International Conference on Humanities, Economics and Geography (ICHEG'2012) March 17-18, 2012 Bangkok

Workplace Spirituality, Organizational

Emotional Ownership and Job Satisfaction as
Moderators in Coping with Job Stress
Piar Chand and Hemange Koul

outcome [4]-[5]. According to Clark-Murphy, 2010 the

Abstract—Paper explores the consequences of workplace person- environment approach suggest that for optimum
spirituality, organizational emotional ownership and job satisfaction productivity individual should be compatible with the
among IT (Information Technology) professionals of India. This environment[6].
study was designed with the objective to study workplace
The work environment include individual’s expectations
spirituality, organizational emotional ownership and job satisfaction
as predictors to cope up with job stress. A sample of 100 project and perceptions regarding workload , control over ones work,
managers (i.e. IT professionals) from the different organizations, tangible and intrinsic rewards of work , the relationship and
namely: Cognizant, Infosys and HCL was collected. Survey method sense of community among co-workers, perception of fairness
was used for the study. The analysis of the data had been done by in the workplace and role of personal and organizational
employing the techniques of Pearson’s product moment coefficient values[2]. If the fit between an individual and his environment
of correlation and step-wise multiple regression. Analysis of the data
is incompatible, the result is stress. Similarly the lack of fit
reveals that workplace spirituality, organizational emotional
ownership and job satisfaction are negatively correlated with job between demands placed on individual and their ability to
stress. We have also found that workplace spirituality emerged as the meet those demands can result in stress. The occupational
strongest predictor to cope up with job stress. stress meant negative environmental factors or stressors(e.g
work load, role conflict, ambiguity, poor working conditions
Keywords—Workplace spirituality, organizational emotional associated with a particular job[7]. It was also found that role
ownership and job satisfaction and Job stress. overload, role conflict and strenuous working conditions are
the strongest predictors of work stress [8].
I. INTRODUCTION In today’s competitive world, the workplace is becoming

S TRESS is an inevitable and unavoidable component of life

due to increasing complexities and competitiveness in
living standards. In the fast changing world of today, no
more and more demanding and thus, employees need to deal
with highly stressful situations. The forces of globalization
have substantially changed the nature and operation of the
individual is free from stress and no profession is stress free. market place. The only imperative in such cases is to generate
Everyone experiences stress, whether it is within the family, more money and indirectly demanding more work resulting
business, organization, study, work, or any other social or increase in the stress levels of the employees, leaving
economical activity. Thus, stress has become the core concern employees dissatisfied with their work as they even cannot
in the life of everyone. Every individual is subjected to stress maintain the work-life balance. Moreover, the problems of
either knowingly or unknowingly [1]. Job stress has been values and ethics in the organization are increasing and values
defined in terms of misfit between a person’s skills and are also demeaning day by day. The findings of the various
abilities and demands on the job and a misfit in terms of a studies suggests that spirituality and emotional ownership
person’s needs supplied by the job environment which poses a plays a significant role in influencing the judgment, emotional
threat to an individual. In other words, it assumes that human and motivational qualities and decision-making in that frame
behaviour is a function of person- environment(PE Fit of reference based on a connection with a transcendent and
Theory), and that a person’s vocational satisfaction, stability ultimate reality which is likely to be a source of solace,
and achievements depend on the congruence or fit between guidance, and inspiration to leader’s ethical and critical
person’s personality and the environment in which the person decision-making [9]-[10].
works[2]-[3].
In work situation higher degree of fit predict positive work

Piar Chand is Professor and Head of the Department at Dept. Of

Humanities and Social Sciences, NIT Hamirpur (H.P) – 177005,(E-mail:
[email protected])
Hemange Koul is MBA Student at Dept. Of Humanities and Social
Sciences, NIT Hamirpur (H.P) – 177005, (E-mail: [email protected]).

225
 International Conference on Humanities, Economics and Geography (ICHEG'2012) March 17-18, 2012 Bangkok

A. PROPOSED MODEL found that reduced stress leads to increased job performance
and increased job satisfaction [15]
The concept of organizational emotional ownership is a
new concept and actually originated from ownership in case
of family owned businesses. Bjornberg and Nicholson stated
that emotional ownership is very important for success of
family owned business. Emotional Ownership enables family
businesses to continue their ventures over the generations with
passion and love. The instinct of ownership is fundamental in
man’s nature. In a healthy growing family it is normal for the
children to have a sense of ‘owning their family and what it
According to the model, all the above mentioned factors i.e. possesses’.
workplace spirituality, organizational emotional ownership The various experiences of job either lead to pleasure or
and job satisfaction help in moderating the amount of stress in pain[16]. People continuously face challenges in personal and
an organization. Workplace spirituality helps to maintain a professional life. Challenges without solution or answers
balance between an individual's personal values and the generally cause extreme pain. Pleasure at the workplace leads
organization's practiced values and self-management – the to emotional ownership. Emotional ownership makes an
need to solve our own problems through greater employee more committed towards his work and leads to
empowerment and creativity. Today’s productive and more job satisfaction and in turn reduces the job stress.
profitable workplaces require organizational cultures that Kher found that attractive remuneration packages and perks
integrate humanistic core values with core business policies, are vital to retain employees but it may not necessarily
decisions, functions, and behaviours, cultures that support the motivate them to give their best to the company if there is no
physical, mental, and spiritual well-being of its employees. sense of "emotional ownership" towards the organization.
Leader plays an important role in increasing emotional
II. REVIEW OF LITERATURE ownership. If leader is a sweet talker, employee feels they are
Csiernik and Adams examined the impact of stress on wanted by the organization, then more emotional ownership.
spirituality and of spirituality on ameliorating workplace Emotional ownership makes the employee more satisfied and
stress. They found that Spirituality has historically been seen reduces his stress levels [10].
as an inner source of strength especially when dealing with Keeping in view the above facts, the following objectives
uncertainty and chaos in one’s personal life and contributes to were defined:
wellness. It also helps in ameliorating workplace stress[11]. • To study workplace spirituality, organizational
Walt proposed that a spiritual individual possess personality emotional ownership and job satisfaction as
traits such as a positive self-esteem, internal locus of control, predictors to cope up with job stress.
coping effectively with stress, high levels of tolerance, as well • To study the correlation between workplace
as emotional intelligence. Thus a spiritual person will have spirituality, organizational emotional ownership, job
greater ability to cope with stress[9]. satisfaction and job stress.
The spiritual practices help to lower down stress in HYPOTHESES:-Based on the review related literature the
organizations. Spirituality drives he decision making values of following hypotheses were tested:
people and helps them to efficiently connect with people in • Organizational Emotional ownership, workplace
organizations [12]. spirituality and job satisfaction jointly emerged as
Nasina & Doris gave four dimensions of workplace predictors in coping with job stress.
spirituality - team’s sense of community, alignment between • Workplace spirituality significantly emerged as
organizational and individual values, sense of contribution to predictor in coping with job stress.
society and enjoyment at work. These help in lowering down • Organizational Emotional ownership, workplace
stress within the organization[13]. spirituality and job satisfaction were negatively
People with a greater sense of spirituality perceive their correlated with job stress.
own organizations as being healthier and improved.
Spiritually based organization leads to organizational III. RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
outcomes such as increased organizational performance and
The design of this study was exploratory as well as
organizational commitment eventually leading to other
descriptive in nature. Exploratory designs are used for
organizational outcome like job satisfaction and reduced job
exploring new ideas and facts which are to get insights and
stress [14]
understanding. Descriptive research design was also used in
The relationship of organizational stress with job
the study to get detailed and in-depth knowledge of every
satisfaction and job performance was analysed. They studied
aspect of problem.
literature concerning stress and satisfaction to determine
relation between these two organizational dimensions. They

226
 International Conference on Humanities, Economics and Geography (ICHEG'2012) March 17-18, 2012 Bangkok

A. Sample Social Sciences) version 17.0.

One hundred project managers were selected from the 1. Pearson’s product moment coefficient of correlation was
organizations namely Cognizant, Infosys and HCL from computed to find out relationship between workplace
different cities Of India namely Pune, Chandigarh and Delhi. spirituality, organizational emotional ownership and job
They were selected through purposive sampling. The mean satisfaction with job Stress.
age of the sample was 33.9 years which ranges from 25 to 2. Stepwise multiple regression analysis was employed with
50 years. Out of this sample there were 78 males and 22 the levels of job stress serving as criterion and workplace
females. Out of this 73 were married and 27 were single. spirituality, organizational emotional ownership and job
satisfaction serving as predictors.
B. Tools
• Self developed tool was used for Organizational IV. RESULTS AND DISCUSSIONS
Emotional Ownership.
• Job satisfaction; Minnesota satisfaction questionnaire A. Pearson Correlation
(Weiss, Dawis, England & Lofquist, 1967). TABLE I
(A) CORRELATION
• Self developed tool was used for Job stress.
** Correlation is significant at 0.01level of significance
• Workplace spiritual values scale (Kolodinsky, 2004).
The questionnaire of Organizational Emotional Ownership CORRELATION OEO WS JS STRESS
consists of 10 questions. These items have been taken from
Manik Kher’s book but certain modifications have been made
keeping in view the requirements of the study. Two test- retest OEO 1 .930** .831** -.845**
reliability studies showed coefficients to be 0.87 and 0.82.
Subjects were instructed to rate themselves using a five point
likert scale as with strongly disagree (coded 1) and strongly
agree (coded 5). WS .930** 1 .809** -.847**
The standardized questionnaire for job satisfaction;
minnesota satisfaction questionnaire (Weiss, Dawis, England
& Lofquist, 1967) was used. JS .831** .809** 1 -.693**
The job stress questionnaire consists of 10 items. Some of
the items were taken from Beech stress factor questionnaire by
Beech but certain modifications have been made keeping in STRESS -.845** -.847** -.693** 1
view the requirements of the study .The items relate to all
relevant components related to job stress. All the items in the OEO = Organizational Emotional Ownership
WS = Workplace Spirituality
questionnaire were true keyed. The scoring was done on five
JS = Job Satisfaction
point Likert’s scale. Test retest was used for checking STRESS = Job Stress
reliability where reliability came out to be 0.72. The tool
measures the personality aspects of strength of coping skills, It is evident from the table I that the workplace spirituality
perception of life events, strain in jobs faced by individuals. is negatively correlated with job stress (r=-.847; p<0.01)
Subjects were instructed to rate themselves using a five point where r is degree of correlation and p signifies level of
likert scale as with strongly disagree (coded 1) and strongly significance. The negative relation signifies that with increase
agree (coded 5). in workplace spirituality, the job stress will decrease. Our
The standardized questionnaire for workplace spirituality – study coincides with the work of Csiernik and Adams[11],
workplace spiritual values scale (Kolodinsky et al., 2004:28) who examined the impact of stress on spirituality and of
was used. Each question is rated on five point Likert’s scale. spirituality, on ameliorating workplace stress and found a
Two test- retest reliability studies showed coefficients to be negative relation between stress and spirituality.
0.88 and 0.85. It is also evident from the table that Organizational
a. Data Collection/ Procedure Emotional Ownership is negatively correlated with job stress
All the measures were administered individually to all the (r= -.845; p<0.01) where r is degree of correlation and p
respondents. The purpose of the study was explained and signifies level of significance. The negative relationship
standard instructions were made clear. They were assured that signifies that employees who are emotionally attached with
the data will be kept confidential and will only be used for the organization are having less stress. In other words the
research purpose. They were allowed to complete their employees who were more emotionally attached with the
questionnaire at leisure & anonymity of answers was ensured. organization give their best to the organization. The sense of
All tools consist of 38 questions. In all it is estimated to ownership increases loyalty and job security of employee
require 25 to 30 minutes to complete. which in turn creates a feeling of attachment towards the
b. Analysis of the data organization. This helps the employees in coping stress. Our
Data analysis was done using SPSS (Statistical Package for

227
 International Conference on Humanities, Economics and Geography (ICHEG'2012) March 17-18, 2012 Bangkok

study coincides with that of Ed Rigsbee [16]who found a b. Predictors: (Constant), WORKPLACE SPIRITUALITY, EMOTIONAL
negative relation between sense of ownership and stress level OWNERSHIP
in organization. He said that various experiences of job either c. Dependent Variable: JOB STRESS
lead to pleasure or pain. People continuously face challenges
in personal and professional life. Challenges without solution Coefficientsa
or answers generally cause extreme pain. Pleasure at the Unstandardized Standardized
workplace leads to emotional ownership. Coefficients Coefficients
Job Satisfaction is negatively correlated with job stress (r= - Model B Std. Error Beta t Sig.
.693; p<0.01). It means that employees who were more 1 (Constant) 6.470 .267 24.229 .000
satisfied with their organization are less stressed. The ability
WS -1.100 .069 -.847 -15.862 .000
to cope with stress and meeting the challenges of this
2 (Constant) 6.502 .257 25.310 .000
competitive business environment can be enhanced by
increasing job satisfaction. These results coincide with those WS -.591 .181 -.455 -3.271 .001
of Sullivan and Bhagat[15] who established a relationship OEO -.519 .171 -.421 -3.027 .003
between job performance, job stress and job satisfaction. They a. Dependent Variable: JOB STRESS
found that job stress is negatively related to job satisfaction.
B. STEPWISE MULTIPLE REGRESSION ANALYSIS OEO = Organizational Emotional Ownership
WS = Workplace Spirituality
This is because workplace Spirituality leads to Personal
It is clear from table II that the measure of the correlation
Stability, Balance between Work/Personal Life, Greater
(R) between the observed value and the predicted value is
Performance, the connection between an individual's personal
84.7% for Workplace Spirituality and 86.1% respectively for
values and the organization's practiced values and Self-
Workplace Spirituality and Organizational Emotional
Management. All these factors help in reducing stress level in
Ownership. Independent variables together explain 71.8
the organization.
percent of the variance (R square) for Workplace Spirituality
and 74.2 percent of the variance (R square) for Organizational
Emotional Ownership and Workplace Spirituality. These
V. CONCLUSION
values suggest that Workplace Spirituality is more significant
predictor for coping stress. On the basis of the entire study done we can say that
management in many ways is not just a science but sheer art
TABLE II of instilling spirituality and sense of ownership in people to
ORGANIZATIONAL PREDICTORS: WORKPLACE SPIRITUALITY, give their best to the wok activities in order to gain
ORGANIZATIONAL EMOTIONAL OWNERSHIP AND JOB SATISFACTION FOR
RESPONDENTS AS PREDICTORS OF JOB STRESS
satisfaction and be less stressed. The biblical message “Do
unto others as you would have them do unto you” is the
Predictors of job stress guiding principle of this art and if people follow this principle,
the organizations would be better, making one’s life easier. In
Model Summary other words, this study concludes that spirituality,
Adjusted R Std. Error of the organizational emotional ownership and job satisfaction have
Model R R Square Square Estimate negative relationship with job stress and we have also found
workplace spirituality as major predictor to cope up with job
1 .847a .718 .715 .48442
stress. These predictors in the context of workplace should not
2 .861b .742 .737 .46560
be neglected as they help in moderating and reducing work
a. Predictors: (Constant), WORKPLACE SPIRITUALITY stress.
b. Predictors: (Constant), WORKPLACE SPIRITUALITY,
EMOTIONAL OWNERSHIP VI. IMPLICATIONS
If employees will be provided incentives, fringe benefits,
ANOVAc
sense of belongingness, trust, better career opportunities,
Model Sum of Squares Df Mean Square F Sig.
opportunity for growth, freedom of self expression then they
1 Regression 59.044 1 59.044 251.616 .000a will be more satisfied with their jobs and will be more
Residual 23.231 99 .235 attached to their organizations emotionally. This will help in
Total 82.275 100 increasing organizational emotional ownership. The sense of
ownership and satisfaction within the employees will help in
2 Regression 61.031 2 30.515 140.764 .000b
increasing commitment towards work and reducing stress
Residual 21.245 98 .217
levels within the employees. Similarly spirituality at
Total 82.275 100 organizational level helps to understand the problems at
a. Predictors: (Constant), WORKPLACE SPIRITUALITY societal level covering managerial and executive issues and

228
 International Conference on Humanities, Economics and Geography (ICHEG'2012) March 17-18, 2012 Bangkok

lead to lesser amount of conflicts and more commitment

towards the work. Thus all these factors i.e. organizational
emotional ownership, workplace spirituality and job
satisfaction helps in coping stress within the organization thus
in turn leading to increased organizational performance.

REFERENCES
[1] Nayak, Jayashree(2008), Factors Influencing Stress And Coping
Strategies Among The Degree College Teachers Of Dharwad City,
Karnataka, Department Of Family Resource Management, College Of
Rural Home Science, University Of Agricultural Sciences, Dharwad.
[2] Herr, E.L.,Cramer, S.H. & Niles, S.g.(2004). Career guidance and
counselling through the lifespan, London: Prentice Hall.
[3] Salami, S.O. (2006), Management of stress among trainee-teachers
through cognitive behaviour therapy. Personality Study and Group
Behaviour, 26, 1-25. (2).
[4] Hoffman, B.J. & Woehr, D.J.(2006), A quantitative review of the
relationship between person-organisation fit and behavioural outcomes.
Journal of Vocational Behaviour. 68(3), 389-399.
[5] Vogel, R.M. & Feldman, D.c. (2009), Integrating the levels of person-
environment fit: The roles of Vocational fit and group fit. Journal of
Vocational Behaviour, 75(1), 68-81.
[6] Clark-Murphy, D. (2010), Do interactive theories really explain public
sector managerial decision making? Asian Social Sciences, 6(3), 17-26.
[7] Cooper, C.L. and Marshall, J. (1976), “Occupational sources of stress: a
review of the literature relating to coronary heart disease and mental
health”. Journal of Occupational Psychology. 49, 11-28.
[8] Chand P. and Sethi A. S. (April, 1997), Organizational factors in the
development of Work Stress. Indian Journal of Industrial Relations,
32(4).
[9] Walt, F. V. (April, 2007). The Relationship between Spirituality and Job
Satisfaction, Unpublished doctral dissertation, University of Pretoria.
Pretoria, Gauteng, South Africa.
[10] Kher Manik (2011), The culture of Emotional Ownership- A rainbow
towards organizational transformation. Ane Books Pvt. Ltd.
[11] Csiernik, R. and Adams, D.W. (2002), A beginning examination of the
spirituality of health care practitioners. In R. Gilbert (ed.) Health Care
and Spirituality: Listening, Assessing, Caring. Amityville, New York:
Baywood Books.
[12] Bosch L. (January, 2009), The Inevitable Role Of Spirituality In The
Workplace. Business Intelligence Journal, 2(1), 139-157.
[13] Nasina, Mat Desa and Doris Koh Pin Pin (2011), The Workplace
Spirituality And Affective Commitment Among Auditors In Big Four
Accounting Firms: Does It Matter. 2nd International Conference on
Business and Economic Research, 2(1), 1930-1937.
[14] Noor Sarooj and Arif Sajjad (2011), Achieving Job Satisfaction via
Workplace Spirituality: Pakistani Doctors in Focus. European Journal of
Social Sciences, 19(4), 507-515.
[15] Sullivan Sherny E. and Bhagat Rabi S. (1992), Organizational Stress,
Job Satisfaction and Job Performance: Where Do We Go From Here?.
Sullivan Journal of Management . 18(2), 353-374.
[16] Rigsbee Ed(2000), Your Journey to Emotional Ownership, White Papers
from the Gold Coast Institute Fellows.
[17] Csiernik, R. and Adams, D.W. (2002), Spirituality, stress and work.
Employee Assistance Quarterly, 18 (2), 29-37.
[18] Cary L Cooper, Usha Rout, Brian Faragher (1989), Mental health, job
satisfaction, and job stress among general practitioners. BMJ, 298, 366-
370.

229