Spiritually empowered leadership and workplace spirituality at Akhuwat foundation: a qualitative case study

Abstract

Purpose The purpose of this study endeavour is to delve into the perceptions and sense-making of both spiritually empowered leadership and workplace spirituality at the Akhuwat Foundation, a prominent social sector microfinance organization in the Muslim majority economy of Pakistan. Design/methodology/approach Using a qualitative research approach and an intrinsic instrumental case study research methodology, a series of 16 in-depth semi-structured interviews and three focus group discussions (each focus group contained five members) were conducted with employees and leaders at the Akhuwat Foundation of Pakistan from June 2020 to June 2021. Findings The findings from thematic data analysis show that the spiritual leadership at Akhuwat Foundation implemented workplace spirituality by creating a spiritual environment, such as brotherhood, at the workplace. Moreover, the employees exercise workplace spirituality by voluntarily performing their duties at lesser salaries. Alternatively, spiritual leaders care for employees by reducing organizational problems and improving their employees’ well-being. Research limitations/implications Although this research explores spiritual leadership and workplace spirituality in the national context of Pakistan, further investigation in other contexts is required to cross-check and validate the research findings. Practical implications Regulators and policymakers of organizations operating in Muslim-majority countries should focus on brotherhood, inspire employees through vision, resolve organizational challenges and create a spiritual environment for spiritual leadership and workplace spirituality to improve employee well-being, broader societal welfare and organization’s overall performance. Originality/value This study revealed new themes of workplace spirituality and spiritual leadership in the organizational context of a Muslim-majority country, Pakistan, identified context-specific themes and enhanced the theory of spiritual leadership and workplace spirituality.

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