Spirituality as a moderator of the relationship between workplace aggression and employee outcomes

Despite the number of people who engage in spiritual pursuits on a daily basis, there is a surprising lack of research investigating spirituality in the workplace. As such, this study was conducted to explore the role of spirituality in the workplace by examining relations between spirituality and a number of employee outcomes; additionally, we examine how spirituality might buffer the relations between workplace aggression and those outcomes. Based on a sample of 854 participants from the General Social Survey (GSS), it was found that spirituality was associated with positive outcomes except when workplace aggression was present. In the presence of workplace aggression, spiritual employees tended to be more vulnerable to negative outcomes than less spiritual employees. This diverges from past research and our expectations; potential reasons for these counterintuitive moderator effects are discussed. Though limited by the brief and potentially inadequate measures used in the GSS (i.e., single-item measures), this exploratory study encourages future research to fully understand the role of spirituality in the workplace.

► Spirituality was related to positive health and work outcomes. ► Spirituality moderated relationships between workplace aggression and outcomes. ► Spiritual employees seem more vulnerable to negative outcomes related to aggression. ► Spirituality did not buffer relation between aggression and negative work outcomes. ► Limited by potential inadequacy of GSS measures; future research is encouraged.