So-called “workplace spirituality” teaches people that the anxieties associated with global capital are inevitable, even part of the natural order of things. Under the highly deregulated conditions that prevail in the twenty-first century, individuals struggle against constant job insecurity. In this socioeconomic stew, workplace spirituality offers the individual a stable community where ultimate meaning and purpose become anchored to his or her place of employment. Workers feel more fulfilled and empowered on the job, and, therefore, will freely work harder and more productively, the theory goes, while ignoring more material concerns such as declining wages and diminishing benefits. Workplace spirituality neatly legitimates globalization while muffling its psychological effects.
James Dennis LoRusso
James Dennis LoRusso is a doctoral student of American Religious Cultures at Emory University. His work focuses on the religious origins of American capitalism, specifically on spirituality in the workplace and the intersection of advertising theory and the study of myth.
