Guest editorial: Workplace spirituality research: issues in the past research, directions for future research and new advancements

The exploration for this special issue in the form of submission of a special issue proposal commenced in late 2022. The initial special issue proposal was revised in light of the inputs received from the Editor in Chief, Prof. Slawek Magala. The revised special issue proposal received an acceptance, and subsequently the call for manuscript submissions for the special issue got announced and uploaded at the Emerald portal in early 2023, with the submission closing date of June 30, 2023. In addition to the call for manuscript submissions uploaded at the Emerald portal, I communicated the special issue information to several researchers with a view to seek manuscript submissions from across the globe.

As a result of the efforts undertaken for disseminating the special issue information and requesting manuscript submissions, 49 manuscript submissions from 17 nations, providing a truly international orientation to the special issue, were received as per the reports (ScholorOne Reports) available from the manuscript submission and management system which may not include the count of the manuscripts “unsubmitted” or “withdrawn” prior to the review commencement process. The standard and rigorous double-blind review process of the Journal of Organizational Change Management was adopted for processing the manuscripts. Quite a few manuscripts received a “desk-rejection” decision following my initial review of their various aspects such as substantive core, methodological rigor and fit with the special issue theme. The remaining manuscripts were processed through a rigorous double-blind review process with a few manuscripts receiving a “rejection” decision in light of the comments and recommendations of the reviewers. For some of the manuscripts, where the reviewer inputs and the manuscript contents reflected a need for careful assessment and reflection, advice from the Editor in Chief was requested in making a decision. While I also submitted my own one manuscript for this special issue, it was also subjected to the journal's double-blind review process and its review process and decision-making was completely undertaken by the Editor in Chief without any involvement from me as the Guest Editor. As an outcome of this rigorous review process, seven manuscripts got accepted for this special issue with some manuscripts having been required to undertake more than one round of revisions based on the reviewer comments and recommendations. The number of manuscript submissions and the number of manuscripts accepted yield an acceptance rate of about 14%.

The articles in this special issue reflect a variety in the methodology, work nature, topic focus and nations represented. In terms of methodology, the articles cover both quantitative and qualitative research methodologies. In terms of work nature, the special issue articles contain conceptual work and empirical work. In terms of topics, a wide variety of topics covered focus on the dark side of spiritual intelligence, spiritual development and its expression in leadership functioning, role of spirituality in addressing dysfunctional behaviors in the public services, antecedents and outcome of grace expressions at work, a review of workplace spirituality scales, the influence of ethical climate and inner life on life satisfaction and customer orientation and primordial sufferings and metamorphosis of the spirit. In terms of the nations represented, the seven articles which got accepted for this special issue represent, as per the reports from the manuscript submission and management system (ScholorOne Reports), seven nations namely, Ghana, Greece, India, Portugal, Turkey, United Kingdon of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and the United States.

The extensive variety covered, as outlined above, in the articles in this special issue is likely to benefit the workplace spirituality research. Specifically, the coverage of 17 nations in the overall manuscript pool and the coverage of seven nations in the articles which received an acceptance for this special issue also partly fulfill the objective of creating a truly international special issue.

In summary, representation of 17 nations in the pool of manuscript submissions received and representation of 7 nations in the manuscripts which received an acceptance decision reflect an international facet of this special issue. Acceptance of only seven manuscripts from 49 manuscript submissions, with an acceptance rate of about 14%, reflects the rigor of the review process and application of high quality standards in the editorial processes. Coverage of a broad range of topics, representation of both qualitative and quantitative methodologies and inclusion of both conceptual research works and empirical research works in the accepted manuscripts also enhance the contribution potential of this special issue.

This special issue has benefitted from the contributions of several scholars, administrators and organizations. Thus, it is necessary to discharge the duty of expressing gratitude to them.

I am grateful to three organizations namely, Emerald Publishing, Journal of Organizational Change Management Office and Indian Institute of Management Raipur. I received various forms of guidance, support and assistance from the first two of these organizations, and my devoting time and efforts to this special issue was facilitated by the third organization.

I am grateful to several scholars who expressed their interest in the special issue, submitted their manuscripts and eventually accepted the decisions emerging out of the editorial and review processes. My understanding of the workplace spirituality topic got enriched by going through and processing the manuscripts, both which received an acceptance and which did not.

I am grateful to the reviewers who kindly spent their valuable time on doing the manuscript review task. Their inputs facilitated the editorial processes.

I am grateful to Prof. Slawek Magala, Editor in Chief, for the kind understanding, support and advice he provided at various stages of my work on this special issue. His extensive experience, broad perspective and balanced approach helped me to carry out various tasks and provided me learning. I am grateful to Prof. Beata Glinka, Managing Editor, for various forms of support she provided to my guest-editing work. I am grateful to Emma Ferguson of Emerald Publishing for a constructive orientation she expressed through her advice and support. I am grateful to Prashant Bangera of Emerald Publishing who responded by carrying out the actions to address various requirements during my guest-editing work.

I feel relieved that this demanding and significant activity successfully reached its completion. I pray that this special issue, which has come out of my extensive efforts spanning over about one and a half years and has benefitted from the facilitation from several scholars, administrators and organizations, renders valuable service to the researcher community and to the advancement of workplace spirituality research.

Declaration: The author has no financial or non-financial conflict of interests to declare. This work did not receive any funding.