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Spirituality in the Workplace

In response to the Sept. 11 tragedy, U.S. President George W. Bush announced a National Day of Prayer. Companies across the world provide a means for employees to take time for reflection or prayer during the workday.  

Why does it seem like spirituality and work are intersecting?  “With more people becoming open about their spirituality—95 percent of Americans say they believe in God or a universal spirit, and 48 percent say they talked about their religious faith at work that day, according to the Gallup Organization—it would make sense that, along with their briefcases and laptops, people would start bringing their faith to work,” speculates a recent article in Business Week.

In talking to employees of several different belief systems, we found that they have been finding ways to integrate work and their spiritual practices day in, day out, long before the events of Sept. 11 unfolded, in ways that benefit Intel’s workplace and bottom line business. Some of their stories are shared here.

We recognize we have in no way represented the full spectrum of beliefs, nor do our interviewees necessarily represent the views of others of their faith system, but we hope we’ve provided some idea of both the commonalities among their viewpoints as well as some new ideas and awareness of how your coworkers may be balancing their work and faith. 

Probably the most significant thing we heard is that a person’s belief set is a fundamental aspect of who that person is in the world, not something easily “left at the door” when she arrives at the office.  “Being Jewish, and being female are so integral to who I am, if you took either part of those away, I wouldn't be recognizable as who I am today” shares Peggy Dorf, a senior product marketing engineer (PME) in Business Desktop Marketing in Oregon.  “Being Jewish is who I am, it's not something I do.”  Read more from Peggy Dorf. And from Jonathan Northwood, “As soon ask me not to breathe as not to incorporate my faith, and my beliefs, into my job.”  Read more from Jonathan Northwood.

Intel accommodates these activities in many ways.  At many sites, non-denominational prayer space is provided on site (where space is available.) For example, in Israel a conference room is set aside as a prayer room during afternoon hours, when observant Jewish employees gather to pray. In many U.S. sites, Muslim and Christian employee groups share space, which has been cleared of furniture to facilitate prayer needs.  And in Malaysia there is a Friday afternoon break for people to go to the mosque. Employees are encouraged to work with their managers to request time off for religious holidays not observed on the local Intel holiday calendar. Cafeterias provide options that meet different dietary restrictions.  Intel does not promote that employees follow any (or any specific) spiritual practice. But Intel can and does benefit from the way people apply their faith-based values at work, and how they apply their Intel values in their faith communities. 

Intel has its own value system, which is one of the key ingredients in creating a successful work environment:  people know what is expected and how they are to work together in the workplace and with customers, vendors and community.  Employees agree to abide by this set of values when they come to work here. This provides a common basis for interaction and a set of boundaries to ensure a respectful and productive work environment.  Jonathan Clemens, a senior information security auditor with Corporate Information Security and the Dupont site representative for IBCN, expands on this:  “Intel has a set of beliefs that are goal or results-oriented.  The point of the six Intel values is to accomplish our mission.  My Christian beliefs and values are different, but congruent with those Intel values.  The congruency lends strength to my performance to Intel values, because I'm not just trying to be a good employee at work, but I'm also trying to live out my religious beliefs, 24x7.  Intel's done a good job of building the six Intel values in a way that persons of many religious faiths can appropriate them, because they are based on teachings common to many faiths.” This integration of spiritual values and Intel values can be both a very conscious pursuit or something that happens naturally as people discover and gravitate to where their strengths and skills can have the most impact and where they feel like they have the most fulfillment in their work. Read more from Jonathan Clemens.

But it’s not always easy, and each of our participants had thoughts on areas we all should be aware of as coworkers.

• Thinking styles: Some people may have different approaches to problem solving or thinking.  “The thought process I identify with is continuous rather than square and logical,” mentions Steve Yazzie, ATD Quality & Reliability Engineer and Arizona site representative for INAN, who contrasts this with Intel’s strong structured thought process. Read more from Steve Yazzie.
• Food restrictions: “It would be great if admins would ask about food restrictions whey they order” says Dorf.  For meetings, events, team building, etc, it should be taken into account that for health, religious, and personal preference reasons people may need to avoid alcohol, caffeine, meat, or certain combinations of food.  For certain religious holidays such as Ramadan, fasting may be necessary. For a Muslim person, it is important to be able to observe fast during the day at work as well as be able to leave and break the fast at sundown.  During Sukkoth, Jewish people may prefer to share their meals outdoors under a sukkah or booth.  These are just a few examples.
• Clothing and personal grooming: Some people may wear a head covering (such as a turban, keifeh, yarmulke, or veil), specific clothing styles, beards or hairstyles as a part of their practice. 
• Communication style: As with other diverse groups, people of different religious backgrounds may have a wide range of ways of expressing themselves, which may or may not be similar to the rest of the team or work group.
• Holidays: Each month Intel publishes an “observances” article, which provides a lot of information about a broad range of holidays including religious.  Employees may need time off or a flexible schedule (where business permits) on days that are not part of Intel’s holiday calendar, or may need to observe special practices during those times. 
• Safety, awareness and respect: Symbols, jokes, stares or misunderstanding can be offensive.  The predominant religion in a locale can be targeted as well as those less widely understood.
• Work environment: To build a work environment that supports employees desires to integrate their spirituality with their work: to allow meaningful work; to encourage people to be their authentic selves; to allow people to be fully creative; to provide for work/life balance; to view the workplace as a community; to support religious diversity.

Some tips:  Recognize that humor often has a victim as its cost. Think twice before forwarding or retelling a joke that may offend someone else.  Recognize that drawing conclusions for a group can be very hurtful. As we saw in the events of September a lack of awareness and understanding can put people in the position of having to explain that their values and belief systems have nothing to do with the actions of some extremists who may look like others, or associate themselves with their religion.   

If you would like more information on a belief system, do some research or ask a coworker if they are comfortable sharing their thoughts over lunch.  “In general people are too polite to ask about one's religion and culture. I would like folks to be aware that I have a distinct religion (Sikhism, originated in India) and identity (uncut hair/beard and turban),”  says Raj Chotalla, a Database Administrator in Ocotillo Site Automation for F12 and F22. Read more from Raj Chotalla.

Many people expect more from their work than a routine, dull exchange of hours for pay. Especially at Intel, where we encourage challenging the norms, creativity and a belief that anything is possible. From the introduction to One Digital Day, Andy Grove writes about how microprocessors affect the world: “In the aggregate, they change how we live, how we work, how we entertain ourselves and how we are able to imagine - and thus create - the world our children will inherit.” At this fundamental level, looking at our impact on the world and the future, the concept of a spiritual nature to work can be inspiring and motivating, as well as unique to each of us. Clearly this is another aspect of our employee’s diversity that contributes to our workplace and our communities.

QuickLinks:

• Employee Groups general info
• Information and descriptions of a wide range of belief systems**

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