Spirituality in organizations and professional stress during Covid-19

Abstract

ABSTRACT This article aims to analyze whether an organization's level of spirituality can mitigate professional stress. An online questionnaire was developed based on the following measures: A job stress scale and an organization's spirituality inventory, both were consolidated assessment applied in previous studies. This questionnaire was applied through a digital survey, strongly shared in social media and other channels, which obtained a total of 996 respondents from all over the country and with diverse demographic and professional characteristics. The data were standardized, coded and run on Stata IC v.15. in the multiple linear regression method. This study sought to enrich the knowledge on spirituality as a strategy for organizations, especially in crises situations, as Covid-19 pandemic. The results showed that the level of spirituality enhances the chance for organizations to take actions to deal with crises and reduces the professional stress in the context of uncertainties, as it is a benefit for mental health and well-being. This article could make important contributions presenting a quantitative analysis for a not usual subject in organization strategy: spirituality. It can bring new insights in people management studies, concluding that a company with greater spirituality is more likely to attract and retain people with the best talent.