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Spiritual leadership and organizational

commitment: The mediation role of workplace
spirituality

I Ketut Setia Sapta, Ni Wayan Rustiarini, I Gusti Agung Eka Teja Kusuma & I
Made Purba Astakoni |

To cite this article: I Ketut Setia Sapta, Ni Wayan Rustiarini, I Gusti Agung Eka Teja Kusuma
& I Made Purba Astakoni | (2021) Spiritual leadership and organizational commitment: The
mediation role of workplace spirituality, Cogent Business & Management, 8:1, 1966865, DOI:
10.1080/23311975.2021.1966865

To link to this article: https://doi.org/10.1080/23311975.2021.1966865

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Sapta et al., Cogent Business & Management (2021), 8: 1966865
https://doi.org/10.1080/23311975.2021.1966865

MANAGEMENT | RESEARCH ARTICLE

Spiritual leadership and organizational
commitment: The mediation role of workplace
spirituality
Received: 6 August 2020 I Ketut Setia Sapta1*, Ni Wayan Rustiarini1, I Gusti Agung Eka Teja Kusuma1 and
Accepted: 3 August 2021 I Made Purba Astakoni2

*Corresponding author: I Ketut Setia Abstract: There is a shift in organizational focus from purely economic and social
Sapta, Faculty Of Economics And
Business, Universitas Mahasaraswati activities towards spiritual development. This phenomenon places spirituality as part of
Denpasar, Denpasar, Indonesia
E-mail: [email protected] the development of holistic human resources. This study examined workplace spiri­
tuality’s role as a mediating variable in the spiritual relationship of leadership and
Reviewing edito:
Alireza Nazarian, Business School, organizational commitment. The survey was conducted on 200 employees in three
University Of Westminster, London,
United Kingdom public sector organizations in Bali Province, Indonesia. The data analysis used the
Partial Least Square (PLS) approach. The results show that workplace spirituality can
Additional information is available at
the end of the article mediate the effect of spiritual leadership on organizational commitment. Theoretically,
the findings imply that workplace spirituality is one of the factors considered in
organizational theory. Practically, this finding provides insight into the leadership to pay
attention to the employee’s spiritual needs. The results have implications for policy-
makers to support and develop spirituality practices in the workplace.

Subjects: Leadership; Human Resource Management; Organizational Studies

Keywords: workplace spirituality; spiritual leadership; organization commitment

JEL Classifications: D23; J24; M5

ABOUT THE AUTHOR PUBLIC INTEREST STATEMENT

I Ketut Setia Sapta is an associate professor of Spirituality is one credible solution to overcome
Management at Universitas Mahasaraswati the challenges of managing human resources.
Denpasar, Indonesia. His research includes This topic is essential because human resource
human resources management and entrepre­ development must to carried out holistically. It
neurship. means that leaders can rely on the arms and
Ni Wayan Rustiarini is an assistant professor of brains of employees and understand their souls.
Accounting at Universitas Mahasaraswati Spiritual leadership will motivate employees to
Denpasar, Indonesia. Her research includes public align their vision with the organization’s vision.
sector accounting. Meanwhile, workplace spirituality ensures that
I Gusti Agung Eka Teja Kusuma is an assistant the organization members bring their entire self
professor of Management at Universitas (physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual) into
Mahasaraswati Denpasar, Indonesia. His research the organization. The presence of intense spiri­
is marketing and entrepreneurship. tuality in the organization increases the psycho­
I Ketut Setia Sapta I Made Purba Astakoni is an associate professor logical attachment of employees to the
of Sekolah Tinggi Ilmu Manajemen Handayani, organization. This engagement creates a sense
Denpasar, Indonesia. His research is human of loyalty and active participation of employees
resources management and entrepreneurship. in organizational activities, which, at the same
time, increases employee commitment to the
organization. Thus, workplace spirituality improve
individual employees’ performance and benefi­
cial for achieving organizational and social
performance.

© 2021 The Author(s). This open access article is distributed under a Creative Commons
Attribution (CC-BY) 4.0 license.

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1. Introduction
Spirituality is one of the agents of change in organizations (Garg, 2018b). This phenomenon is
marked by the number of employees with higher spiritual goals in their work and personal lives
(Beehner, 2018). This condition is a challenge for company leaders to create a work environment
conducive to embracing employees’ spiritual goals. One of the credible solutions to overcoming the
challenges of managing human resources is creating workplace spirituality (Garg, 2018a).
Therefore, workplace spirituality is a revolutionary antidote in overcoming contemporary human
resource problems (Garg et al., 2019).

The development of workplace spirituality provides three benefits: individuals, organizations, and
the social community (Moore & Casper, 2006). At the individual level, workplace spirituality
increases employee potential and performance and fosters motivation, self-esteem, and self-
conception (Krahnke et al., 2003). Various empirical research also proves that workplace spirituality
influences job satisfaction, engagement, commitment, and employee well-being (Garg, 2017a,
2018b; Hassan et al., 2016; Ke et al., 2017; Badrinarayan S. Badrinarayan S. Pawar, 2009; Rego &
Cunha, 2008). At the organizational level, workplace spirituality produces higher productivity and
profits than organizations that ignore spirituality (Jurkiewicz & Giacalone, 2004; Malik & Naeem,
2011; Pandey et al., 2016). At the social level, workplace spirituality aligns profit maximization
goals with organizational social responsibility (philanthropic) (Garg, 2017a).

Workplace spirituality is an essential and interesting topic for discussion due to several motiva­
tions. First, there is a shift in the organization’s focus from purely economic and social activities
towards spiritual development (Fry et al., 2017). This phenomenon is based on the view that
development employees must be holistic (Garg, 2018b). Leaders can rely on the arms and brains
of employees and understand their souls (Ashmos & Duchon, 2000; Mitroff, 2003). The organization
will fulfill the employee’s needs if they understand the purpose and meaning of employees’ lives
and the alignment with the work community (Ashmos & Duchon, 2000; Milliman et al., 2003).
Workplace spirituality aims to ensure that employees bring their entire self (physical, mental,
emotional, and spiritual) into the organization (Krahnke et al., 2003), ultimately increasing pro­
ductivity and commitment to work and organization (Garg, 2017b; Rego & Cunha, 2008;
Vandenberghe, 2011). Some researchers believe this topic is essential for further study and
discussion (Geh, 2014; Madison & Kellermanns, 2013).

Second, there is an assumption that leadership style is the most critical factor in implementing
workplace spirituality (Kinjerski & Skryonek, 2006). Nevertheless, there is no agreement on the
type of leadership in line with workplace spirituality (Houghton et al., 2016; B S. Pawar, 2014).
This study uses spiritual leadership that uses a holistic approach in managing human resources
(Fry, 2003). Spiritual leadership integrating the four fundamental essences of human existence,
such as body, heart, mind, and soul (Moxley, 2000). Third, spiritual leadership will not implement
effectively if the organization does not implement workplace spirituality. Spiritual leadership
seeks to integrate and balance leaders, employees, and organizations (Fairholm, 2011). To fulfill
this desire, spiritual leadership has the challenge of providing a place that can align individuals’
interests and needs with the interests and needs of the organization. A conducive work environ­
ment will increase employee commitment to the organization. Therefore, this study uses work­
place spirituality as a mediator of spiritual leadership relationships and organizational
commitment.

Fourth, most spiritual leadership publication studies carried out in private sector organizations
(Chen & Yang, 2012; Djafri & Noordin, 2017; Fry & Matherly, 2006; Gupta et al., 2014; Mansor et al.,
2013; Nasina et al., 2011). Not much research has discussed workplace spirituality in public sector
organizations, particularly in Indonesia, as a developing country. This topic is interesting for

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discussion in the nonprofit sector for two reasons (Cregard, 2017). The first reason is that leaders
of nonprofit organizations who apply a spiritual leadership model implicitly imply their concern for
employees’ welfare and service to society. The second reason, there is often an assumption that
the leadership of nonprofit organizations (public sector organizations) is not able to motivate
employees to improve performance. Spiritual leadership communicates the leadership’s efforts
to motivate employees, but in a different way.

This study explores the role of workplace spirituality as a mediator between spiritual leadership
and organizational commitment. This study also identifies workplace spirituality’s role in mediating
the spiritual relationship between leadership and organizational commitment. This research was
conducted on 200 employees of a public sector organization in Bali, Indonesia. The results show
that workplace spirituality is mediate the effect of spiritual leadership on organizational
commitment.

Theoretically, the findings enrich the results of empirical testing, particularly related to spiri­
tuality theories. Nevertheless, the results fail to confirm the implementation of Spiritual Leadership
Theory in public sector organizations. Practically, the results provide insight into that leaders must
pay attention to employees’ spiritual needs, including their involvement in corporate social activ­
ities. Leaders can also carry out various spiritual events, such as seminars, or involve employees in
carrying out corporate social activities to the community. Efforts to meet spiritual needs are
beneficial to individual employees’ performance and positively contribute to society.

This article is divided into five sections. The first part explains the introduction, followed by
theoretical review and hypothesis formulation in the second part. In the third part, the researcher
describes the research methodology. Section four outlines the results and discusses the results of
testing the hypothesis. In the last chapter, the researcher conveys conclusions and limitations, and
suggestions for further research.

2. Theoretical literature review and hypothesis formulation

2.1. Spiritual leadership theory

Leadership is an effort to influence others to carry out activities to achieve common goals (Crosby
& Bryson, 2018; Rudolph et al., 2018). Various leadership literature recognizes that leadership is
a critical predictor in determining the fate of an organization through the decision making and
strategy and influences the function of organizational members (Hughes et al., 2018; Yahaya &
Ebrahim, 2016). Academics have continuously explored a series of theories to explain the role of
leaders in complex and dynamic systems (Dinh et al., 2014). The development of knowledge that is
relatively rapid has given rise to various types of leadership. Nonetheless, every organization must
understand that leadership dynamics involve multiple levels and analysis and different timescales
(Yammarino & Dansereau, 2011). Therefore, organizational practitioners must be careful in adopt­
ing a type of leadership to be implemented in the organization (Bush, 2017; Dinh et al., 2014).

Based on emerging leadership theories, one of the approaches used in classifying types of
leadership is leadership based on ethical and moral values (Dinh et al., 2014). This study identifies
four types of ethical or moral leadership: authentic leadership theory, ethical leadership theory,
spiritual leadership theory, and servant leadership theory. These four leadership theories both
focus on positive and humanistic behavior (Dinh et al., 2014). Thus, these leadership theories are
expected to be able to overcome the shortcomings of other leadership theories. Although there are
various leadership theories, this research explicitly discusses one theory, namely spiritual leader­
ship theory. Today, one of the most prominent organizational challenges faced by leaders is the
need to continuously develop new business models without neglecting the company’s economic
performance. Therefore, spiritual leadership is deemed appropriate to align ethical leadership,

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employee welfare, organizational social responsibility, and organizational financial performance

(Fry & Cohen, 2009; Fry et al., 2005).

Spiritual leadership theory is a causal leadership theory developed in the intrinsic motivation
model. This theory collaborates vision, instills hope, and practices altruistic love (Fry, 2013).
Conceptually, this theory is slightly different from other theories. Explicitly, this theory motivates
leaders to include components of spiritual values in inclusive behavior (Gotsis & Grimani, 2017).
Through this type of leadership, a leader can touch the fundamental needs of leaders and
followers to become more organized, committed, and productive (Fry et al., 2017, 2005). Thus,
spiritual leadership can create integrity, humanism, ethics, and respect in the organization (S. Lee
et al., 2014). In this study, spiritual leadership theory explains the relationship between spiritual
leadership variables, organizational commitment, and workplace spirituality.

2.2. Spiritual leadership and organization commitment

Spiritual Leadership Theory describes a causal model of individual and organizational relationships
that positively affect (Fry, 2003; Fry et al., 2005). Spiritual leadership consists of three components:
shared values, stewardship, and community (Fairholm, 2011). First, spiritual leadership refuses to
compromise fundamental principles that do not provide benefits for the common good. Second,
when there is a power arrangement, spiritual leadership focuses on stewardship responsibilities for
the community’s good. Third, have a sense of community that emphasizes maintaining good
relations within the organization. Therefore, spiritual leadership is different from traditional leader­
ship because it emphasizes efforts to create employee welfare and service to the community
(Cregard, 2017). It can conclude that spiritual leadership has advantages because it uses a holistic
approach in integrating physical (body), rational thinking (mind), emotions or feelings (heart), and
soul (spirit) (Cacioppe, 2000; Fry, 2003; Moxley, 2000). Spiritual leadership integrates these five
aspects of an intrinsic motivation model (Fry, 2003; Fry & Matherly, 2006), such as 1) calling, 2)
membership, 3) vision, 4) hope or faith, and 5) altruistic love.

Spiritual values in leadership are motivated and inspire employees to build the organiza­
tion’s vision and culture and create employee commitment. Thus, the alignment of vision and
values between individuals in the organization, the team assigned, and alignment with orga­
nizational goals (Arsawan et al., 2021). Ultimately, spiritual leadership will create employee
commitment to the organization (Fry & Cohen, 2009). Other researchers reveal that values such
as integrity, honesty, and humility positively influence leadership success (Reave, 2005). This
concept support previous results (Fry & Matherly, 2006; Fry & Slocum, 2008; Mansor et al.,
2013) that spiritual leadership had a positive effect on organizational commitment. Spiritual
leadership is a predictor of organizational commitment and an effort to improve organizational
performance (Fry & Matherly, 2006). Based on the description, the hypothesis formulated is as
follows:

H1: Spiritual leadership has a positive effect on organizational commitment.

2.3. Spiritual leadership and workplace spirituality

The term workplace spirituality is defined in various contexts. The literature on workplace
spirituality emphasizes that spirituality is not identical to religion or individual belief systems
(Ashmos & Duchon, 2000; T. T. Lee et al., 2010). The word “spirituality” refers to the meaning of
self-transcendence and the universe’s interconnectedness (Kriger & Seng, 2005). Badrinarayan
S. Pawar (2009) defines workplace spirituality as an experience and meaningful work, commu­
nity, and transcendence. Workplace spirituality also a psychological climate that treats employ­
ees in a meaningful way and places them in a community context (Duchon & Plowman, 2005). In
general, workplace spirituality involves developing solid relationships with colleagues related to
work and fostering harmony between one’s core beliefs and organizational values (Milliman
et al., 2003). The examples, such as meditation at the beginning of the meeting, spiritual training

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when the employee is taking a break, practicing prayer with employees, and open discussion to
test whether the company’s actions aligned with higher meaning and goals (Dehaghi et al.,
2012).

Implementing workplace spirituality is inseparable from spiritual leadership. This leadership

style is part of “spirituality at work” to meet personal needs, individual wholeness, and healthy
interpersonal relationships in the workplace (Neal, 2018). Spiritual leadership is a leadership concept
that aims to motivate and inspire through company vision and culture (Tobroni, 2015). Spiritual
leadership will strive to facilitate a conducive work environment so that employees can achieve
their spiritual goals. Efforts made include encouraging them, giving them confidence, and fulfilling
their spiritual needs. This condition creates a conducive work environment, so that spiritual leadership
contributes to creating workplace spirituality and spiritual well-being (Fry, 2013; Fry et al., 2017). The
research conducted by Afsar et al. (2016) found that spiritual leadership positively affected workplace
spirituality. Based on the description, the hypothesis formulated is as follows:

H2: Spiritual leadership has a positive effect on workplace spirituality.

2.4. Workplace spirituality and organization commitment

Organizational commitment is an individual’s psychological attachment to the organization (Meyer
& Allen, 1991). Organizational commitment reflects the alignment between employee goals and
corporate objectives (Mowday et al., 1979; Sanders et al., 2005). Organizational commitment
consists of three components: affective, normative, and continuance (Meyer & Allen, 1991). First,
affective commitment explains that employees have an emotional attachment to the organiza­
tion. Employee commitment will grow when getting fair treatment and full respect (Rustiarini
et al., 2021). Second, normative commitment arises because employees feel the benefits of the
organization’s existence, so they try to increase employee loyalty. Third, the continuance commit­
ment states that employees tend to choose to stay in the organization to fear losing investment
and hard work achievement. Various components can show different results and behavioral
consequences (Allen & Meyer, 1996; Herscovitch & Meyer, 2002).

One of the factors that determine organizational commitment is workplace spirituality.

Employee organizational commitment increases when the individual has a good workplace spiri­
tuality experience (Garg, 2017a; Rego & Cunha, 2008). Spiritual activities that are full of kindness
will create positive emotions and individual attitudes towards work and organization. The presence
of intense spirituality in organizations increases employees’ psychological attachment with the
organization (Naseer et al., 2020). Workplace spirituality ensures that employees bring their entire
self (physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual) to the organization. The engagement creates
a sense of loyalty and active participation of employees in organizational activities, which at the
same time increases employee productivity and commitment (Rego & Cunha, 2008). Employees
will think of themselves as part of the organizational family to create employee care and commit­
ment to the organization. It makes them more committed to the organization. Several empirical
studies reveal that workplace spirituality has a positive relationship with individual attitudes, such
as job embeddedness, job satisfaction, organizational performance, and organizational commit­
ment (Ashmos & Duchon, 2000; Gupta et al., 2014; Hassan et al., 2016; Milliman et al., 2003;
Badrinarayan S. Badrinarayan S. Pawar, 2009; Rajappan et al., 2017). The higher workplace spiri­
tuality increases normative and affective commitment (Chawla & Guda, 2010; Fry, 2003; Nasina
et al., 2011). Based on the description, the hypothesis formulated is as follows:

H3: Workplace spirituality has a positive effect on organizational commitment.

2.5. Spiritual leadership, workplace spirituality, and organization commitment

Organizational commitment is employees’ willingness to participate actively in the organization
(Newstrom & Davis, 2002) without any desire to leave the organization. Organizational

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Figure 1. Research framework

model.

Source: Author’s design

commitment is likened to a strong magnetic force pulling a metal object to move toward the
magnet. Individuals who have a high organizational commitment remain members of the organi­
zation and believe in accepting the organization’s values and goals, and are willing to make great
efforts (Luthans, 2011; Rustiarini et al., 2021).

One of the factors that can increase organizational commitment is spiritual leadership.
Spiritual values in leadership can motivate and inspire employees to increase loyalty and active
participation, ultimately increasing employee commitment to the organization (Fry & Cohen,
2009). Nevertheless, the application of spiritual leadership requires the development of workplace
spirituality. Workplace spirituality is related to employees’ desire to obtain the most profound
meaning of their work or the desire to realize passion in the workplace. Workplace spirituality
creates a conducive organizational climate so that employee goals are aligned with the organiza­
tion’s vision, mission, and values (Barrett, 2009). It is the process of looking for something that
goes far beyond just income and performance (Ashmos & Duchon, 2000; Kinjerski & Skrypnek,
2004). Also, workplace spirituality facilitates the leader’s spiritual values to increase employee
commitment to the organization. Employees will feel comfortable in the organization and increase
their commitment to the organization. Thus, workplace spirituality is a mediator between ethical
leadership and work engagement (Adnan et al., 2020). Based on the description, the hypothesis
formulated is as follows:

H4:Workplace spirituality mediates the relationship between spiritual leadership and organiza­
tional commitment.

This study examines the role of spiritual leadership and workplace spirituality on organizational
commitment. The research model is described in Figure 1.

3. Research methodology

3.1. Population and sample

This study uses a survey method to distribute questionnaires to all employees who work in three
public sector organizations in Bali Province, located in Badung Regency, Tabanan Regency, and
Denpasar Municipality. The method of distributing questionnaires uses purposive sampling with
criteria, namely: 1) a permanent employee of the company, and 2) has a minimum work tenure of
five years. Based on these criteria, this study distributed questionnaires to 235 employees. The
number of returned questionnaires was 214 employees or had a response rate of 91.06%. From
the number of returned polls, respondents did not complete 14 questionnaires. Thus, the survey

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Table 1. Respondent demographic information

Characteristics Frequency Percentage
Gender: 110 55.00%
a. Male 90 45.00%
b. Female

Age (in year): 32 16.00%

a. 20–30 56 28.00%
b. 31-40 112 56.00%

c. More than 40

Education background: 9 4.50%

a. Senior high school 38 19.00%
b. Associate degree 142 71.00%
11 5.50%
c. Bachelor
d. Postgraduate

Work experience (in a year): 87 43.50%

a. 1–10 97 48.50%
b. 11-20 16 8.00%

c. More than 20

Income/month (in rupiah): 151 75.50%

39 19.50%
a. 6–7 million 10 5.00%
b. 8–9 million
c. More than 9 million

Source: researcher calculation

that can further analyze is 200 questionnaires or has a reasonable response rate of 93.46%. The
respondent demographic information is presented in Table 1.

Based on the demographic status of respondents in Table 1, most of the respondents were male,
namely 55.00%, and had an average age of more than 40 years (56.00%). The majority of
educational background is bachelor’s degree (71.00%) with an average work experience of 11–
20 years (48.50%). Most employees have earned income based on income per month, 6–7 million
(75.50%).

3.2. Definition of operational variables

The variables of this study are spiritual leadership, workplace spirituality, and organizational
commitment.

3.2.1. Spiritual leadership

The spiritual leadership questionnaire consisted of 21 statements adapted from previous studies
(Fry, 2003; Fry & Cohen, 2009). Measuring spiritual leadership uses five indicators, including vision
(4 statements), hope/faith (4 statements), altruistic love (5 statements), meaning or calling (4
statements), and membership (4 statements). Participants’ responses were measured using a five-
point Likert Scale with answers that strongly disagree = 1 to strongly agree = 5.

3.2.2. Workplace spirituality

The workplace spirituality variable consists of 21 statements adapted from the research of Ashmos
and Duchon (2000). The questionnaire contained three dimensions of variables, namely a sense of
inner life (5 statements), meaningful work (7 statements), and a sense of community (9 state­
ments). Participants’ responses were measured using a five-point Likert Scale with answers that
strongly disagree = 1 to strongly agree = 5.

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3.2.3. Organizational commitment

The organizational commitment questionnaire consisted of 4 item questions adapted from Fry and
Matherly (2006). This instrument research contained four indicators, namely: organizations as
“part of the family”, happy to spend the rest of their careers in organizations, organizations as
appropriate places to work, and assume organizational problems as own problems. Participants’
responses were measured using a five-point Likert Scale with answers that strongly disagree = 1 to
strongly agree = 5.

4. Result and discussion

4.1. Result
The data analysis used the Smart Partial Least Square (SmartPLS) software. The first step taken
is the outer model test to test the validity and reliability of variable indicators. Tests conducted
were convergent validity, discriminant validity, composite reliability, and Cronbach alpha. The
outer model test results show that convergent validity has a minimum AVE value of 0.60 (AVE>
0.50) and a minimum outer loading value of 0.636 (above> 0.50). The results of outer loading
values above 0.50 and AVE values above 0.50 indicate that both conditions are fulfilled as an
indicator of measuring latent constructs. The validity of the indicators that make up the latent
variable was carried out using discriminant validity. Output discriminant validity showed through
HTMT (Heterotrait-Monotrait Ratio <0.90) so that it is declared valid. The value of discriminant
validity output indicates that the indicators meet the discriminant validity requirements.
A measurement is reliable if the composite reliability and Cronbach alpha have a value higher
than 0.70. Composite reliability is a measure of reliability among indicator blocks in the research
model. Calculation results show that all constructs’ composite reliability value has shown
a minimum value of 0.749 (> 0.70) to meet the reliable requirements. The correlation of latent
variables and the validity and reliability test result are presented in Tables 2 and 3.

The inner model test results were used to evaluate the overall model. The coefficient of
determination (R2) for the organizational commitment construct is 0.708, and the workplace
spirituality construct is 0.513. The Q-Square Predictive Relevance (Q2) value for contracting orga­
nizational commitment is 0.369, and the construct of spirituality at work is 0.104. The Goodness of

Table 2. Correlation of latent variables

Variables Correlation

Organizational Spiritual leadership Workplace

commitment spirituality
Organizational 1.000
commitment
Spiritual leadership 0.633 1.000
Workplace spirituality 0.840 0.716 1.000
Source: researcher calculation based on SmartPLS software

Table 3. Validity and reliability

Variables Cronbach’s rho_A Composite AVE
Alpha Reliability
Organizational 0.674 0.627 0.775 0.463
commitment
Spiritual leadership 0.866 0.920 0.900 0.647
Workplace 0.604 0.571 0.749 0.500
spirituality
Source: researcher calculation based on SmartPLS software

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Table 4. Path analysis and hypothesis test results

Variables Original Sample Standard T Statistics p-Value Remark
Sample (O) Mean (M) Dev (O/STDEV)
(STDEV)
SL → OC 0.063 0.048 0.105 0.597 0.551 H1 Not
SL → WS 0.716 0.710 0.117 6.134 0.000 Supported
WS → OC 0.795 0.808 0.063 12.585 0.000 H2 Supported
H3 Supported
Source:researcher calculation based on SmartPLS software
Note:
SL: Spiritual Leadership
WS: Workplace Spirituality
OC: Organization Commitment

Table 5. Mediation test results

Variables Original Sample Standard T Statistics p-Value Remark
Sample (O) Mean (M) Dev (O/STDEV)
(STDEV)
SL → WS → OC 0.570 0.568 0.126 4.508 0.000 H4 Supported
(Full
mediation)
Source: researcher calculation based on SmartPLS software

Fit (GoF) test results for the organizational commitment contract showed a value of 0.725 and the
workplace spirituality construct of 0.456. A GoF value> 0.36 indicates that both constructs have
a considerable GoF value. Thus, this study has an excellent research model. The estimated output
results for testing the three variables’ structural models are presented in Table 4.

Table 4 shows that spiritual leadership has a positive coefficient of 0.063 and a p-value of 0.551
(t-statistic value 0.597 < 1.96). Thus, the results reject hypothesis 1. Hypothesis 2 test results show
a positive coefficient of 0.716 and a p-value of 0.000 (t-statistics value 6.134 > 1.96). The results
support hypothesis 2. The test results present a positive coefficient of 0.795 and a p-value of 0.000
(t-statistics value 12.585 > 1.96). Therefore, the results accept hypothesis 3.

This study examined the role of workplace spirituality as a mediating variable between spiritual
leadership and organizational commitment, which is shown in Table 5. This result is reflected in
hypothesis testing 4, which has a significant value of 0.000 (t statistic is 4.508). Thus, the work­
place spirituality variable mediates (complete mediation) the influence of spiritual leadership on
organizational commitment. The results of this test are accepting hypothesis 4 (H4).

4.2. Discussion

4.2.1. Spiritual leadership and organization commitment

Hypothesis 1 states that spiritual leadership has a positive effect on organizational commitment.
The test results reveal that spiritual leadership does not affect organizational commitment.
Theoretically, spiritual leadership will manage resources holistically by integrating the four ele­
mental essences of human existence: body, heart, mind, and soul (Moxley, 2000). Also, spiritual
leadership is needed to motivate myself and others to meet spiritual needs. Thus, employees will
feel the meaning of life more and feel more understood and valued (Fry & Matherly, 2006).
Employees will feel they have a community, so they are willing to be involved in a spiritual
organization’s climate. There are opportunities for employees to develop the self will actively

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foster psychological attachment to the organization. The most important thing is that employees
become more committed and productive (Djafri & Noordin, 2017).

Nevertheless, the results of this study show contradictions. In this study, spiritual leadership is
not able to increase employee organizational commitment. These results indicate that there is an
alignment of individual goals and organizational goals. Employees will consider the work given as
an obligation or responsibility that must complete. As a result, employees experience psychological
ownership of their work, and therefore leadership involvement does not influence employee loyalty
and commitment to the organization (Haldorai et al., 2020). This condition creates goal alignment
and internal motivation for employees to continue to be committed to the organization (Rustiarini
et al., 2019). Therefore, spiritual leadership does not fail to increase the commitment of these
employees to the organization.

Besides, employees may consider spiritual needs as inherent and personal aspects based on
personal values and philosophies, not determined by others. Although there is spiritual leadership,
employees will find it a separate part of the work and organization. The presence of spiritual
leadership will not affect employee commitment to the organization. Thus, the result not sup­
ported previous findings that reveal that spiritual leadership influences organizational commit­
ment, productivity, and sales growth (Fry & Matherly, 2006) and has a positive effect on
organizational citizenship behavior (Chen & Yang, 2012).

4.2.2. Spiritual leadership and workplace spirituality

The test result of hypothesis 2 proves that spiritual leadership has a positive effect on workplace
spirituality. These findings indicate that success in implementing workplace spirituality is insepar­
able from the role of spiritual leadership. This result is due to several ways. A leader with spiritual
leadership characteristics will encourage and help employees find work meaningful for them­
selves, others, and society (Hudson, 2014). This character will motivate employees to think about
themselves and pay attention to the balance between the natural and social environment.
Spiritual leadership will focus on the meaningfulness of work, altruism, togetherness, and higher
life goals (Afsar et al., 2016). They will make a community consisting of individuals with the same
traditions, values, and beliefs. These activities create harmony in the work environment. Thus,
spiritual leadership will create workplace spirituality.

According to Fairholm (2011), the spiritual leadership model integrates and balances leaders,
employees, and organizations’ interests or needs. Leaders will bring employees “whole” into the
workplace to realize their hopes and dreams. Therefore, spiritual leadership has the challenge of
providing a place (work environment) that can align individuals’ interests and needs with the
organization’s interests and needs. The results support the previous findings, stating that spiritual
leadership positively influences workplace spirituality (Afsar et al., 2016).

4.2.3. Workplace spirituality and organization commitment

Statistical result for hypothesis 3 states that workplace spirituality has a positive effect on
organizational commitment. Organizational commitment is the psychological attachment of indi­
viduals to the organization. The stronger the engagement, the smaller the employee intends to
leave the organization (Garg, 2018b; Meyer & Allen, 1991). Rego and Cunha (2008) conducted
empirical exploration results to prove the existence of a relationship between workplace spiritual­
ity and organizational commitment. When employees have a deep sense of meaning and purpose
at work, they will be creative and more committed to the organization (Djafri & Noordin, 2017;
Nasurdin et al., 2013). Other studies also explained that employees’ feelings of pleasure and
enjoyment when working would automatically increase their affective commitment (Nasina
et al., 2011).

Workplace spirituality is characterized by an employee-friendly work environment that can

maintain employee morale and support performance (Chatterjee & Naqvi, 2010). Also, workplace

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spirituality will encourage individuals to engage in corporate social activities. This activity creates
positive emotions and individual love for their work and organization (Garg, 2018b). The presence
of an intense spirituality also fosters psychological attachment to employees with the organiza­
tion. This engagement encourages employees to participate actively and increases employee
loyalty. Ultimately, this engagement will strengthen employee commitment to the organization
(Rego & Cunha, 2008). Thus, this study support previous findings that workplace spirituality has
a positive effect on organizational commitment (Djafri & Noordin, 2017; Nasina et al., 2011; Rego &
Cunha, 2008; Vandenberghe, 2011), job satisfaction (Gupta et al., 2014; Hassan et al., 2016), and
organizational citizenship behavior (Nasurdin et al., 2013).

4.2.4. Spiritual leadership, workplace spirituality, and organization commitment

The fourth hypothesis finding states that workplace spirituality mediates the spiritual relationship
between spiritual leadership and organizational commitment. The success of the spiritual work­
place variable as a mediating variable indicates that the work environment plays a vital role in
facilitating a leadership style. The employee’s work environment determines a leader’s success in
managing human resources. No matter how great a leadership style is, if a conducive work
environment does not support it, this leadership style is not effective in increasing employee
organizational commitment. Thus, the results of this test also imply that these findings do not
support spiritual leadership theory.

The results of this test also confirm the importance of a spiritual workplace in the organization.
Workplace spirituality creates a conducive work environment to increase employee loyalty and
commitment to the organization. Also, employees who have a good work community will
consider the work environment as part of the family. The existence of this psychological and
emotional attachment will increase organizational commitment. Thus, employees no longer pay
attention to leader figures or leadership styles applied as long as the work environment has met
employee expectations. This finding support previous research that workplace spirituality med­
iates the relationship between ethical leadership and work engagement (Adnan et al., 2020).

5. Summary and conclusion

There is a shift in the organization’s focus from purely economic and social activities towards spiritual
development. Leaders cannot rely solely on employees’ arms and brains but must also understand
their souls. Workplace spirituality and spiritual leadership become one to align the vision and values
of employees with organizational goals. The empirical result reveals that workplace spirituality can
mediate the relationship between spiritual leadership and organizational commitment. The results of
this test imply that these findings do not support the spiritual leadership theory. A leadership style
cannot be applied effectively if a conducive work environment does not support it. The results of this
test also confirm the importance of a spiritual workplace in the organization. Workplace spirituality
can increase employee loyalty and commitment to the organization.

Theoretically, the findings imply that workplace spirituality is one of the factors considered in
organizational theory. Organizations must pay attention to employees’ spiritual needs to bring
their “entire self” into the organization. However, these test results fail to confirm the spiritual
leadership theory’s role in the spiritual leadership and organizational commitment relationship. In
contrast, empirical findings prove the critical role of workplace spirituality in mediating the spiritual
influence of leadership and organizational commitment. Thus, workplace spirituality can become
a revolutionary antidote in overcoming contemporary human resource problems (Garg et al.,
2019). Practically, the results have implications for policy-makers to support and develop work­
place spirituality practices, such as training, seminars, or prayer groups. This activity can increase
employee loyalty, commitment, and performance. Nevertheless, spirituality is not a universal
solution for all employees’ problems (Saks, 2011). This spiritual intention must be manifested in
the form of a vision, mission, and healthy organizational practices to produce a more collaborative
and responsible workforce. Also, organizations can initiate corporate social responsibility,

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sustainability, and workplace spirituality activities tailored to the organizational culture. Thus, the
organization must continue to create a conducive organizational climate to maintain employees’
physical and mental health.

This research has two limitations. There are research results show that spiritual leadership does
not affect organizational commitment. This limitation provides several opportunities for further
study. First, it may not be easy to distinguish between spiritual leadership and religious leaders.
Also, it isn’t easy to define workplace spirituality universally. Spirituality is often associated with
religion (Astin & Astin, 1999). As a result, researchers and respondents can have different scientific
measurements regarding these two variables (Gotsis & Kortezi, 2008). Future research can revisit
the concept of spiritual leadership, both quantitatively and qualitatively. Second, this research was
conducted on public sector organizations in Indonesia, the results of which may not be general­
izable to the private sector. The researcher can then carry out longitudinal studies in countries that
have different cultural organization settings. Culture has a vital role in understanding human
behavior (Nurkholis et al., 2020). Also, this finding opens up further research opportunities to
investigate various factors, such as the influence of spiritual leadership on employee effectiveness,
corporate financial performance, or social performance. This development can create new
research that may be more interesting and beneficial to the organization.

Funding performance management: Vol (pp. 1–24). In Press.

The authors received no direct funding for this research. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJPPM-04-2020-0192
Ashmos, D. P., & Duchon, D. (2000). Spirituality at work:
Author details A conceptualization and measure. Journal of
I Ketut Setia Sapta1 Management Inquiry, 9(2), 134–145. https://doi.org/
E-mail: [email protected] 10.1177/105649260092008
ORCID ID: http://orcid.org/0000-0002-9387-9792 Astin, A. W., & Astin, H. S. (1999). Meaning and spirituality
Ni Wayan Rustiarini1 in the lives of college faculty: A study of values,
ORCID ID: http://orcid.org/0000-0001-7403-8042 authenticity, and stress. (pp. 1–48). Higher Education
I Gusti Agung Eka Teja Kusuma1 Research Institute. https://eric.ed.gov/?id=ED445613
ORCID ID: http://orcid.org/0000-0002-2586-1750 Barrett, R. (2009). What’s right and wrong with spirituality
I Made Purba Astakoni2 in the workplace. Journal of Management, Spirituality
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Faculty Of Economics And Business, Universitas & Religion, 6(3), 261–268. https://doi.org/10.1080/
Mahasaraswati Denpasar, Denpasar, Indonesia. 14766080903069372
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Management, Sekolah Tinggi Ilmu Manajemen Beehner, C. G. (2018). Spirituality, sustainability, and suc­
Handayani, Denpasar, Indonesia. cess: concepts and cases. Springer.
Bush, T. (2017). Leadership and context: Why one-size
Citation information does not fit all. Educational Management
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commitment: The mediation role of workplace spirituality, org/10.1177/1741143217739543
I Ketut Setia Sapta, Ni Wayan Rustiarini, I Gusti Agung Eka Cacioppe, R. (2000). Creating spirit at work: Re-visioning
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