Employees who are religious may be happier and more fulfilled than their counterparts who do not actively believe in God, according to a new study. The research, carried out by Dr Roxane Gervais, will be presented at our Division of Occupational Psychology's Annual Conference today in Brighton.
The study involved 34 people in the Caribbean who were in full-time work. They were asked questions and assessed on factors such as wellbeing, religiosity and job satisfaction.
It was found that the more religious a person was, the less likely they were to suffer from depression, anxiety and fatigue and the more likely they were to feel their life had meaning.
When their belief was cemented by regular church attendance, they tended to achieve an even bigger boost to their psychological constitution.
Dr Gervais suggested managers might want to act on the discovery by accommodating people's religious beliefs at work wherever possible, rather than pushing them to one side for fear of offending others.
"Religiosity in the workplace may act as a resource, making people more resilient to cope with the many challenges of working life. Such personal beliefs could be very helpful not only for employees, but also for employers," she pointed out.
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