August 15, 2004
The Many Delicate Issues Of Spirituality in the Office
by Eilene Zimmerman
New York Times
Every three weeks or so, Buddy Brandt, a partner at the Manhattan law firm of Brandt, Steinberg & Lewis, closes the door to his office, turns off the phone and sits down to study a facet of Judaism.
Mr. Brandt said this kind of study -- it might be a book in the Old Testament, the history of Zionism or an aspect of Jewish law -- brings ''peace and relief'' in the middle of a hectic day. On a deeper level, he said, ''It fills an important spiritual niche in my life. And it helps put life's difficulties in proper perspective.''
With Americans spending so much time on the job, some of them are finding ways to bring spirituality to the office, rather than relegating it to weekend religious services. This can mean simply trying to treat others well, saying a prayer to start the day or thinking about the sermon heard on Sunday.
This phenomenon is virtually impossible to quantify, but studies by the Tanenbaum Center for Interreligious Understanding, as well as the Harris Poll and the Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life, suggest that religion is increasingly important to Americans, both in private life and in public. ''We know the percentage of Americans that identify themselves as religious and God-believing is probably the highest in the developed world: 90 percent,'' said Georgette F. Bennett, a sociologist and the founder of the Tanenbaum Center. ''And we know from our surveys that as people get older, religion becomes more important to them.'' The work force is aging, so it would not be surprising to find religion playing a larger role in the workplace, she said.
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