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Being on the outer: The risks and benefits of spiritual self-disclosure in the Australian workplace

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  04 March 2015

Joanna E Crossman
Joanna E Crossman*
Affiliation:
School of Management, Campus West, University of South Australia, Adelaide, South Australia
*
Corresponding author: Joanna.crossman@unisa.edu.au
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Abstract

Self-disclosure has been connected to a number of organisational benefits such as increased motivation, trust building, employee well-being, organisational identification, the communication of organisational values and commitment. Curiously, however, little work about self-disclosure has been published in management and organisation journals and still less that is concerned with spiritual self-disclosure, despite increasing employee diversity as globalisation intensifies.

This paper reports on the analysis of semi-structured, qualitative, interview data collected from 40 Australian managers and professionals. The findings reveal that spiritual self-disclosure was largely perceived as taboo, ‘risky’ and stigmatising with the potential for negative consequences. These risks are all captured in the concept of being on the outer, a metaphor denoting marginalisation from the social, cultural and spiritual identity of the organisation. In contrast, ‘safe’, inclusive organisational cultures are likely to encourage spiritual self-disclosure and the benefits it can bring to employees, managers and organisations.

Keywords

communication identityself-disclosurespirituality in the workplacenegative humour
Type
Research Article
Information
Journal of Management & Organization , Volume 21 , Issue 6 , November 2015 , pp. 772 - 785
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press and Australian and New Zealand Academy of Management 2015 

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