Week 4 post

9/25/12

I thought that last week’s discussion of the impact of religiousness/spirituality in the workplace was very interesting and thought-provoking, I find that the term “workplace spirituality” kind of rubs me the wrong way initially, because it makes me think of people who talk about their religion/beliefs SO MUCH that they’re basically shoving it down other people’s throats. But after reading and discussing the article Duffy (2006) article, I think I have a better understanding of what he was referring to and how workplace spirituality can be a good thing for job satisfaction and camaraderie.

At one point in the article, Duffy (2006) states, “The current conception of spirituality as it relates to the workplace has less to do with a support-based definition tied to a higher power or powers and more to do with value systems and community” (p. 54). This statement made by the author really encouraged me because I do agree that job satisfaction is much more likely to be higher in situations where the employees can experience a sense of community and shared values with their coworkers. I have been fortunate enough to experience this type of community feeling and camaraderie in all of the places I’ve worked; they haven’t all been spiritually based communities or workplaces, but in all the places I’ve worked there’s been a sense of working towards the common good that we discussed in class, or all working together for the good of those we service.

Admittedly, when I started reading the Savickas (1995) article about career indecision, I was a little caught off guard at first, because I do not agree with the idea of viewing indecision as a dichotomy. At one point, Savickas (1995) sites Persons (1909/1968) as advising counselors to split clients into two categories: “First, those who have well-developed aptitudes and interests and a practical basis for a reasonable conclusion in respect to the choice of a vocation. Second, boys and girls with so little experience that there is no basis yet for a wise decision” (p. 19, as cited in Savickas, 1995, p. 364). Although, the more I think about it, I’m probably so against looking at indecision as a dichotomy because I dealt with a fair amount of indecision in my own career path. Even now that I am very certain about the direction I want my career to take, when we the Holland code activity the other week it still showed that I was fairly undifferentiated in my career path. Now, I know there’s a difference between being undifferentiated and being indecisive, but I just thought it was an interesting thought to make a connection between the two in my own life.

Duffy, R. (2006). Spirituality, religion, and career development: Current status and future directions. The career development quarterly, 55, 52-61.

Savickas, M. L. (1995). Constructivist counseling for career indecision. Career Development Quarterly, 43, 363-373.