The Spiritual Dimension of Health for More Spirituality at Workplace

The editorial by Saini [1] raised a question about the opportunity to introduce spirituality programs at workplace to improve workers' well-being and productivity. In literature, it is well recognized the beneficial role of both spirituality and religion on mental and physical health.[2],[3] They, therefore, should be used into the framework of the Workplace Health Promotion programs to promote good lifestyles and behaviors (e.g. smoking and alcohol habits) that may positively impact on work-related diseases and to increase resilience and coping mechanisms to deal with psychosocial hazards, such as violence, burnout, and work-related stress.[4] According to International Labour of Office, occupational health and safety encompasses the social, mental, and physical well-being of workers, in agreement with World Health Organization (WHO) and the Ottawa Charter for Health Promotion that define health as “… a state of complete physical, mental and social health.” As spiritual well-being should not be confused with psychosocial well-being, it would be useful to review the WHO's health definition adding to it the “spiritual well-being” dimension as well.[5] Indeed, national and governative organisms and legislations follow the current WHO's health definition to drive employers for the achievement of the ambitious objective to protect the health of all workers. In Europe, for instance, after the European Court of Justice took a decision in 1996, EU legislation defined health in the workplace of all EU member state as the “state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity.” Although the current holistic definition of health at workplace is considered as the foundation for encouraging employers to set up workplace health programs, including explicitly the spiritual dimension in the WHO's health definition would encourage more research and initiatives on spirituality at workplace.