Arménio Rego²

Solange Souto³

Miguel Pina e Cunha⁴

² Universidade de Aveiro, Departamento de Economia, Gestão e Engenharia Industrial

Campus de Santiago

³ Faculdades IBMEC / RJ

⁴ Faculdade de Economia, Universidade Nova de Lisboa

Resumo. O artigo parte de duas premissas: (1) a espiritualidade é uma vertente da psicologia positiva e do comportamento organizacional positivo; (2) em organizações espiritualmente ricas, os indivíduos colocam as “energias” e forças ao serviço da organização e do auto-desenvolvimento. O foco da investigação é o desta segunda premissa. A amostra engloba 254 colaboradores de organizações operando no Brasil. O estudo mostra como as percepções dos indivíduos em torno de cinco dimensões de espiritualidade organizacional (sentido de comunidade; alinhamento do indivíduo com os valores da organização; sentido de préstimo à comunidade; alegria no trabalho; oportunidades para a vida interior) explicam o seu empenhamento organizacional e a sua produtividade. Os resultados sugerem que os indivíduos denotam maior empenhamento afectivo e normativo, maior produtividade e menor empenhamento instrumental quando experimentam um sentido de comunidade de trabalho, sentem que os seus valores e os da organização estão alinhados, consideram que realizam trabalho útil para a comunidade e sentem alegria no trabalho. O texto discute a relevância desta evidência num contexto de escassez de estudos empíricos sobre a espiritualidade nas organizações. E aponta dois argumentos: (1) a espiritualidade nas organizações pode resultar das forças positivas (e.g., a força de carácter e o optimismo) dos membros organizacionais, designadamente das detidas pelos líderes; (2) os climas ricos em espiritualidade organizacional promovem o empenhamento e a produtividade porque libertam as forças positivas dos indivíduos e induzem-nos a canalizar o seu potencial para o benefício da organização e da sua realização pessoal.

Palavras-chave: espiritualidade organizacional; comportamento organizacional positivo; empenhamento organizacional; produtividade.

Abstract. This article has two main assumptions: (1) spirituality is a layer of positive psychology and positive organizational behavior; (2) in spiritually rich organizations, individuals put their “energies” and strengths in the service of the organization and self-development. The core of the research is that of this second assumption. The sample includes 254 workers of organizations operating in Brazil. The study evidences that individual perceptions regarding five dimensions of organizational spirituality (sense of community; individual and organizational values alignment; sense of contribution to the community; joy at work; opportunities for an inner life) explain organizational commitment and productivity. The results suggest that individuals with higher affective and normative commitment, higher productivity and lower instrumental commitment, experience a sense of work community, feel that their values are aligned with those of the organization consider to be making a useful work to the community and feel joy at work. The text discusses the relevance of this evidence in a context of scanty empirical research about spirituality in organizations, and pinpoints two arguments: (1) spirituality in organizations can result from the positive strengths (e.g., character strength and optimism) of its members, namely those of theleaers; (2) climates that are rich in organizational spirituality promote commitment and productivity because they set free individual positive strengths and channel their potential to the benefit of the organization and self-achievement.

Key words: Organizational spirituality; positive organizational behavior; organizational commitment; productivity.

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¹ Estamos gratos aos revisores anónimos pelos comentários e sugestões muito pertinentes que nos permitiram melhorar este artigo.

A correspondência relativa a este artigo deverá ser enviada para:

Arménio Rego,

Universidade de Aveiro, Departamento de Economia, Gestão e Engenharia Industrial,

Campus de Santiago, 3810-193 Aveiro.

E-mail: arego@egi.na.pt