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http://journals.sfu.ca/abr  ADVANCES IN BUSINESS RESEARCH 
2015, Volume 6, pages 32-45 

 

 

 32 

The Contribution of Workplace Spirituality to 
Organizational Citizenship Behavior  

Peerayuth Charoensukmongkol 
National Institute of Development Administration, Thailand 

Jose-Luis Daniel 
Saint Xavier University 

Ruth Chatelain-Jardon 
Texas A&M University - Kingsville 

This study explores the role of workplace spirituality on organizational citizenship behaviors.  
All three aspects of workplace spirituality (sense of community, meaningful work, and inner 
life) were expected to positively associate with organizational citizenship behaviors towards 
individual and organization. Undergraduate and graduate students from two public 
universities in south Texas (n=179) were surveyed using a self-administered questionnaire 
survey.  The results from partial least square regression analysis revealed that all three aspects 
of workplace spirituality positively and significantly associate with organizational citizenship 
behavior towards individual and organizational citizenship behavior towards organization. 

Keywords: Workplace spirituality, organizational citizenship behaviors, motivation, work 
climate, partial least square regression 

 

Introduction 
 

 In today’s business environment characterized by fierce competition, a strong commitment 
from employees is a critical factor that can significantly help an organization compete effectively vis-
à-vis its competitors, as well as to achieve superior performance in the marketplace (Meyer et al, 
2004). Among the various factors that motivate employees to make contributions to the 
organization, organizational citizenship behavior [OCB] is a concept that has been studied 
extensively in research.  Studies have found that OCB is linked positively to a variety of 
organizational outcomes (Ozer, 2011; Podsakoff et al, 2009).  In particular, scholars have argued that 
OCB is a crucial factor during organizational change and uncertainty because when effectively 
planning organizational resource allocation in advance is very difficult (Organ, 1988, 1990). 
 Taking into consideration the benefits that OCB could provide to the organization, this 
study proposes some workplace conditions (or a workplace condition) that lead to the development 
of OCB. In particular, the role of workplace spirituality is the focus of this research.  In the 
literature, numerous scholars have written about the contributions and implications of workplace 
spirituality on individual outcomes (Giacalone & Jurkiewicz, 2003; Sheep, 2006). Although the 
relationship of workplace spirituality and OCB has been studied previously (Kazemipour et al, 2012; 
Tepper, 2003), the literature is incomplete.  For example, Tepper (2003) presented a model in which 
individual spirituality indirectly affects OCB through three psychological states: gratefulness, 
sensitivity to the needs, and tolerance for inequity.  However, Tepper (2003) focused mainly on how 
individual spirituality is related to OCB.   



  Charoensukmongkol et al. 

 33

 This article describes an empirical research focusing on workplace spirituality [WS] as an 
element of the organizational culture.  More specifically, we propose that inner life, sense of 
community, and meaningful work are elements presented in the organizational culture and may have 
an effect on OCB.  Therefore, this article aims to make a contribution to the research in workplace 
spirituality by providing some empirical evidence that would strengthen its importance.  Given the 
benefits that workplace spirituality could provide to a community at work, it is possible that the 
organization would significantly encourage the establishment of the former for the employees to 
perform OCB to their organization and other coworkers.   
 The paper is organized as follows:  First, the theoretical foundation, definitions, and linkage 
of both constructs are explained.  The next section focused on this issue.  Then, information about 
the methodology, including the samples, measures, and estimation technique used for the analysis.  
Then the results are presented.  Finally, results are discussed, and implications of the study are 
suggested. 
  

Literature Review 
 
 This section reviews and synthesizes the literature and presents the numerous hypotheses for 
study. 
 
Organizational Citizenship Behavior (OCB) 
 Organizational citizenship behavior (OCB) can be described as the employee behaviors that 
serve to promote the efficient and effective functioning of the organization, and these behaviors are 
not directly or explicitly stimulated by the formal organizational reward system (Graham, 1991; 
Organ & Ryan, 1995). Theoretically, the concept of OCB is based on the social exchange theory 
(Blau, 1964). According to Lavelle et al. (2009, p. 340), social exchange relationship can be described 
as “subjective, relationship-oriented contracts between employers and employees characterized by a 
mutual exchange of socio-emotional benefits.” In general, OCB reflects the willingness of the 
employees to devote themselves to the organization beyond their in-role duty (Moorman & Harland, 
2002). Unlike economic exchange, which is bounded by tangible and short-term rewards, social 
exchange is initiated based on the quality of trust and goodwill that two parties have toward each 
other (Kacmar et al, 2012). Research also shows that attitudinal factors such as affective 
commitment, perceived support, and fairness are key factors that would motivate employees to exert 
extra contribution (or effort) to the organization (Restubog et al, 2008).  In this regard, the positive 
relationship that the employees develop with their organization over a period of time is one of the 
main conditions for OCB (Organ & Ryan, 1995), and this relationship appears to be significant 
regardless of the length of time they have worked for the organization, as stated in the study of 
Moorman and Harland (2002), which found that the relationship is significant even for temporary 
employees who do not have a long working history with an organization. 
 OCB has two main conceptualizations. The original conceptualization of OCB was 
proposed by Organ (1988), who defined OCB as a five-factor model consisting of altruism, courtesy, 
conscientiousness, civic virtue, and sportsmanship. The model was later expanded by incorporating 
two additional dimensions: peacekeeping and cheerleading (Organ, 1990). The second 
conceptualization, which is the model employed in this study, was proposed by Williams and 
Anderson (1991). This concept categorizes OCB based on the target of the behavior; in particular, 
behaviors aimed for the benefit of the organization are termed OCBO, whereas behaviors aimed for 
the benefit of other individuals are termed OCBI. Williams and Anderson’s (1991) conceptualization 
of OCB is also found to cover Organ’s (1988) seven dimensions; specifically, whereas OCBI 



WORKPLACE SPIRITUALITY & ORGANIZATIONAL CITIZENSHIP BEHAVIOR 

 34

captures the altruism, courtesy, peacekeeping, and cheerleading aspects of Organ’s (1988) 
dimensions, OCBO captures the compliance, civic virtue, and sportsmanship dimensions. 
 
Workplace Spirituality 
 The workplace spirituality movement can be understood as the result of a humanistic 
approach that was initiated many years ago (Harrington et al, 2001; Steele & Bullock, 2009). 
Motivation theories based on this humanistic approach have gained resonance in organizational 
behavioral research, starting with the Hawthorne studies of Mayo (1933) and Maslow (1954), which 
gave importance to the needs and motivations of employees, up to the studies of Melé (2003) and 
Daniel (2010), who pointed out the incorporation of humanistic elements in the organizational 
theory field, as well as in the culture of the organization. 
 Workplace spirituality can be defined as “the recognition that employees have an inner life 
that nourishes and is nourished by meaningful work that takes place in the context of community” 
(Ashmos & Duchon, 2000, p. 137). Ashmos and Duchon (2000) highlighted that workplace 
spirituality encompasses three dimensions: sense of community, meaningful work, and inner life. 
They noted that the first dimension is as regards the connection that the employee has with other 
human beings in the workplace, the second dimension is about conducting activities at work that 
give meaning to the person’s life, and the third one is concerning the understanding of one’s power 
and its use in the workplace (Ashmos & Duchon, 2000). 
 Before proceeding, workplace spirituality and religion must be differentiated. In particular, 
Duchon and Plowman (2005) noted that religion is about an organized belief system, whereas 
workplace spirituality is more about finding meaning and community in the workplace. Marques 
(2007) compared the characteristics of workplace spirituality with religion. One important aspect 
that was mentioned is that workplace spirituality is about having an experience of connectedness and 
being part of a work environment that promotes satisfaction and meaning. In addition, religion is 
more about established beliefs. Following Marques (2007), this article views workplace spirituality as 
an element of the organizational culture that affects employees and their behaviors.  
 In research, workplace spirituality has been found to contribute positively to some individual 
outcomes. Kolodinsky et al. (2003) noted that this contribution can be understood as a person-
organization fit (P-O fit), which is defined as “judgments of congruence between an employee’s 
personal values and an organizational culture” (Cable & DuRue, 2002, p. 875). Kolodinsky et al. 
(2008) stated that when a strong fit exists between the employee’s values and the organization’s 
values, a positive relationship with individual outcomes will be seen. For instance, Milliman et al. 
(2003) reported that workplace spirituality dimensions are not only positively related to 
organizational commitment but also negatively related to the intension to quit.  In addition, Robert 
et al. (2006) found a positive and significant relationship between workplace spirituality and job 
satisfaction. 
 
Workplace Spirituality and Organizational Citizenship Behavior 
 The first dimension of workplace spirituality, sense of community, could be considered a key 
factor that encourages employees to perform both OCBI and OCBO. As mentioned earlier, sense of 
community is about working in a place where employees can feel that there is a strong connection 
among the coworkers (Ashmos & Duchon, 2000). From this definition, employees with a high sense 
of community are more likely to demonstrate prosocial behavior, which is the willingness to help, 
protect, or promote the welfare of others (Schwartz & Bilsky, 1990).  Therefore, this prosocial 
behavior that employees have in their workplace can motivate them to make discretionary 
contributions to help their coworker and the organization beyond their regular responsibilities (Li et 
al., 2010).  Also, Manion and Bartholomew (2004) noted that when a sense of community exists in a 



  Charoensukmongkol et al. 

 35

workplace, individuals and groups will be characterized by inclusivity, commitment of the members, 
the ability to form consensus, a sense of realism, a contemplative nature, and a sense of safety.  
According to them, these characteristics will help create the environment of mutual trust that 
encourages employees to devote themselves to help other employees and the organization.  
Therefore: 
 

Hypothesis 1a: Sense of community will positively lead to higher OCBI. 
Hypothesis 1b: Sense of community will positively lead to higher OCBO. 
 

 Meaningful work, the second dimension of workplace spirituality, is a condition that 
motivates employees to perform both types of OCB.  First, since OCB is driven by positive attitude 
that employees develop about their job (Moorman & Harland, 2002), employees who perceive that 
their job is meaningful to them are likely to be more willing to devote themselves to their work and 
organization. In particular, the meaning that people perceive about their job makes them feel 
connected to their work environment. When employees feel connected to their work, they will 
contribute more to their jobs because they tend to develop emotional attachment to them (Van 
Dyne & Pierce, 2004). This view can be explained by the psychological ownership theory, which 
suggests that people tend to attach to any target when they identify strongly with it (Pierce et al, 
2003); the target, according to the theory, can be an object, an individual, a group, or an entire 
organization (Avey et al, 2009). The more people invest in a relationship with a target, the stronger is 
the sense of obligation that they feel to protect and promote their welfare (Weinstein & Ryan, 2010).  
Accordingly, employees who perceive their job as meaningful are more willing to devote themselves 
to help other people in their workplace organization.  Therefore: 
 

Hypothesis 2a: Meaningful work will positively lead to higher OCBI. 
Hypothesis 2b: Meaningful work will positively lead to higher OCBO. 
 

 Finally, the inner life aspect of workplace spirituality could also be considered a predictor of 
both OCBI and OCBO. Inner life can be defined as “the feeling that individuals have about who 
they are, what they are doing, and what contributions they make (Vaill, 1998, p.218). Ashmos and 
Duchon (2000) noted that when an employee has the opportunity to express his/her inner life, this 
could bring beneficial consequences to the workgroup and the organization. From a theoretical 
standpoint, the link between inner life and OCB can be supported by the self-concept theory 
(Shamir, 1991), which suggests that a job tends to become a motivation for the employee when there 
is a congruence between the employee’s inner life and the work itself. Specifically, Shamir (1991) 
stated that when this match exists, employees will be more attached to the organization; the 
attachment that employees develop toward their workplace is, in turn, congruent with the 
psychological ownership theory. Thus, employees who perceive a strong connection between their 
inner life and their workplace are possibly more likely to perform OCB. Lastly, a study by Konovsky 
and Organ (1996) on the role of personality traits and the propensity for OBC found that 
conscientiousness, one of the big five personality traits, appeared to be a good predictor of OCB.  
Conscientiousness is a dispositional feature that reflects the level of self-discipline, thoroughness, 
vigilance, and deliberation.  This dispositional characteristic is strongly related to the inner life aspect 
of workplace spirituality (Vaill, 1998).  Therefore: 
 

Hypothesis 3a: Inner life will positively lead to higher OCBI. 
Hypothesis 3b: Inner life will positively lead to higher OCBO. 



WORKPLACE SPIRITUALITY & ORGANIZATIONAL CITIZENSHIP BEHAVIOR 

 36

Methodology 
 
This section describes the samples, measures, and estimating technique used in the study. 
Samples 
 The subjects of this study are undergraduate and graduate students from two public 
universities in South Texas who have been working for an organization. Participation in the study 
was optional; however, the students who agreed to participate were given extra class credit.  In total, 
there were 178 students who agreed to participate. Data were collected using a self-administered 
questionnaire. The sample’s statistics are as follows: Regarding gender, there were 89 males and 89 
females. The mean age was 27 years old (s.d.=9.81). On the subject of education, 71 of the 
participants had high school diploma (40%), 44 held an associate degree (25%), 45 held a bachelor’s 
degree (25%), and 18 held a graduate degree (10%). Concerning marital status, 140 were single 
(79%) and 38 reported to be married (21%). On the topic of race, the majority of the participants 
were Hispanic (76%), followed by Caucasian/white (16.9%), black/African American (3.9%), and 
Asian (2.8%).  About job experience, the average job tenure was 3 years (s.d.=2.1), and the average 
duration that participants have worked for their current supervisor was 4 years (s.d.=2.62). 
 
Measures 
 This study employs the measure of workplace spirituality developed by Ashmos and Duchon 
(2000). This measure comprises three subscales corresponding to the three workplace spirituality 
dimensions: sense of community (9 items), meaningful work (7 items), and inner life (5 items). 
Examples of the items for sense of community are “I feel part of a community in my immediate workplace” 
and “At work, we work together to resolve conflict in a positive way.” Examples of the items for meaningful 
work are “My spirit is energized by my work” and “The work I do is connected to what I think is important in 
life.” Examples of the items for inner life are “My spiritual values influence the choices I make” and “I 
consider myself a spiritual person.” The subscales use a 5-point Likert-type scale (1 = strongly disagree, 5 
= strongly agree). 
 For the measure of OCB, the authors utilize the scale developed by Williams and Anderson 
(1991). The scale comprises 10 items: 7 items belong to OCBI, and 7 items belong to OCBO (either 
they are 14 items or which one has 3). These items use a 5-point Likert-type scale (1 = strongly 
disagree, 5 = strongly agree). Examples of the items for OCBI are “I help others who have been absent” 
and “I willingly give my time to help others who have work-related problems.” Examples of the items for 
OCBO are “I defend the organization when other employees criticize it” and “I take action to protect the 
organization from potential problems.” 
 In addition to the key independent variables, a set of control variables that might affect OCB 
were included. These control variables are age, gender, marital status, education, job tenure, and the 
duration that participants have worked for their current supervisor. Since the majority of the 
participants are Hispanic, a dummy variable for Hispanic/non-Hispanic was included to control for 
race (1=Hispanic; 0=non-Hispanic). 
 
Estimating Technique 
 Partial least square (PLS) regression was the statistical technique employed to analyze the 
data. PLS is a technique that combines principal component analysis, path analysis, and a set of 
regressions to generate estimates of standardized regression coefficients for the model’s paths and 
factor loadings for the measurement items (Chin, 1998). PLS offers more flexibility over variance-
based structural equation modeling technique since it does not require data to be normally 



  Charoensukmongkol et al. 

 37

distributed (Chin, 1998). Furthermore, it requires smaller sample size for the analysis (Kline, 2005).  
PLS analysis was performed using WarpPLS 3.0 (Kock, 2012). 
 

Results 
 

This section presents the results, including those related to model assessment, and hypothesis tests. 
 
Model Assessment 

Before the PLS model was estimated, the tests for reliability and validity of all latent variables 
were conducted.  First, two types of construct validity were considered: convergent validity and 
discriminant validity.  The objective of convergent validity is to ensure that all indicators belonging 
to the same construct share high variation with one another (Chin, 1998); this type of validity was 
checked through factor loadings. Hair et al. (2009) recommended a minimum of .5. As a 
consequence, indicators with factor loading below that level (1 item from sense of community, 2 
items from meaningful work, and 1 item from inner life) were removed from the analysis. The 
results after the removal of the weak-loading indicators suggested that all the remaining indicators 
shared a high variation among themselves. Next, discriminant validity test was performed to ensure 
that all indicators belonging to the same construct did not share high variation with other latent 
variables (Chin, 1998); this kind of validity was assessed with the average variance extracted (AVE).  
Fornell and Larcker (1981) suggested that the square root of the AVE must be greater than any of 
the correlations involving the latent variable. Overall, the AVE for each construct met this 
requirement for all latent variables. 
 Second, construct reliability test was conducted to ensure that a scale consistently yielded the 
same response (Nunnally, 1978). Construct reliability was determined by Cronbach’s alpha (α) 
coefficient and composite reliability coefficient. A minimum recommended value for Cronbach’s 
alpha coefficient and composite reliability coefficient is .7 (Chin, 1998; Fornell & Larcker, 1981).  
The results showed that all coefficients were above the recommended value.  Construct reliability 
indicators are reported in Table 1.  AVEs are reported in Table 2. 
 
 
Table 1: Construct reliability indicators 

 

Sense of  

community 

Meaningful  

work 

Inner  

life 
OCBI OCBO 

Cronbach’s alpha (α) 

coefficient 

.888 .898 .868 .889 .916 

composite reliability 

coefficient 

.911 .925 .910 .912 .933 

Note: OCBI = organizational citizenship behavior toward individual, OCBO = organizational citizenship behavior 

toward organization 

 
Table 2 also reports the correlations among key variables. To ensure that multicollinearity is not a 
major concern for the analysis, the variance inflation factor (VIF) was calculated. In particular, the 
full collinearity VIF test, which allows a researcher to assess vertical and lateral collinearity 
simultaneously, was calculated in WarpPLS 3.0. As suggested by Petter et al. (2007), the full VIF 
value should be lower than 3.3. In addition, Kock and Lynn (2012) argued that the full collinearity 
test can serve as a technique that captures the possibility of common method variance (Lindell &   



WORKPLACE SPIRITUALITY & ORGANIZATIONAL CITIZENSHIP BEHAVIOR 

 38

Table 2: Correlations among variables and average variance extracted (AVEs) 

 SC MW IL OCBI OCBO AGE GEN MAR EDU HISP TENU SYEAR 

SC (0.751)            

MW 0.743** (0.843)           

IL 0.275** 0.393** (0.847)          

OCBI 0.493** 0.515** 0.471** (0.752)         

OCBO 0.642** 0.712** 0.370** 0.686** (0.799)        

AGE 0.078 0.016 -0.120 -0.026 -0.024 (1.000)       

GEN -0.054 0.107 0.055 -0.023 0.011 -0.133 (1.000)      

MAR 0.131 0.136 -0.025 0.039 0.101 -0.112 0.008 (1.000)     

EDU 0.110 0.048 0.046 0.040 -0.032 -0.069 -0.326** 0.097 (1.000)    

HISP -0.083 -0.098 0.096 0.020 -0.040 0.074 0.005 -0.736** -0.082 (1.000)   

TENU -0.101 -0.041 -0.035 0.037 0.003 -0.136 0.246** -0.073 -0.368** 0.061 (1.000)  

SYEAR -0.010 0.004 -0.040 -0.003 0.027 -0.039 0.141 0.027 -0.025 0.105 0.212** (1.000) 

Notes: **, * indicates significant at 1% and 5% respectively 

            AVEs are in parentheses 

            SC=sense of community, MW=meaningful work, IL=inner life,  

            OCBI = organizational citizenship behavior toward individual, OCBO = organizational citizenship behavior toward organization,  

            AGE=age, GEN=gender, MAR=married, EDU=education, HISP=Hispanic, TENU=job tenure, SYEAR=number of years with current supervisor 

 

 

 



 

 
 

39

Whitney, 2001) in the PLS model. According to them, the full collinearity VIF test may be seen as a 
variance-based SEM similar to the common method bias test used in covariance-based SEM (Kock 
& Lynn, 2012). They suggested that common method bias can be a serious issue if the full VIF value 
is higher than 3.3. In this study, the test result suggested that all of the full VIF values ranged from 
1.112 to 3.136, which are considerably lower than the critical value.   
 
Test of Hypotheses 

The results of the PLS analysis are reported in Figure 1.  The standardized coefficients were 
calculated using bootstrapping resampling technique (Efron, 1979).  This study used a resampling 
procedure with 100 subsamples as recommended by Efron et al.  (2004). 
 

 

 

 

 

 

H3b 

.108* 

 H2a 

.216** 

 H1a 

.251** 

 H1b 

.259*** 

 H3a 

.320*** 

 H2b 

.491*** 

IL 

SC 

MW 

OCBI 

OCBO 

Control variables:  

- Age,  

- Gender,  

- Education,  

- Marital status,  

- Race (Hispanic),  

- Job tenure,  

- Number of years with   

  current supervisor 

Figure 1: PLS results 

Notes: ***, **, * indicate significant at 0.1%, 1%, and 5% respectively 

            SC=sense of community, MW=meaningful work, IL=inner life 

            OCBI=organizational citizenship behavior toward individual, 

            OCBO=organizational citizenship behavior toward organization, 

             

R
2
 = .395 

R
2
 = .567 



MANAGEMENT THEORY’S IMPACT ON EXTERNAL FINANCIAL REPORTING 

40 
 

For the contribution of sense of community on OCB, the results show that this aspect of workplace 

spirituality associates positively and strongly with OCBI (β=.251; p=0.007) and OCBO (β=.259; 
p<0.001). Therefore, hypothesis 1a is supported at less than the 1% level, and hypothesis 1b is 
strongly supported at a level lower than 0.1%. For the contribution of meaningful work to OCB, the 
results indicate that this aspect of workplace spirituality positively and significantly relates to OCBI 

(β=.216; p=0.018) and OCBO (β=.491; p<0.001). Thus, hypothesis 2a is supported at a level lower 
than 1%, and hypothesis 2b is strongly supported at less than the 0.1% level. Finally, for the 
contribution of inner life on OCB, the results also show that this aspect of workplace spirituality 
associates positively and strongly with OCBI (β=.320; p<0.001) and OCBO (β=.108; p<0.035). 
Thus, hypothesis 3a is strongly supported at less than the 0.1% level, whereas hypothesis 3b is 
supported at a level lower than 5%. 

For control variables, the results only show that gender and education are significantly 

associated with OCBO. Specifically, male participants tend to develop lower OCBO (β=-.087; 
p=.05). The level of education was also associated negatively with OCBO (β=-.113; p=.015): the 
lower the educational level, the lower the likelihood that they would develop OCBO. 
 

Discussion and Conclusion 
 
This study proposed a contribution of the workplace spirituality dimensions to OCBI and OCBO.  
The results of the PLS regression analysis revealed a positive effect that each dimension of 
workplace spirituality (sense of community, meaningful work, and inner life) has on both OCBI and 
OCBO.  Specifically, the authors found that all the three dimensions of workplace spirituality 
associated positively with both OCBO and OCBI.  Overall, these results supported the prior 
predictions about the linkages. 
 The results of this study offer an extra contribution to the existing literature.  First, the 
findings provide an additional insight about a workplace condition that can enhance employee OCB.  
Discovering new antecedents of employee OCB is important since it helps researchers and 
practitioners identify key factors that can stimulate this positive behavior. Previous studies on the 
determinants of OCB tend to focus on factors such as dispositional traits, job characteristics, and 
workplace environment (Konovsky & Organ, 1996; Lavelle et al, 2009; Restubog et al, 2008). On the 
other hand, in this study, workplace spirituality has been proven as another work condition that 
encourages employees to make extra contributions to the organization beyond their predefined 
responsibilities. Consistent with research related to psychological ownership (Avey et al, 2009; Pierce 
et al, 2003), this study has confirmed that employees who are able to align their spiritual self with 
their work community and organization are more likely to develop emotional attachment to their 
workplace, thereby motivating them to express OCB to both their coworkers and the organization. 
Furthermore, since workplace spirituality is a new concept that still needs more empirical support, 
this study also makes contribution to research in this area. 
 The results of this research can provide guidance for organizations that would like to create 
or boost employees’ commitment to the firm and their coworkers. Since OCB is considered a crucial 
behavior that contributes significantly to higher organizational performance (Podsakoff et al, 2009), 
the ability of the organization to promote OCB can provide tremendous benefit to their 
performance, especially in today’s business environment characterized by fierce competition and 
high uncertainty. As a result, the results suggest that the creation or improvement of workplace 
spirituality within the company can be one solution to achieve this objective. 
 



  Charoensukmongkol et al. 

41 

 

 Several authors have suggested that organizational leaders are the key people who can create 
some workplace policies to enhance the sense of spirituality at work. For instance, Marques (2005) 
proposed some organizational activities that include (1) helping employees connect with nature by 
bringing in natural features (such as plants) to the workplace, (2) holding outdoor meetings when 
possible, (3) allowing staff to take exercise breaks to promote physical and spiritual wellness, (4) 
holding frequent company celebrations to acknowledge milestones and achievements, (5) honoring 
creative expression by decorating the workplace with employee-made art, (6) holding meetings in the 
round, thereby creating feelings of egalitarianism, and (7) encouraging employees to get to know 
each other better. Another possible way to establish spirituality in the workplace is through the 
mission statement of the company. The organization can create a mission statement that reflects 
positive values, that is friendly, and from which individuals can feel pride (Konz & Ryan, 1999; 
Milliman et al., 1999).  Bartkus and Glassman (2008) noted that mission statements can function as 
guidance to direct behaviors and decisions of employees. Thus, the organizations has the 
responsibility to ensure that all employees adopt, breathe, and make the mission a daily life 
experience. Bart (1999) stated that organizations can use several ways of disseminating the mission 
statement to their employees. He mentioned that annual reports, posters, plaques, employee 
manuals, newsletter, meetings, and training sessions can be used for this purpose. The other possible 
ways to create or improve workplace spirituality can be performed by giving more freedom to 
employees in personalizing their cubicles, painting walls in bright colors, displaying spiritual 
messages, and providing 30 minutes of meditation (Finlayson, 2001). Milliman et al. (1999) also 
pointed out that a celebration for new employees and humorous trainings are conducted for building 
a supportive and positive climate that can promote spirituality. In addition, Caudron (2001) 
mentioned that flexible working hours and allowing employees to bring pets to work could be some 
of the other practices that promote this climate. 
 This research has several implications. Generally, as employees are expected by an 
organization to make extra contribution to their work, the organization should reciprocate by giving 
proper treatment or motivation. By incorporating or creating workplace spirituality, either by 
management practices or through their mission statement, employees will have an opportunity to 
work within an organizational climate characterized by positive values. This type of organizational 
climate can subsequently enhance the willingness of employees to make a strong commitment to 
their tasks and responsibilities (Zhang & Jia, 2010). Research has demonstrated that organizations in 
which workplace spirituality is evident tend to possess high values such as integrity, justice, 
mutuality, responsibility, and trust (Jurkiewicz & Giacalone, 2004). In fact, promoting a sense of 
spirituality in the workplace not only benefits an organization but also promotes employees’ well-
being. Although the effect of workplace spirituality on employees’ well-being is not tested in this 
research, several studies have remarked the relationship of both constructs For example, Kolodinsky 
et al (2008) found that workplace spirituality tends to lower employees’ frustration at work. In 
addition, if employees experience friendly, supportive, and respectful environment in their 
workplace, they are more likely to reciprocate by behaving in the same manner toward their 
colleagues. This will create a cooperative and warm working atmosphere, which is suggested in 
research as a factor that can lower stress and promote the psychological well-being of employees 
(Lawrence & Callan, 2011). 
 Despite the significant contributions that the study has provided, there are several limitations 
that need to be considered. First, the data was collected from participants from two universities in 
South Texas; also, the majority of the participants are Hispanic. These sampling issues can limit the 
generalized power of the results. Therefore, future research should explore the benefits of workplace 
spirituality on OCB using participants from a different context. Second, this study employed the 
self-reported data collection method, which could make some of the results affected by common 



MANAGEMENT THEORY’S IMPACT ON EXTERNAL FINANCIAL REPORTING 

42 
 

method bias problem. Even though the full collinearly VIF test, a technique recommended by Kock 
and Lynn (2012) to detect common method bias in PLS analysis, revealed that the results were lower 
than the critical value, this may not completely rule out the possibility of the common method bias 
issue. 
 In conclusion, the present study proposed that workplace spirituality could be considered a 
key antecedent to develop employee OCB.  Empirical results also support the positive effect of the 
three workplace spirituality dimensions on OCBI and OCBO.  In general, the results highlight the 
importance of organizational leaders creating a work climate that enhances employee spirituality at 
work to encourage employees to perform OCB. 
  

References 
 

Ashmos, D., & Duchon, D. (2000). Spirituality at work: conceptualization and measure. Journal of 
Management Inquiry, 9(2), 134-145.  

Avey, J. B., Avolio, B. J., Crossley, C. D., & Luthans, F. (2009). Psychological ownership: theoretical 
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Peerayuth Charoensukmongkol is an instructor at the International College of National Institute 

of Development Administration.  He received his Ph.D. in international usiness with a concentration in 

management from Texas A&M International University.  His research interests are organizational behaviors, 

managerial psychology, leadership, and strategic management.  

Jose-Luis Daniel is an assistant professor of international business at the Graham School of Business, 

Saint Xavier University in Chicago, IL. He received his Ph.D. in international business with a concentration in 

management from Texas A&M International University. He has an M.B.A. in international business from 

Texas A&M International University. He also has a bachelor’s of science in chemical engineering from 

Monterrey Institute of Technology.  His research interests are workplace spirituality, leadership, strategic 

management, subcultures, and foreign direct investment. 

Ruth Chatelain-Jardon is an assistant professor in the Department of Management and Marketing at 

Texas A&M University Kingsville. She holds degrees in international trade (B.B.A. & M.B.A.), international 

logistic (M.S.), management information systems (M.S.) and international business (Ph.D.). Her research 

interests include learning improvement, organizational behavior, knowledge transfer, e-collaboration, logistic 

and culture. 

 

 

 

   


