Essay On Spirituality And Ethics

Spirituality versus Ethics
A growing body of literature dealing with spirituality and the workplace has been emerging and has become part of some ethics course syllabi. But spirituality and ethics are quite different, although it is easier for a spiritual person to be ethical. Spirituality encompasses the same topic, which is so important in ethics: character, and the giving Workplace Spirituality and Organizational Performance 359 of oneself for the benefit of others. There are many spiritual practices that are practically lifted from prominent ethical theories and moral principles, such as the discipline of “dealing with others as you would have them deal with you”; the discipline of “balancing our work, personal, family, community, and church responsibilities”; the discipline of “working to make

The trends in today’s Christian spirituality are quite different from the concept of ethics. Like ethics, these trends have evolved over time and are different from the trends expressed in other times. A scholar on Christian spiritual360 Public Administration Review • May/June 2003, Vol. 63, No. 3 ity writes that it is now oriented toward four trends: it responds to life—to its beauty and its injustices—and leads to action; it looks to the universe—the whole world becomes a part of the spiritual person; it is responsive and responsible to the poor and oppressed; and it is socially oriented. Not only the persons (coworkers), but also the society in which a person is living (the organization) are important in a relationship with God (Missinne 1990, 150– 51). The relationship between work and the spiritual life is more complex than just good ethical behavior. Seeing work as more than a livelihood—and surely more than a means of amassing wealth—can bring peace to the many who must work at apparently unsatisfying jobs. In this view, their work becomes a part of the vision of the whole of humanity cooperating, one with all the others, in the common