Abstract
M.Com. (Business Management)
Workplace spirituality is an important tool in addressing organisational performance
challenges. The attributes of workplace spirituality are trust and openness,
connectedness with the firm’s values and employee empowerment. At the core of
workplace spirituality for organisational performance is ensuring that the employees’
performance is aligned with the firm’s values. In the current context of South Africa,
State-Owned-Entities (SOE’s) are affected by low productivity, financial challenges
and reputational risk. The study is focussing on workplace spirituality for
organisational performance.
The research adopted a qualitative research method. The population includes the
entire 41,787 Eskom employees across all provinces in South Africa. From the
population, a purposive non-probability sampling technique was used to identify 30
participants. A semi-structured face-to-face interview method was selected as
appropriate for the study. The data collection method in this study was qualitative
content analysis. Collected data was transcribed. Categories of text data in into
elements and units of analysis were used to interpret the data. Qualitative content
analysis method was used in the study.
The key findings in the study are that workplace spirituality can be embedded in the
values of the organisation. The implementation and the effectiveness of workplace
spirituality rest within the employees in the organisation and the role of the managers
as the facilitator of workplace spirituality. There is a positive relationship between
workplace spirituality and organisational performance. When workplace spirituality is
effectively implemented, it allows employees to see their work as purposeful, to be
ethically minded and it cultivates a positive working environment.