workplace spirituality and deviant workplace ...

36 WORKPLACE SPIRITUALITY AND DEVIANT WORKPLACE BEHAVIOURS: LESSONS FROM AGE-OLD WISDOM Sajeet Pradhan Rabindra Kumar Pradhan

ABSTRACT Every year organizations around the globe lose some of their most valued employees and millions of rupees because of deviant workplace behaviours. Although, management literature is surfeit with both empirical and conceptual studies highlighting the benefits of positive work behaviour, there is still a conspicuous void when it comes to studies which have addressed the issue of toxic behaviours at workplace. This paper attempts to establish relationship between workplace spirituality as mentioned in Yoga and several deviant workplace behaviours like theft, sexual harassment, lying, hoarding information, and workplace violence. To conceptualize workplace spirituality we have referred to the "Yamas" which in Sanskrit means "yogic self control". Through this article we contend that the observation of the five yamas, which are mentioned in Raja Yoga, as abstention from violence (ahimsa), abstention from stealing (asteya), abstention from lying (satya), abstention from greed (aparigraha), abstention from sensuality (brahamacharya) will reduce toxic behaviours and contribute towards creating healthy work environment. Raja yoga which is one of the four yogas (the other three being Jnana Yoga, Bhakti Yoga and Karma Yoga) is mentioned in several darshans (Vedic Schools). It refers to achievement of divinity through eightfold path (Ashtanga Yoga). This paper also points toward several age old doctrines and religious scriptures which have emphasized the same practices as mentioned in Raja Yoga. As conclusion, we have

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Integrating Spirituality and Organizational Leadership

proposed a conceptual framework and a set of testable propositions which will spur further research in this important but relegated field of management.

INTRODUCTION Organizations across the globe agree on the point that deviant workplace behaviour is a malignant tumor which needs to be removed from the system at the earliest. The growing unethical behavior of employees at all levels of the organization is very alarming.1 Primarily, managers are interested in preventing deviant workplace behaviors whereas, management scholars, are interested in studying the antecedents and consequences of this phenomenon. The rampant case of deviant behavior such as fraud, theft, withholding effort, hoarding information, aggressive behavior, and sexual harassment in the workplace is a mighty challenge for organizations.2 The seriousness of the issue can be judged from the research report which studied retail companies in US, and found 33 to 75 percent of all employees have engaged in some deviant behaviour or other, and as many as 42 percent of women have been sexually harassed at workplace.3 Another empirical study reports that about 25 percent of employees have reported to know of substance abuse of their co-workers. One in every fifteen employees has exhibited violent behaviors at workplace. The report also calculated the financial loss due to such toxic behaviors of employees. It pegs annual costs to organizations to be as high as $4.2 billion for workplace deviant behaviors.4 Since such toxic behaviors are generally associated with huge economic costs, organizations need to get this problem under check. Besides the economic costs, deviant behavior is also associated with social and psychological costs. In order to defeat these negative impacts on organizations and on the whole society it is imperative to identify the factors that instigate such deviant behavior.5 The cause of workplace deviance can be traced to several individual, sociological, organizational, and economic causes. Personality, education, group influence, ethical work climate, frustration, and stress are few of the examples of such causes. The manifestations of deviant behavior are changes in work punctuality, negative work attitude and poor performance, social loafing, engage in malicious gossips, extended lunch breaks, tardiness, and many other incidences. The deviant behavior can be easily identified through some conspicuous and some not so conspicuous work behaviors.66 S. V. Magyar Jr., "Focus on Training, Education & Software,"

Occupational Health & Safety,72, no.1 (2003):66. Although there are plenty of research which has highlighted the reasons why employees engage in deviant workplace behaviours and the ways by which such aberrant behaviours can be curbed, still the sheer statistics of such toxic behaviours in today’s business world is staggering. This increase in toxic behaviours and the resultant financial loss is proof enough that the current ways of managing or checking these behaviours has failed. Through this article the author propose that workplace spirituality can make huge impact (positive) on the psyche of the employees, and hence can help organization in controlling this menace. Although the topic of workplace spirituality in recent years has caught the attention of both academics as well as the corporate world, still the subject suffers from some fundamental limitations. Lack of a universal definition and empirical investigation of it has been some of the major roadblocks. This paper has introduced the concept of Yamas which means to rein, curb, or bridle, discipline or restraint oneself. Yamas or yogic restraint is the first stage of Astanga Yoga (Eight paths of Yoga) which has been nicely described in Patanjali’s Yoga Sutra. The five yamas are abstention from violence (ahimsa), abstention from stealing (asteya), abstention from lying (satya), abstention from greed (aparigraha), and abstention from sensuality (brahamacharya). The author contends that through the practice of these five yamas, employees can curb their urge to involve in any deviant workplace behaviour and engage in positive or healthy work practices. The benefits of yamas can be further ascertained from the fact that similar practices are also mentioned in Buddhism as Pancha Sheela. Buddhism speaks of the observance of five principles for realizing the divinity in man. These five principles are ahimsa (Non injury), satya (Truth), soucham (Purity), daya (Compassion), and asthikyam (Faith in God). Similar thought can be observed in the religious writings of Jainism, an unorthodox school of Indian Philosophy (Nastika). Jainism has laid down a number of vows (vratas) for actual observance and among them the twelve Vratas or vows are considered very significant both from religious and social point of view. Even among these twelve Vratas or vows, the first five vows are regarded as 'main vows' and the remaining seven vows are treated as 'supplementary vows'. These five main vows (Mahavratas) are ahimsa (not to injure others), satya (to be free from falsehood), asteya (to be free from theft), brahamacharya (to be free from unchastity), and aparigraha (to be free from worldly attachment). The scope of my work is to propose that workplace spirituality as explained by the Yamas

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(abstention from certain vices) of yoga will affect deviant workplace behaviors. Finally, the paper encourages future empirical studies to establish the proposed relationship between workforce spirituality and deviant workplace behavior at workplace.

LITERATURE REVIEW WORKPLACE SPIRITUALITY Today, there is a refreshingly burgeoning interest in workplace spirituality or spirit at work among both the industry and academic. Spirituality, which was previously considered to be incompatible with organization’s bottom line, has gained widespread acceptability in the boardroom discussions. Several reasons can be attributed to this growing interest in spirituality at the workplace. One of the reasons forwarded by a leading management guru is that today’s organizations have fully comprehended the potentiality of an awakened or spiritually motivated employee. The word spirituality has derived from the Latin word spiritus which means ‘breath of life’. It has been stated as the valuing of the non-material or transcendental aspects of life. Spirituality has been separated from religiosity as people are not comfortable with the latter’s dogmatism and superstitious rituals. Although, there has been multitude of definitions of workplace spirituality, our understanding of this transcendental concept is still incomplete. The confusion, ambiguity, and the complexity of the construct make spirituality a difficult research topic to investigate.7 This paper doesn’t engage in finalizing the components or dimensions of workplace spirituality, hence the author has avoided mentioning any previous definition of spirituality at work. In this article, workplace spirituality is conceptualized as certain forbearances (Yamas), which has been borrowed from Astanga Yoga.

YAMAS DEFINED In this paper we have conceptualized spirituality at workplace as a set of forbearance (yamas) which when followed strictly will offer both individual and organizational benefits. The verbal meaning of "Yama" is to rein, curb, bridle, discipline or restraint. In the present context, it is used to mean "self-control,

forbearance, or any great rule or duty". It can also be treated as attitude or behavior. Patanjali's Yoga Sutra mentions five different yamas, that is, behavior patterns or relationships between the individual and the outside world.8 Yamas and Niyamas which are the two initial stages of Astanga Yoga (Eight fold path) speaks of curbing our sensual desires through a set of five forbearances (Yamas) and a set of five observances (Niyamas). The five yamas (forbearances) are:

Ahimsa (Abstention from Violence) The word ahimsa literally means not to inflict injury or show cruelty to any creature or any person in any way (either through thoughts or actions). Ahimsa is, however, more than just lack of violence as adapted in yoga. It means to show kindness, friendliness, and thoughtful consideration towards other people and things. It is also related to one’s duties and responsibilities. Yoga demands ahimsa in totality. The meaning of himsa does not restrict itself to only physical abuse or physical injury. That is a limited meaning of the word it also disapproves of verbal abuse, mental torture or mental harassment. Hence, ahimsa covers all aspects such as physical, oral, mental. One, who observes ahimsa, succeeds in eliminating feelings of enmity. If ahimsa is followed for long time, not only the individual, but even his surroundings are affected and enmity is eliminated in the minds of all who come in contact with him. Thus, ahimsa is not only elimination of physical, mental, oral hurt, but also wiping out the feelings of enmity.9

Satya (Abstention from Lying) Satya means to speak the truth, nothing but truth. Although it is advisable to speak truth on all occasions but in reality it is difficult to practice. One should be careful about what one speaks and the manner in which one speaks. If by speaking the truth we are hurting others one should better refrain from saying anything. Satya should never come into conflict with our efforts to behave with ahimsa. In The Mahabharata, the great Indian epic, it’s mentioned that "speak the truth which is pleasant. Do not speak unpleasant truths. Do not lie, even if the lies are pleasing to the ear. That is the eternal law, the dharma." In other

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words, silence is greater than the speech, true speech is greater than the silence, speech as per one's dharma is greater than it and the true speech according to dharma and which is pleasurable and useful to others is the greatest. One should note that the above saying doesn’t provoke us to speak lie rather it emphasizes to stay quiet when the truth is unsavory and unnecessary. To keep quiet and to speak lie are two different things.

Asteya (Abstention from Stealing) Steya means "to steal or to pilfer"; Asteya is the opposite of Steya that is to take nothing that does not belong to us. This also means that not to take undue advantage of someone who entrusts something to us or confides in us. We are to refrain from taking that which is not ours by right of consciousness and karma. According to Yoga Sutra, stealing is not just a physical action, but also includes our thought process. The very thought (negative) of possessing something which doesn’t belong to us also corrupts our mind and leads to mental agitation and turmoil. So one should follow asteya religiously.

Brahamacharya (Abstention from Sensuality) Brahamacharya is used mostly in the sense of abstinence, particularly in relationship to sexual activity. Brahmacharya does not necessarily mean celibacy. Rather, it means responsible behavior with respect to our goal of moving toward the ultimate truth. One can attain liberation (mukti) by treading on either of the two ways, by renouncing the worldly pleasures and concentrate towards the Higher Self, or by leading a life of household with all sincerity and devotion. Brahmacharya speaks about having temperate behaviour when it comes to sensual gratification and to avoid sexual intimacy with anyone other than one’s own spouse.

Aparigraha (Abstention from Greed) Aparigraha is the fifth and final yama. It means "not seizing opportunity". Parigraha means "to take" or "to seize". Parigraha is the increasing orientation or obsession towards material thing. If one reduces parigraha and develops aparigraha, one is orienting oneself inwardly. One can never fully sate one’s

hunger for material possessions hence one should develop an internal non materialistic orientation which will defeat the worldly urges. Through this we will learn to enjoy what we have rather than constantly seeking things we don't have and never getting satisfied in life. It is a scientific fact that the more money and material possessions we have, the more stressful we become. Aparigraha means to receive only what is necessary, and not to take undue advantage of a situation or act greedily. One should only take what one has earned; if one takes more, he/she is exploiting someone else. In addition, unearned rewards can later cause serious problems to the individual. One who learns and follows aparigraha in entirety gets the knowledge of past, present and future.10

DEVIANT WORKPLACE BEHAVIOURS Deviance in the workplace has been defined as all those acts committed by organizational members that have, or are intended to have, the effect of hurting coworkers, managers, or the organization itself.11 It is also defined as behaviors that flout important organizational norms and threaten to hamper the reputation of organization and/or hurt the members of the organization.12 These toxic and harmful behaviors at work have received much attention over the past several years because of its rampant occurrence. The pervasiveness of this cancer can be judged from the fact that one in every three companies reports of some or other form of deviant work practice by its employees. The cost of deviant behavior in the workplace, by a conservative estimation will be in billions of dollars.13 The amount of research into deviant work behaviours has grown substantially during the last decade; this has led to an overabundance of definitions of workplace deviant behaviours. Although, there are several definitions of deviant behaviours, still the most prominent areas of study are antisocial behavior, counterproductive behavior, dysfunctional behavior, and organizational misbehavior. The first classification of deviant behaviour included the concept of property deviance and production deviance.14 J. W. Mangione and R. P. Quinn, ‘‘Job Satisfaction, Counter-Productive Behavior and Drug use at Work,’’ Journal of Applied Psychology, 60, no.2 (1975): 115. These above mentioned frameworks were considered far from being complete since they didn’t account for deviant acts of an interpersonal nature, such as

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physical aggression and sexual harassment; only acts against organizations. The latter frameworks of deviant workplace behavior also included social aspects to the organization-directed forms of deviance. Adding to the existing list of classifications, Robinson and Bennett (1995) introduced a typology of deviant workplace behaviors including the interpersonal aspect.15 The framework consists of the following two dimensions: (1) Minor vs. Serious This describes the severity of the deviant behavior (2) Interpersonal vs. Organizational This represents the target of the deviant behavior The combination of these two dimensions, will give four different types of deviance. The types are Production Deviance (e.g. damaging work, or the progress of work), Property Deviance (e.g. abusing or stealing company property), Political Deviance (e.g. slandering others or spreading malicious rumors), and Personal Aggression (e.g. being hostile or violent toward others). The four types are not mutually exclusive but rather are sinisterly interlinked. Deviant behaviours begin with minor deviance from norms, when these transgressions are not checked or curbed they lead to more severe and serious deviant behaviours. Antisocial behavior includes behaviours that causes harm or intends to harm an organization, its employees, or organizational stakeholders. Such behaviours include aggression (both verbal and physical), discrimination, theft, sabotage, harassment, lying, revenge, and whistle blowing. Counterproductive behavior is defined as "any intentional behavior on the part of an organization member viewed by the organization as contrary to its legitimate interests".16 Counterproductive behavior includes theft, property destruction, abuse of information, unsafe behavior, absenteeism, and shoddy work. Dysfunctional behavior occurs when certain acts committed have negative consequences for the members of the organization, and/or the organization itself. Organizational misbehavior is considered as a deliberate act by an organizational member that violates basic organizational and/or societal norms. Such misbehavior intends to benefit an individual or the rival organization and generally includes an objective to inflict damage.17

In this study, the author has mentioned five types of deviant workplace behaviours. These five types are, workplace violence, theft, lying, hoarding information and sexual harassment. Workplace violent behaviours include both verbal abuse and physical aggression. These behaviours range from inflicting physical injury to those milder and covert types like threatening and verbal slandering. Theft, which is very common deviant workplace behaviour, includes acts like misappropriation of funds, pilferage of goods etc. Some researchers have also considered wastage of organization property as theft. Lying means speaking untruth, providing wrong information. One can lie to either insiders like coworkers, supervisor etc or to outsiders like customers, suppliers and government. Hoarding information refers to not passing important information or providing information to others in the organization which includes coworkers, superiors and clients. Although hoarding of information sounds very innocuous but is highly detrimental to both employees and organization in long run. The fifth deviant behaviour is sexual harassment which is one of the most toxic of deviant behaviours. Sexual harassment includes all those acts like catcalls, obscene messages, physical touching, sexual favors which degrade and dehumanize another coworker.

CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK There are several studies which have suggested the reasons why employees engage in such deviant work behaviours. The reasons vary from negative job cognition, perceiving injustice, negative affectivity, hostile attribution, trait anger, attitude revenge. These factors are found to be positively related to the workplace deviant behavior.18 This paper’s objective is not to find the reason why people engage in deviant behaviours but to offer a solution to check or curb their thoughts and actions which has harmful effect on both individuals and organisation. This solution has been proposed in yoga, one of the darshans (school) of Indian Philosophy. Raja Yoga which is more popularly known in West as a means to have physical fitness goes beyond the body and suggests ways to have mental and spiritual fitness by observing certain rules (Yamas and Niyamas). Our assertion is that one who follows the five yamas will keep one’s desires in check and will engage in more constructive and fruitful manner. Hence we propose that, P 1: Ahimsa will be negatively related to workplace violence. P 2: Asteya will be negatively related to theft.

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P 3: Satya will be negatively related to lying. P 4: Aparigraha will be negatively related to hoarding information. P 5: Brahamacharya will be negatively related to sexual harassment.

Workplace Spirituality (Yamas)

Deviant Work Behaviours

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Abstention from violence a( himsa)

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Workplace Violence

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Abstention from stealing a( steya)

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Theft

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Abstention from lying(satya)

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Lying

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Abstention fromgreed (aparigraha)

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Hoarding Information

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Abstention from sensuality

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Sexual Harassment

(brahamacharya)

Figure 1: Workplace spirituality will be negatively related to deviant work behaviours.

DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSION The purpose of this article is to propose a way of curbing deviant work behaviours in organizations by observing the yamas of the yoga which in this paper is conceptualized as workplace spirituality. Deviant work behaviour is a serious threat to a productive organization and peaceful society. Its deleterious effect ranges from financial cost to social unrest and turmoil. In this study we have referred to the age old oriental wisdom of yoga for checking this organizational menace. Astanga Yoga which means eight paths to final objective that is unification with Higher Self has elaborated the benefits of certain observances and forbearances. These forbearances or yamas keep a check on our unrestrained desires (indriyas) and helps us not deviate from righteous or ethical path. The five yamas mentioned in Patanjali’s yoga sutra as abstention from violence (ahimsa), abstention from stealing (asteya), abstention from lying (satya), abstention from greed (aparigraha), and abstention from sensuality (brahamacharya) will develop a sense of responsibility and accountability among the organization’s members. The positive effect of the yamas can be judged from the fact that similar practices has been prescribed in other religious faiths like Jainism, Buddhism, and Islam. Through this paper the author has expected to create enough interest and enthusiasm that will spur future researchers to empirically investigate the relationship between Yamas and deviant workplace behaviors.

Notes 1 R Sims, ‘‘The Challenge of Ethical Behavior in Organizations,’’ Journal of Business Ethics, 11, no. 7 (1992): 508. 2 D. K. Peterson, "Deviant Workplace Behaviour and the Organisation’s Ethical Climate," Journal of Business and Psychology, 17, no. 1(2002): 51. 3 S. L. Robinson and A. M. O’Leary-Kelly, "Monkey See, Monkey Do: The Influence of Work Groups on the Antisocial Behavior of Employees," Academy of Management Journal, 41, no. 6(1998): 663. 4 S. L. Robinson and J. Greenberg, "Employees Behaving Badly: Dimensions, Determinants, and Dilemmas in the Study of Workplace Deviance," Journal of Organizational Behavior, 19, no. 1(1998): 17. 5 Peterson, "Deviant Workplace Behaviour," 52. 6 S. V. Magyar Jr., "Focus on Training, Education & Software," Occupational Health & Safety, 72, no.1 (2003):66. 7 F Karakas, "Spiritual and Performance in Organisations: A Literature Review," Journal of Business Ethics, 94, no. 1 (2010): 97. 8 S Satyananda, Four Chapters on Freedom: Commentary on the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali (Munger, India: Yoga Publications Trust, 1976), 54. 9 S Niranjanananda, Yoga Darshan: Vision of the Yoga Upanishads (Munger, India: Yoga Publications Trust, 2002), 24. 10 R Vivekananda, Practical Yoga Psychology (Bihar, India: Yoga Publications Trust, 2005), 69. 11 R. J. Bennett and S. L. Robinson, "The Past, Present, and Future of Workplace Deviance Research," in Organizational Behavior: The State of the Science, ed. J. Greenberg (Mahwah, NJ: Erlbaum, 2003), 262. 12 S. L. Robinson and R. J. Bennett, "A Typology of Workplace Deviance: A Multidimensional Scaling Study," Academy of Management Journal, 38, no.2 (1995): 567. 13 Bennet and Robinson, Organizational Behavior, 264. 14 J. W. Mangione and R. P. Quinn, ‘‘Job Satisfaction, Counter-Productive Behavior and Drug use at Work,’’ Journal of Applied Psychology, 60, no.2 (1975): 115. 15 Robinson & Bennet, "Typology of Workplace Deviance," 569. 16 P. R. Sackett, "The structure of counterproductive work behaviors: Dimensionality and relationships with facets of job performance," International Journal of Selection and Assessment, 10, no. 1-2 (2002): 7. 17 Y. Vardi and Y. Wiener, "Misbehavior in organizations: A motivational framework," Organization Science, 7, no. 2 (1996): 158. 18 S. Fox, P. E. Spector and D. Miles, "Counterproductive Work Behaviour (CWB) In Response to Job Stressors and Organisational Justice: Some Mediator and Moderator Tests for Autonomy and Emotions," Journal of Vocational Behaviour, 59, no. 3(2001): 298.