Determinants of Workplace Spirituality among Academics in Private Higher Educational Institutions in Malaysia.

Abstract

Workplace Spirituality has been part of management research for the past few years, but within the private higher education industry in Malaysia, few studies have been conducted, despite the growing trend of new studies seeking to enhance understanding workplace spirituality within developing nations like Egypt, India, and China. Within Malaysian private universities, there is little emphasis on the recognition and practice of workplace spirituality. This may be one of the reasons for the high level of labour turnover and absenteeism among the academic workforce in Malaysian private universities as compared to the aforesaid nations. This conceptual paper discusses some determinants of workplace spirituality such as personal attributes, Human Resource (HR) policies and practices, management styles and organizational commitment. The discussion hopes to contribute to a further empirical study to be conducted among private universities within Malaysia.