior and to hold ourselves accountable because it carries the responsibility and weight of a divine imperative.
Powers of the Soul According to Hinduism:
In my book, on page 24, there are some interesting principles from Hinduism that revolve around qualities and powers of the soul. I want to focus on the first three powers of the soul which are great ingredients for a healthy workplace:

• Power to Accommodate: This is the power of flexibility and acceptance.
• Power to Tolerate: By developing awareness of internal and external influences and not allowing them to control us.
• Power to Face and Confront: By facing obstacles, overcoming difficulties, and standing up for justice.

Powers of the Soul According to Christianity:
In the Bible, there is very little specifically about the soul and its powers, but we do have parables. St. Thomas Aquinas and other writers have written a bit on the nature of the soul. Here are some of the highlights:

• The soul has the capacity to learn from experiences that could significantly influence work.
• The soul has the capacity to interact with other souls. At work, when interacting with our colleagues, it is our souls that are interacting, which gives us a huge responsibility to speak to our colleagues as souls.
• Upon death, the soul is subjected to judgment based on how the individual lived their life, the actions they took, and the degree of their faith. At the end of life, the soul will be held accountable by the creator.

Powers of the Soul According to Islam:
In Islam, experience and understanding balance each other, and action and restraint balance each other. Two Islamic psychologists created an amazing framework, which is a personality type indicator based on the principles of these two balancing concepts and four personality types.

• Power: The ability to move resources towards a goal.
• Justice: An orientation towards equity and fairness.
• Inspiration: A spiritual orientation giving birth to innovation.
• Vigilance: Avoiding unnecessary risk and strong concern with safety.

With these four personality types, we can consider the qualities required for a just and equitable workplace.

Performance Reviews According to Divine Concepts:

• Hinduism: Instead of asking, “How did you do in terms of such and such a goal?” ask, “How were you able to show flexibility and detach from internal and external influences to make wise decisions? What obstacles did you overcome?”
• Christianity: Use what you have experienced and learned from your work to evaluate your capacity to interact respectfully with other souls at work. Give yourself a report card on your work behavior and alignment to values and company goals.
• Islam: How have you been able to see and build the talents of others to provide a more comprehensive view of the whole team? How have you been able to participate towards justice and equity as a team member?

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