Article Added On: May 11, 2008 - about 1 month ago
Title: Breathing new life into your job
Original URL: http://www.canada.com/edmontonjournal/news/story.html?id=36c94f07-66ff-4755-835c-89fdf62600d4
Author: Don Retson
Publication: The Edmonton Journal
Publication Date: May 10, 2008 - about 1 month ago
Faith Groups: Other
Themes: religious attitudes in Canada, other

Abstract: Val Kinjerski conducts workshops called Spirit at Work that assist individuals and organizations to tap into "this great resource of inner spirit to revitalize and recharge the workplace."

EDMONTON - As a social worker in child protection years ago, Val Kinjerski sometimes went home crying at night.

Today, she helps employees often going through similar stress or other challenges to find meaning and purpose and fulfilment in their work.

Kinjerski is a leading authority in Canada on workplace spirituality. Companies and organizations from Ontario to British Columbia frequently call on her expertise to help revitalize and recharge their staff.

"I help people get fired up about their work," says Kinjerski, who's from St. Albert but is frequently on the road as head of Kaizen Solutions for Human Services.

"I help (workers) to rediscover their passion; to remember why they went into a field or career so they can foster their own spirit at work."

While still in social work back in the early 1990s, Kinjerski was amazed at how certain individuals could be so energized about work and committed to making a difference for others, even with the organizational hassles they faced.

At a certain point she calls her "a-ha moment," Kinjerski put a label to this ability to find meaning and purpose and seeing work as an act of service. She called it "spirit at work."

"I was so moved by what I saw, I thought: 'I need to study this,' " Kinjerski said. "How can we do this? How can we nurture it?"

After taking time out to have a child in 1993 and later doing consulting work, she returned to university for her PhD in 2000. Since 2004, Kinjerski has made believers out of many employers and organizations with workshops, retreats and talks on the Spirit at Work theme.

A 2005 research study that brought her acclaim in the workplace spirituality field involved a nursing unit at Capital Care in Edmonton.

The unit of 25 people was experiencing low morale. Teamwork was almost non-existent. Although communication was limited, gossip was rampant. Staff fought among themselves and sabotaged each other and their work.

"The situation became so difficult that that after one shift, casual staff refused to come back," Kinjerski recalls, adding that employees were becoming disengaged and service was suffering. "Productivity was at an all-time low."

After an initial assessment, workers attended her Spirit at Work workshop, followed by eight weekly booster sessions. The effectiveness of the program was tested by having a similar unit at another site act as a comparison group.

As a result of Kinjerski's efforts, people on the unit began to see their work as an act of service. It's not about me; it's about the patients. Absenteeism in the unit was cut in half. Staff turnover also dropped significantly.

In lauding Kinjerski's work, Capital Care spokesperson Bernadette DeSantis said it is always a concern for Capital Care, which is the largest public continuing care organization in Canada, to provide quality care.

"We're in the people business," DeSantis said. "And if our staff aren't happy, we know that that affects the level of service that they can provide to the people we serve. That's what we wanted to see."

DeSantis described Spirit at Work as a team-building exercise that led to a higher level of self-knowledge and awareness among participants. That, in turn, led to the team unit working better.

"This wasn't about bringing religion into the workplace," DeSantis said. "It was more about helping staff rediscover the joy of working with the elderly and disabled."

Which is fine with Kinjerski. Although she rarely attends religious services, she describes herself as spiritual. She has her own different beliefs and practices.

At a certain point in her faith journey, Kinjerski said she began doing a lot of soul-searching and having her own spiritual questions like: "What are we here for?" and "What legacy are we leaving?" It caused her to shift her perspective and to start looking for solutions rather than problems; to look at strengths rather than limitations.

Although Canadians generally lag behind the United States in the area, certainly in terms of university courses touching on spirituality in the workplace, Kinjerski said successful companies are taking note of studies like hers.

"Everybody in the workplace is complaining that our staff aren't engaged, right? Well, I've shown, and others have shown, that we can increase job satisfaction. We can increase commitment."

A request by a reporter to speak with those who have attended her workshops or retreats led to a flood of calls. Among the callers was Marie Nagel of Cochrane, who attended two of Kinjerski's Spirit at Work workshops in Calgary.

Nagel said the workshops helped her get back in touch with her own passions, interests, values and skills as well as her dream to mentor young adults in their transition from adolescence to adulthood.

"It is all easy to abandon our dreams and not fully utilize our potential. And Val's workshop helped me get inspired," she said.

Since the beginning of time, Nagel said religions have promoted universal spiritual values that focus on being of service to others and have a unique purpose for making the world a better place. She said that's the main connection between Kinjerski's workshops and religion.

"This is such an important message to get out," Nagel said. "What could be accomplished with individuals who are living out their full potential with enthusiasm and dedication?"

Kinjerski will be holding two all-day Spirit at Work workshops in Edmonton on May 26 and 27.