Phenomenological Case Study of Spiritual Connectedness in the Academic Workplace

Abstract

The field of workplace spirituality is plagued by problems of definition due to the ambiguity \nof the term “spirituality” from the Western perspective. As workplace spirituality is by nature \nan ephemeral phenomenon approachable from multiple perspectives, this study approaches \nthis topic from the Islamic perspective. The inductive research method chosen is a \ncombination of phenomenology and qualitative case study. Phenomenology is chosen as it \ndescribes the meaning for individuals of their lived experiences of a phenomenon. The \nInternational Islamic University of Malaysia is chosen as the case study due to its prominence \nas a premier global Islamic university. In-depth interviews with academics, both local and \ninternational, of the International Islamic University of Malaysia are the primary method of \ndata collection. Thirteen academics, six males and seven females, from this university have \nbeen interviewed for this purpose. Findings suggest that spiritual connectedness is about the \nrelationship with Allah and the relationship with human beings (habluminallah wa \nhabluminannas), God consciousness (taqwa), sense of belonging, doing for the sake of Allah, \nbrotherhood (ukhuwwah), inviting towards what is good and forbidding from wrong (amar \nma’ruf nahi mungkar) and ihsan. The implication of these findings highlights the \nunderstanding of Muslim academics of what being spiritually connected mean to them \npersonally. The contribution of this study is to enrich the literature on workplace spirituality \nby exploring the Islamic perspective of spiritual connectedness and to understand first-hand \nhow being spiritually connected is defined by Muslim academics.