How to Practice Spirituality at Work

People tend to keep their spirituality private, no matter where they are on the spiritual spectrum. This is due to many reasons, whether it’s the vulnerable nature of spirituality or the wariness of offending others who have different beliefs.The time you spend at work makes up a large part of your life. While there is value in keeping your spirituality private at work, private doesn’t have to equate to ashamed. And it doesn’t mean you have to pretend it doesn’t exist. With your spiritual identity making up so much of who you are, tucking it away can create distance within your relationships and conflict within yourself. In fact, practicing spirituality at work can strengthen your sense of self, build your trust in a higher power, and connect you to those around you.

3 Simple Ways to Practice Spirituality at Work

You can settle into a healthy balance of practicing spirituality at work; it may just look a little different than it does at home. Here are some simple suggestions for taking your spirituality with you to work.1. Take a Spiritual Look at YourselfYour spiritual practice at work begins with your office space. Create a personal environment that brings feelings of peace and connects you to your values. This will allow you to practice spiritual habits throughout the workday because creating a sacred space strengthens your spirituality.Aside from a physical workspace, you can take spiritual inventory of yourself. What elements of spirituality, if any, are you currently practicing at work? What practices would be easy to weave into your workday? What seems to be helping your productivity, and what is hurting it? Asking yourself these questions on a regular basis and recording your thoughts can help you practice spirituality at work in the way that serves you best.2. Take Time Out for Divine ConnectionMany people with a spiritual practice enjoy connecting with a higher power at several points throughout the day, especially during stressful moments. You can still do this at work! Before a big presentation, a hard conversation, or a mountain of paperwork, take time out for divine connection.Interacting with God at work can be as simple as you make it. Say a silent prayer at your desk. With a set of headphones, complete a four-minute spiritual exercise on the Skylight app. Keep a journal at your desk specifically for recording your spiritual insights. There is power in connecting with God at work that does not come in other environments because you can seek divine help with specific work-related issues.3. Take Interest in Others Everyone you interact with at work—your boss, your coworkers, your customers—is in a unique spiritual place. One person may be uncomfortable listening to you share a sacred experience; another may value talking about the spiritual insights they’ve had reading a book. Navigating this is easier than you think, and you don’t even need to explicitly mention spirituality.Take interest in others. Focus more on what you can learn from them than what they can from you. This may look like genuinely asking a customer, “How has your day been?” and listening. Instead of rolling your eyes at yet another picture of your coworker’s baby, ask about their experience as a parent.The magic of genuine conversation is the connection. You start to feel a part of something bigger than yourself when you connect with others. And those connections drive feelings of compassion, which is a main element of spirituality. Compassion is good for more than your personal spirituality—it builds unity in your work environment. With kind feelings toward one another, you will work better together.