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.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution.
Buying options
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Learn about institutional subscriptionsReferences
Ashforth, B. E., & Pratt, M. G. (2003). Institutionalized spirituality: An oxymoron? In R. A. Giacalone & C. L. Jurkiewicz (Eds.), The handbook of workplace spirituality and organizational performance (pp. 93–107). Armonk: Sharpe.
Bopp, J., Bopp, M., Brown, L., & Lane, P. (1984). The sacred tree. Canada: Four Worlds Press.
Burrows, L. (2009). Towards a spirited approach to wellbeing for children who challenge the system. Curriculum Perspectives, 29(3), 73–76.
Burrows, L. (2011a). Practising relational mindfulness in school communities. In R. H. Shute, et al., P. T. Slee (Eds), Mental health and wellbeing: Educational perspectives (pp. 213–223). Adelaide: Shannon Research Press
Burrows, L. (2011b). Relational mindfulness in education. Encounter. Education for Meaning and Social Justice, 24(4), 24–29.
Chalofsky, N., & Krishna, V. (2009). Meaningfulness, commitment, and engagement: The intersection of a deeper level of intrinsic motivation. Advances in Developing Human Resources, 11(2), 189–203.
Cunningham, P. M. (2004). Critical pedagogy and implications for human resource development. Advances in Developing Human Resources, 6(2), 226–240.
Dirkx, J. M. (2000). Spirituality of work: The new opiate or a postmodern search for meaning in life. In Working Knowledge: Productive Learning at Work Conference Proceedings, Sydney, 10–13 December
Engler, J., & Fulton, P. (2012). Self and no-self in psychotherapy. In C. K. Germer & R. D. Siegel (Eds), Wisdom and compassion in psychotherapy: Deepening mindfulness in clinical practice (pp. 176–188). New York: Guilford Press.
Fenwick, T. (1998). Spirituality in the workplace: The new frontier of HRD. Canadian Journal for the Study of Adult Education, 12(1), 63–87.
Finlay, L., & Evans, K. (2009). Relational centred research: Exploring meanings and experience. West Sussex: Wiley.
Giacalone, R. A., & Jurkiewicz, C. L. (2011). Theoretical development of workplace spirituality. In R. A. Giacalone & C. L. Jurkiewicz (Eds), The handbook of workplace spirituality and organizational performance (pp. 93–107). Armonk: Sharpe.
Glomb, T. M., Duffy, M., et al (2011). Mindfulness at work. Research in Personnel and Human Resources Management, 30, 115–157.
Hicks, S. F., & Furlotte, C. (2010). An exploratory study of radical mindfulness training with severely economically disadvantaged people: Findings of a Canadian study. Australian Social Work, 63(3), 281–298.
Jenkinson, A. (2003). From stress to serenity: Gaining strength in the trials of life. Forest Row, East Sussex: Sophia Books
Kabat-Zinn, J. (2003). Mindfulness-based interventions in context: Past, present, and future. Clinical Psychology: Science and Practice, 10(2), 144–156.
Lessem, R., & Schieffer, A. (2010). Transforming enterprise and society. Farnham, Surrey: Gower
Lessem, R., Schieffer, A., et al. (2013). Integral dynamics: Political economy, cultural dynamics, and the future of the university. Farnham, Surrey: Gower
McCown, D., Reibel, D., & Micozzi, M. (2010). Teaching mindfulness: A practical guide for clinicians and educators. Philadelphia: Springer.
Meho, L. (2006). E-mail interviewing in qualitative research: A methodological discussion. Journal of the American Society for Information and Technology, 57(10), 1284–1295.
Mistlberger, P. (no date). P.T. Mistlberger. http://www.ptmistlberger.com. Accessed 7 July 2012
Mitroff, I., & Denton, E. (1999). A spiritual audit of corporate America. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
Neville, B., & Dalmau, T. (2008). Olympus Inc. intervening for cultural change in organisations. Melbourne: Flat Chat Press.
Poulter, J. (2006). The two embedded research functions of heuristic case practice. Australian Social Work, 59(3), 328–341.
Powell, J. A. (2013). Mindfulness and social justice: Reflections on the self. http://www.law.berkeley.edu/files/Social_Justice__Mindfulness_Reflections_on_the_Self_Draft_.pdf. Accessed 24 July 2013
Pritchard, C. (2000). Know, learn and share! The knowledge phenomena and the construction of a consumptive-communicative body. In C. Pritchard, et al., R. Hull (Eds), Managing knowledge: Critical investigations of work and learning (pp. 176–198). London: Macmillan.
Richards, D. (1995). Artful work: Awakening joy, meaning and commitment in the workplace. San Francisco: Berrett Koehler.
Schwartz, R. (1995). The internal family systems model. In J. Rowan & M. Cooper (Eds), The plural self: Multiplicity in everyday life (pp. 238–253). London: Sage.
Singh, N. N., Lancioni, G. E., et al. (2007). Mindfulness training assists individuals with moderate mental retardation to maintain their community placements. Chesterfield: ONE Research Institute
Stanley, S. (2012). Mindfulness: Towards a critical relational perspective. Social and Personality Psychology Compass, 6(9), 631–641.
Tacey, D. (2000). Reenchantment: The rise of Australian spirituality. Sydney: Collins.
Tacey, D. (2004). Australia’s changing spiritual landscape. Overview paper delivered at Anglican Schools Victoria In-service Day, 20 May 2004
Webster-Wright, A. (2009). Reframing professional development through understanding authentic professional learning. Review of Educational Research, 79(2), 702–739.
Wolstenholme, I. (2002). Emotional hostage: Negotiate your freedom. Glastonbury: Realized Network
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2014 Springer Science+Business Media Singapore
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Burrows, L. (2014). Spirituality at Work: The Contribution of Mindfulness to Personal and Workforce Development. In: Harris, R., Short, T. (eds) Workforce Development. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-4560-58-0_17
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-4560-58-0_17
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Singapore
Print ISBN: 978-981-4560-57-3
Online ISBN: 978-981-4560-58-0
eBook Packages: Business and EconomicsBusiness and Management (R0)