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Although the word “diversity” has become somewhat controversial in the current political climate, a recent study by a faculty member in the College of Business at Western Carolina University indicates that diversity of levels of workplace spirituality can have a positive impact on the productivity of businesses and organizations.

Bryan S. Schaffer, WCU assistant professor of management, published the results of the research in an article titled “Individual Differences in Workplace Spirituality: Implications for Deep-Level Diversity and Team Outcomes” in the June 2024 issue of the Journal of Business and Management.

Joseph S. Leah and Gerald A. Schoenfeld of Florida Gulf Coast University co-authored the paper, which was based on a conceptual literature review and research leading to a proposed theoretical model.

While distinct from traditional concepts of religion, workplace spirituality does share some common ground with faith, church and denomination as individual workers often strive to integrate their personal spiritual values and practices within their places of employment.

“Workplace spirituality differs from faith-based institutional membership, whereby people feel obligatory loyalty to a defined group,” Schaffer said. “The concept seems to be more about the positive personal connections people make to their identity, the workplace environment and the nature of the job itself.”

Because levels of workplace spirituality can vary greatly among individual employees, Schaffer and his co-authors believe that it should be an important factor for leaders of businesses and organizations to consider when they are looking to build diverse teams.

Many have characterized organizational leadership’s recognition of workplace spirituality as a way of acknowledging that team members have strong individual identities that are tied to the social context of significant and important work, Schaffer said.

“It seems that leaders should take an interest in setting up workplace conditions that capture the advantages associated with humanistic environments that allow people to achieve performance through creative expression and fulfillment,” he said.

Among key outcomes linked to workplace spirituality are trust, creativity and processes tied to team effectiveness. “When such elements are present in team environments, there is a higher likelihood of more effective team processes through more functional conflict, healthier progression through stages of development and better performance,” he said.

Schaffer said that previous research on team dynamics indicates that further study is needed to get a better understanding of how diversity – especially deep-level diversity – can influence functional team outcomes.

“This paper provides an additional aspect of deep-level diversity in the development of workplace spiritual diversity,” he said. “We hope that our work can provide insight into how diversity favorably affects team-level motivation, performance and process dynamics.”

Leaders of organizations and businesses could use the findings from the study to help improve the performance of their teams, Schaffer said.

“By recognizing the importance of the diversity mindset, organizational leaders can best understand the conditions where diversity itself should yield positive outcomes. Leaders responsible for employee hiring and development can identify the skills and behaviors needed for this diversity mindset,” he said.

“This understanding can enhance recruitment and training functions to facilitate the ways that individual differences – such as workplace spirituality diversity – can contribute to an inclusive and team-based organizational culture,” he said.

While the paper does specifically examine the development of spiritual diversity in the workplace, the practical and theoretical implications from the study can be applied to any aspect of deep-level diversity, he said.

Schaffer said the role that diversity among members of teams can have on developing a competitive advantage for a business or organization if managed effectively is a frequent topic in his classes.

“I also like to talk about the ‘diversity mindset’ and how team members can develop a frame of reference around diversity that will allow for it to provide benefits to the team, as opposed to dysfunctional outcomes,” he said.

Diversity in the workplace also is the subject of a previous paper co-authored by Schaffer, but this time examining diversity among characters in videos used for training and education in the workplace.

Titled “Let’s All Go to the Movies Together: A Social Cognitive Perspective on Diversity, Equity and Inclusion in Management Education Video Clips,” the study was published in Management Teaching Review in 2023. It was co-authored by Joseph T. Liu of FGCU and Amy P. Breidenthal of Agnes Scott College.

“While video clips have undoubtedly advanced the practice of management education, social cognitive theory suggests that new sources of video clips may augment ongoing diversity, equity and inclusion efforts in management classrooms and organizations,” Schaffer said.

“We review social cognitive theory research that points to links between video clips and diversity, equity and inclusion outcomes that are part of many management classes and training curricula,” he said. “We discuss how management educators might foster learning and inclusion in management classrooms and organizations by incorporating video clips with a greater variety of demographic populations in managerial and organizationally impactful roles.”

The paper also includes a list of video resources that can be used to refresh or supplement the resources currently being used in undergraduate, graduate, online, executive education and corporate training courses.