The Influence of Perceived Workplace Spirituality on Job Satisfaction, Intention to Leave, and Emotional Exhaustion among Community Mental Health Center Workers in the State of Kansas

Abstract

Social workers are becoming increasingly concerned that work-related factors including low salaries, job insecurity, and hierarchical organizational structures have led to a decline in their job satisfaction, their motivation as employees and an increase in their job turnover intention (Barak, Nissly, & Levin, 2001). There might not be adequate human service management principles to cope with social workers' emotional burdens, rekindle their motivation, create meaningful experiences at work, and even help them understand and accommodate their clients' current needs such as spiritual meaning and experiences. The purpose of the study is to present new management principles by applying the concept of Ashmos and Duchon's workplace spirituality (2000) to the human service field. This study investigated the relationship between five sub-variables (Meaning at Work, Inner Life, Contemplation, Organizational Value, and Individual and Organization) of the Ashmos-Duchon Spiritually Scale (2000) and three work-related variables (job satisfaction, intention to leave, and emotional exhaustion) and identified key factors that can best predict these three variables among mental health professionals working at the Community Mental Health Centers (CHMC) in the State of Kansas. The main research questions were "Do the perceived workplace spirituality variables (Meaning at Work, Inner Life, Contemplation, Organizational Value and Individual and Organization) predict the three work-related variables?" The second research questions were "Are there moderation effects due to perceived degree of religiosity or perceived degree of spiritual propensity on the three-work-related variables?" The study used a quantitative cross-sectional and self-administered survey design and convenience sampling method. The sample for this study was 412 direct service workers at the 20 participating CMHCs (out of 29 CMHCs in the State of Kansas). The perceptions about workplace spirituality were measured with five subscales of the Ashmos-Duchon Spirituality Scale (2000). While job satisfaction and intention to leave were measured by each single item from Quinn and Staines (1979), emotional exhaustion was measured by one item from MBI (Maslch Burnout Inventory). For data analysis, stepwise multiple regression analysis was used to examine how much effect each independent variable had on the dependent variables. Since 14 hypotheses (out of 15 hypotheses) were found to be supported at the significance level of p < .05, the study confirmed a positive effect of perceived workplace spirituality (which de-bureaucratizes an organization culture) on job satisfaction, and negative effect on turnover intention and emotional exhaustion. Besides, it was found that the predictive relationship with turnover intention was significantly moderated by degree of spirituality in three independent variables: (1) meaning at work; (2) organizational value; and (3) individual and organization. It is time to think of spirituality as an asset from which organizations can draw innate strength to empower themselves, and as a crucial factor which human service organizations can use to empower their workers.