The growing interest in spirituality in business: A long‐term socio‐economic explanation

Interest in spirituality in business has been growing recently. This paper tries to explain such growth of interest through the application of Maslow’s hierarchy of needs to the social level. As the industrial revolution evolved, economic prosperity and stability spread to a majority of people in developed countries. These societies as a whole were then able to shift from concerns primarily about survival and security to concerns of higher order needs, such as social, esteem, and self‐actualization needs. As people throughout a society are increasingly able to trust that their lower needs will be met, they increasingly and naturally begin to explore their higher order needs. This can explain many recent phenomena in business, such as workers seeking more than money from work, increasing empowerment and participation, and the many recent books, conferences, and practices about spirituality, sustainability, and other such issues as they relate to business.