Prelims

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Spirituality Management in the Workplace

Title Page

Spirituality Management in the Workplace: New Strategies and Approaches

Edited by

Fahri Özsungur

Mersin University, Turkey

And

Fevziye Bekar

Gümüşhane University, Turkey

United Kingdom – North America – Japan – India – Malaysia – China

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Emerald Publishing Limited

Emerald Publishing, Floor 5, Northspring, 21-23 Wellington Street, Leeds LS1 4DL

First edition 2024

Editorial matter and selection © 2024 Fahri Özsungur and Fevziye Bekar.

Individual chapters © 2024 The authors.

Published under exclusive licence by Emerald Publishing Limited.

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ISBN: 978-1-83753-451-7 (Print)

ISBN: 978-1-83753-450-0 (Online)

ISBN: 978-1-83753-452-4 (Epub)

List of Figures and Tables

About the Contributors

Furkan Arasli is a passionate educator who thrives on global collaborations. He is enroute for the completion of his doctoral degree and serves the Horst Schulze School of Hospitality Management with his teaching and research related roles. He is the holder of MS in Tourism Management and BSc in Tourism and Hospitality Management. His research interests are in the areas of organizational behavior, consumer behavior, sustainability, tourism, and hospitality education.

Hasan Evrim Arici is an Assistant Professor at the Faculty of Tourism, Kastamonu University and also works as a Lecturer in the EU Business School Munich. His current research interests include leadership and organizational behaviors in the hospitality industry. His work has been published in international top-tier journals, such as the International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management and The Service Industries Journal.

Huseyin Arasli is a Professor of Management with research interests on human resource management, leadership, service quality, and business excellence in tourism and hospitality organizations. He has a keen interest to discover about the strategic management of organizations and cultures worldwide where his path as a senior scholar led him to University of Stavanger, Norway. Since his welcoming in the year of 2019, he had the opportunity to collaborate with Nordic and global researchers to contribute to 25+ papers.

Caner Asbaş is the Founder and CEO of Hamle RF Elektrik ve Elektronik A.Ş. which is a company operating in defense, telecommunication, and avionics areas. He received his undergraduate and MSc degrees from İhsan Doğramacı Bilkent University in Electrical and Electronics Engineering. He also has undergraduate degrees in International Relations, Sociology, and Public Finance from Anadolu University. He is proficient in C, C++, C#, Java, MSSQL, and Python programming languages. Asbaş continues his PhD education in Management at Atılım University. His research focuses on social networks and implementation of artificial intelligence methods to social networks.

Mustafa Özgün Atalay is a PhD candidate and a research assistant at Karadeniz Technical University in Turkey. Employee well-being, workplace burnout, organizational trust, organizational justice, whistleblowing, organizational commitment, job satisfaction, organizational identification, power distance, and passive-aggressive behaviors in the workplace are among his research interests. Currently, he is working on a project that examines cyber emotions.

Fevziye Bekar, who completed her BA and MA at Karadeniz Technical University and her PhD at Gümüşhane University, is currently studying at Gümüşhane University, Şiran Dursun Keleş Health Services Vocational School. Bekar researches spirituality in the workplace, proactive behavior, thriving at work, work engagement, and the technology acceptance model. She gives lectures on human resources management, organizational behavior, communication, entrepreneurship, and digital literacy in health institutions.

Franklin Roberto Quishpi Choto is a researcher at the Rovira I Virgili University, Tarragona, Spain, at city, Territory and sustainable planning program; Territorial Dynamics and sociodemographic transformations research line; Urban anthropology; Rural-urban relations and Indigenous peoples. He is an adjunct researcher at the National University of Chimborazo and Professor of the UTEQ, UNEMI, and UNACH postgraduate program, coordinator of the Dayuma scientific station in Waorani territory. Among his publications are Study to design a meteorological monitoring system for early warning in the Arajuno canton, Pastaza Province, From the rural to the urban in Ecuador, Analysis of the education of the Waorani population and its global threats in Nuevo Amanecer, and Shell (Ecuador) Analysis of the education of the Waorani population and its global threats.

Kübra Şimşek Demirbağ is an Assistant Professor of Management and Information Systems at the Faculty of Economics and Administrative Sciences, Gumushane University. She received both her MSc and PhD in Management Engineering from Istanbul Technical University. Her primary research interests lie in management information systems, innovation management, technology management, the future of work, entrepreneurship, and strategic management. Her research has appeared in Personnel Review, Central European Management Journal, International Journal of Technology, Policy and Management, Ankara University SBF Journal, and so on.

Esra Sipahi Döngül graduated from Istanbul Gelisim University Business Administration Doctorate Program. Her expert areas are management, business, corporate social responsibility, HRM, entrepreneurship, and organization. She has a strong background in research activities in management and organization areas. She has many published articles in the field and has also attended and presented at numerous international conferences. She is an Associate Editor of Heliyon/Elsevier SSCI indexed journal. Also she has good skills at meta-analysis, Artificial Intelligence Applications, statistical analysis, and administrative applications. Her brilliant personal strengths are extremely self-motivated. She is currently working at the Aksaray University, Turkey.

Hazel Ceren Erkengel, PhD candidate, is a research assistant at Karadeniz Technical University's Department of Management Information Systems in Turkey. Her research interests include decision support systems architecture designing to allow the organization of doctoral programs in line with the demands of universities, public institutions, R&D centers, and private sectors and machine learning algorithms, to evaluate the advancements of information and communication technologies.

Yücel Erol is an Associate Professor of business administration at Tokat Gaziosmanpaşa University. He completed his undergraduate education at Karadeniz Technical University, Faculty of Economics and Administrative Sciences, Department of Business Administration, his Master's degree at Sivas Cumhuriyet University, and his doctorate at Gebze Institute of Technology. He has written international and national journal articles, book chapters, and books on Management and Organization, Strategic Management, SMEs. His areas of interest are management, strategic management, entrepreneurship, and SMEs. Erol has worked as a manager, consultant, and trainer in various European Union projects. He takes place in the clustering program of the Ministry of Science, Industry and Technology and in the project evaluation board of KOSGEB (Turkish Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises Development Organization). He also teaches in pieces of training organized by various state and private sector institutions.

Danny Francisco Espín Rea holds Master’s of Science in Local Development (UNACH); Certified in Geographic Information Systems (European Postgraduate Center - Madrid); Bachelor’s in Science of Geographical Engineering and Sustainable Development (PUCE). He is a consultant in social management and development and information systems.

Arturo Luque González is a Full Professor at the Technical University of Manabí, Ecuador, member of Euro-Mediterranean Observatory on Public Policies and Democratic Quality at the Universidad Rey Juan Carlos (Spain), and Visiting Professor at the University of Rosario, Colombia. He holds a PhD in Social Sciences and Law and a Master of two years about Labor Relations. He supervises several doctoral theses (PhD) in Córdoba (Spain) and in the Basque Country (GEZKI Institute) like a director and co-director. He has 89 indexed articles and his latest publications includes topics about social economy (Market Economy and Good Living: Obstacles to Its Achievement in Orellana, Importance and Implications of Influential, Powerful, and Remarkable Economic Policy Mix: Pre-Pandemic and Post-Pandemic Challenges in Building Inclusive Global Knowledge Societies, and Analysis of Labor Reform During COVID-19: The Case of Ecuador); digitalization (Practicality, support or premeditated calculation in the digital age: the case of Ecuador); Globalization (Analysis of the concept of informal economy through 102 definitions: legality or necessity); corporate social (Ir)responsibility (How corporate social (ir)responsibility in the textile sector is defined, and its impact on ethical sustainability: An analysis of 133 concepts); transnational companies (The transnational textile companies relationship with environment: a Delphi analysis approach) and their relations with ethics (Corruption in the transnational textile industry: an exception or the rule?); social economy and cooperative system like economic alternative (Socially responsible public management: case spinning development in Ecuador); media analysis and social conflicts (Analysis of the indigenous uprising of Ecuador, 2019: between a measured legal response and lawfare, 2019); and sustainability (Public Strategy and Eco-Social Engagement in Latin American States: An Analysis of Complex Networks Arising from Their Constitutions).

Nimet Kalkan completed her Bachelor's degree at Ufuk University, both the departments of Business Administration and International Relations and Political Science as a student in a double major undergraduate program. Completing two undergraduate degrees with scholarships and first place, she started her professional life in the private sector. She has appointed as a research assistant at the Faculty of Economics and Administrative Sciences, Department of Business Administration at Karadeniz Technical University in 2015. She was a joint PhD student at the same university and completed the doctoral program in 2023. She is interested in strategic management, cross-border mergers and acquisitions, export policies, and ethics. She is working on Management and Organization Science and has done numerous research in the field.

Eda Kılıç is an independent scholar who was born in Eskişehir in 1983. She completed her primary and secondary education in Eskişehir. Then, she earned a Bachelor's degree from Department of Sociology, Faculty of Science and Literature, Uludağ University. She received her Master's and PhD degrees from Department of Labour Economics and Industrial Relationship, Institute of Social Science, Uludağ University. She was a columnist for a local newspaper. She writes on issues of, women in working life, gender inequality, motherhood and organizational commitment, and organizational alienation.

Gülşen Kirpik completed her doctorate at İnönü University, Institute of Social Sciences, Department of Business Administration and Organization in 2018. In December 2018, she was appointed as a Lecturer at Adıyaman University Faculty of Pharmacy, Department of Pharmacy Occupational Sciences, Department of Pharmacy Management. Since 2019, she has been working as the Head of the Department of Pharmacy Management at the Faculty of Pharmacy. She has many national and international papers, book chapters, and articles. She also acts as a referee in international journals and some journals registered in the ULAKBİM system. Her scientific specialties are related to management, organization, strategy, human resource management, and organizational behavior.

Muhammet Negiz received his Bachelor's degree in business administration from the Faculty of Economics and Administrative Sciences at Bursa Uludağ University in 2009. In 2010, he was granted a scholarship from the Russian Federation's Ministry of Education to study at the Faculty of Philology at Saint Petersburg State University. He received his Master's degree from Erzincan University (EBYU) in 2013 and is currently pursuing his PhD at the Institute of Social Sciences, Department of Business Administration, a joint program of EBYU and Atatürk University. He continues his academic studies as a research assistant at Karadeniz Technical University, Faculty of Economics and Administrative Sciences, Department of Business Administration and Organization in Turkey, after working as a research assistant at Erzincan University and assistant coordinator of Abai Center for Kazakh Language and Culture.

M. Ferhat Özbek, who completed her BA, MA, and PhD at Uludağ University, is currently studying at Gümüşhane University, Department of Human Resource Management, and Adjunct Professor at the Narendra Paul Loomba Department of Management at the Zicklin School of Business, Baruch College, New York. Ozbek's research interests are organizational culture, creativity, and work ethic.

Souji Gopalakrishna Pillai is a PhD Scholar pursuing his doctoral degree in hospitality management at Auburn University. He has a strong academic background, having previously obtained a PhD in Management. Souji's research interests are diverse, covering topics such as gastronomy, hospitality operations, organization behavior, human resource management, and hospitality technology. His works are published in journals such as the International Journal of Hospitality Management and Annals of Tourism. He has also served as a reviewer for academic papers submitted to international conferences and journals. Souji has held a range of positions in the hospitality academic sector.

Dr Sumbul Rafi, who completed her BA, MA, Post PG Diploma in HRM, and PhD from Aligarh Muslim University, is currently working as an Assistant Professor at Amity University Mumbai, India. She has previous publications related to mental health and stress in the digital workplace, workplace bullying, cyber war, and spirituality in the workplace and currently researching procrastination, microaggression, and proactive behavior. She takes lectures in well-being at the workplace, organizational behavior, human resource management, counseling, mentoring at the workplace and some on psychological disorders.

Parviz Rustamov Haji Oğlu graduated from the “Informatics and Management” faculty of the Azerbaijan State Institute of Economics in 1997–2001, and in 2001–2003 he graduated from the “Master's” faculty. On November 5, 2012, by the decision of the Higher Attestation Commission under the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan, he received the scientific degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Economics. Since 2013, he has been admitted to the doctoral program (full-time department) of the “Management” department of the Azerbaijan State University of Economics. His dissertation work was approved on “Interest-free financial markets and their management problems.”

Emine Başak Savaş completed her undergraduate education in Bursa Uludağ University, Faculty of Economics and Administrative Sciences, Department of Finance in 2001. She completed her Master's Program in 2008 that she started in 2006 at Dumlupınar University, Institute of Social Sciences, Department of Business Administration. She received her doctorate from Tokat Gaziosmanpaşa University, Institute of Social Sciences, Department of Business Administration, Management and Organization Science. In 2018, she completed her thesis titled “Mediating role of organizational justice perception on the effect of cronyism perception on job satisfaction in organizations.” She started her academic career as a Lecturer at Amasya University Merzifon Vocational School. She is currently an Assistant Professor in Merzifon Faculty of Economic and Administrative Sciences, Department of Aviation Management. She has scientific works in the fields of Organizational Behavior, Human Resources Management, and Business Administration.

Fatma Betül Şükür completed her undergraduate education in the Department of Business Administration at Karadeniz Technical University in 2016. She completed her Master's degree in the Department of Management and Organization at the same university in 2019. She is a PhD student at Karadeniz Technical University, Department of Business Administration. Her areas of interest are organizational behavior, strategic management, national culture, and migration. She is a Lecturer at the Vocational School of Justice at Bayburt University, Türkiye.

Perihan Şenel Tekin graduated from the Hacettepe University School of Health Administration in 2000. She completed her Master's degree in 2003 and her Doctorate in 2010 at the Hacettepe University Institute of Health Sciences, Department of Health Institutions Management. Between 2001 and 2004, Şenel Tekin worked as a Lecturer at Zonguldak Karaelmas University. In 2004, she began her teaching career at Ankara University and still continues as an Assistant Professor. She is the author of articles, books, and book chapters in the fields of healthcare management, healthcare organization management, management and organization, and organizational behavior.

Yusuf Erdem Tunç, PhD, is a research assistant, in the Department of Labor Law and Social Security Law at Karadeniz Technical University, Turkey. His research areas are on Labor Law, Social Security Law, Occupational Health and Safety Law, Collective Bargaining Law and Social Policy. His recent works have focused on family-friendly labor law practices, women in work and the effects of technology on work.

Şule Erdem Tuzlukaya is an Associate Professor at the Faculty of Management, Department of Management, Atılım University. Her research focuses on social networks, social capital, and complex systems. Her major publications include writings of book chapters and articles in management and organization fields. Dr Tuzlukaya received her MSc from the University of Northampton in Management Science and PhD in Management and Organization from the Başkent University. She teaches classes in organization theory and organizational behavior.

Shajara Ul-Durar is an Associate Professor in Management and Organisational Behaviour at the University of Sunderland, UK. The researcher is an emerging early career researcher with a PhD in Business Ethics. She is UN PRME SDGs Working Group's Regional Head/Chapter Lead for Pakistan. Shajara has experience leading Postgraduate and Undergraduate courses at several high-ranked Higher Education Institutes in the United Kingdom. She is the Projects' Lead of the Association of Physicians and Surgeons of the United Kingdom. She holds memberships of several professional bodies. She has won several research grants/projects including PRME and British Council and has published in high-profile international academic journals.

Tong Yin is an MBA holder and PhD student in hospitality management at Auburn University, USA. His research interests span marketing, management, tourism, and hospitality management. His research focuses on employee turnover, sustainable tourism, and pricing. He has blended academic and industry experience. Before joining the PhD program, he worked as a senior executive in the hospitality and high-tech sector and Lecturer for over 20 years in the United States, China, Australia, and Europe.

Preface

Spirituality in the workplace positively affects the psychological well-being of employees at work. It reduces the stress, depression, and anxiety of the employees; contributes to the increase in performance, job satisfaction, job commitment, and dedication to the workplace. Spirituality has an important regulatory effect on human psychology. This effect has a multifunctional structure on the behavior of the individual. Thus, individuals shape their perceptions along with their spiritual values and direct their behaviors. This situation triggers the psychological well-being and motivation factors of the employees. In addition, the development of psychological resilience and empathy has an important function in revealing the current position of the individual in working life. The differentiation of spirituality elements due to different demographic characteristics of individuals may cause each to reveal different behaviors in work life.

In recent years, especially as a result of the development of technology, moral values have begun to be integrated into information systems, robots, and machine learning processes. For this reason, revealing the factors affecting spirituality in the workplace is essential not only for individuals but also for the interaction of robots with employees, which are the elements of technology used in the workplace.

Influencing the employees by the leaders, guiding the employees in the processes in which the employees continue their activities, the interactions with the employees, the commitment of the employees to the organization, their performance, productivity, work culture, and their relations with their colleagues and managers are also affected by spiritual issues. This effect can be either positive or negative. The dark aspects of spirituality are called positive transcendence. It is essential to reveal what elements such as positive transcendence are, rather than the positive aspects of spirituality in the workplace.

The effect of psychology and spiritual processes, which are one of the most critical needs of today, on business life causes the formation of spirituality to come to the fore. In circumstances where power based on material elements is not enough, the issue of spirituality comes to the fore. In this book, based on current issues, the effect of spirituality in the workplace on employees is discussed, and what these effects are, how, and what situations they can cause.

In February 2023, during the preparation of this book, an earthquake occurred in Turkey that affected the lives of thousands of people. Due to the earthquake that has been faced, experience has been gained in many subjects, and the importance of the subject of spirituality has been experienced not theoretically but practically. The devastating effects of the earthquake on individuals were felt not only economically but also psychologically and spiritually. Employers faced complete economic bankruptcy and workers became unemployed. One of the first and most important steps to overcome such great destruction has been the cooperation of the public, private sector, and voluntary organizations. On the other hand, there have been countries that have not spared their moral support to these organizations, first of all, our Turkish people, and then around the world. Many people had to bury their loved ones first and then their property under the ground. Earthquake survivors currently survive, thanks to their moral values, and continue their work processes by trying to adapt to the rest of their loved ones. For this reason, we dedicate this book to tens of thousands of people who lost their lives in the earthquake and those who are left behind trying to hold on to life. Everyone knows that any society may face such adverse conditions one day. We have written this book with a high moral value, both by experiencing and considering all these negative situations. Therefore, we have seen once again how important the issue of spirituality is for us.

Finally, we hope that this book will be useful to all audiences and a crucial guide for all stakeholders in work life. We wish readers to feel this book and review it by noticing that there are scientifically different experiences and feelings in each word.

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