Workplace spirituality—encompassing experiences of meaning, interconnectedness, and transcendence at work—significantly contributes to employee well-being, engagement, and organizational commitment. Despite its relevance to decent work (SDG 8) and mental health (SDG 3), most existing measures originate from Asian contexts and overlook relational and leadership dimensions of spirituality at work. This gap limits understanding of how organizations can systematically cultivate spiritually enriching environments in diverse cultural settings.


This study developed and validated the Workplace Spirituality Measure (WSM), extending Petchsawang and Duchon's (2009) four-dimensional framework to better reflect North American contexts. The goal was to establish a psychometrically robust instrument addressing prior measurement limitations while exploring dimensions of workplace spirituality relevant to contemporary organizations.


A two-phase methodology was employed. Phase 1 used an inductive approach to generate and refine items grounded in workplace spirituality literature. Phase 2 incorporated qualitative peer review for content validity and validation with 218 North American participants across varied industries. Exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses, with measurement invariance testing, examined structural validity, while convergent, discriminant, and criterion-related validity were assessed via associations with job-related affective well-being, organizational commitment, and turnover intentions.


Analyses supported a 17-item, five-factor model: Meaningful Work, Mindfulness, Compassionate Leadership, Collective Compassion, and Transcendence. The WSM demonstrated strong internal consistency and criterion validity, outperforming prior measures. Two novel dimensions—Compassionate Leadership and Collective Compassion—captured relational and social aspects of workplace spirituality previously unmeasured. All subscales were significantly associated with well-being outcomes.
The WSM provides a validated tool for assessing and cultivating workplace spirituality across individual, interpersonal, and leadership dimensions. By identifying compassionate leadership as a distinct spiritual factor, this research advances SDGs 3, 8, and 16, offering practical guidance for evidence-based interventions that promote dignity, connection, and purpose—supporting psychologically healthy, meaningful, and sustainable work environments.