By way of introduction, Corporate Chaplaincy was started about 80 years ago by retired military chaplains who saw how much Chaplaincy was needed in the workplace. They saw that employees spent a majority of their waking hours on the job and that they were often dealing with stress issues which brought great distraction. Two examples of well-known companies that have this kind of Employee Care Program are Tyson Foods and Coca-Cola. Both these Fortune 500 companies have concluded that their chaplaincy programs have contributed to improvements in morale, productivity, safety, and quality.
Here are some national statistics from an August 9, 2003, Reuters Newswire story, entitled "Work Stress Taking Larger Financial Toll:"
* 80% of employees feel stress on the job
* 75% of absenteeism is stress related
* 50% say they need help coping with workplace stress
* 14% feel like striking a co-worker
* 10% are concerned about a co-worker becoming violent on the job
* Homicide is now the leading cause of workplace death for women and the second cause of workplace death overall
* Divorce is painful experience that impacts nearly half of the workforce
* Disease, cancer, and health problems within the family can strain an employee's performance
* Death of a loved and the grief that accompanies it often requires help to refocus and renew purpose
* Miscarriage leaves women and spouses to suffer silently and avoid colleagues
* Marriages in conflict often lead to distracted and unproductive employees
* Economic worries weigh heavy on the mind and can add safety risking stress to the job
* Fear of terrorism, crime, and any number of silent fears can lead to unproductive, unsafe, and potentially harmful workplace situations
Decrease in stress, increased loyalty to the company, reduction in absenteeism, enhanced appreciation for management, increased productivity, and reduction in employee turnover are just a few of the many dividends companies have reported receiving since incorporating Corporate Chaplaincy as part of their Employee Care Programs.
The premise of Corporate Chaplaincy is that since a large percentage of people today do not have any relationship with a church, synagogue, mosque, or other organized religious group, and are often rushed for time, their beliefs and personal needs take a back seat to the meetings, deadlines, and agendas of the workplace. Yet the problems at home don't go away; they are simply brought, as emotional baggage, to work each day. The most recent research shows that 71% of Americans believe in God when described as the all-powerful, all-knowing, perfect creator of the universe who rules the world today, while most do not attend religious gatherings (2006 Barna Research Group). Corporate Chaplaincy offers corporations an Employee Care Program, serving individuals of all religious faith preferences, or those with none.
Corporate Chaplains take care of a company's most valuable asset: employees and their families. This Employee Care Program reaps many benefits for the client company as trained chaplains offer work site relationships, chaplain team activities, crisis care, personal care and company support activities. Additional tools offered to companies and employees can include: management consultation, programs for worship or prayer, referral to other professionals and agencies, training and education for employees and supervisors, employee/community/church relations and programs, and special events scheduled in response to needs which arise in the workplace.
Most Corporate Chaplaincy organizations have their Chaplain Teams make a brief visit to the work site regularly--usually weekly--to interact with employees to build relationships. They also provide 24 hour, 365 day-a-year, nationwide Chaplain Emergency Care for crisis intervention, and work closely with management on any emergency situation or employee needs.
Chaplains don't force themselves on employees; they are simply available when needed. Companies are encouraged to make it clear to their employees that the goal of the company is to be "faith-friendly," as opposed to "faith-based." In over 80 years, there has never been a complaint regarding overstepping the faith boundaries of an employee, or other legal issues come up when following this formula.
This is a Washing Times article from 2003, "Contract chaplains aid employee productivity"
Link: http://www.washtimes.com/national/20030601-124653-7586r.htm
Here is an MSNBC Article from March 2005 on the subject, entitled, "Outsourced spiritual teams: a thriving new industry"
Link: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/7235615/
This is a link to a conference summary from Yale University Divinity School's "2005 National Conference on Workplace Chaplaincy: Hot Issues and Best Practices"
Link: http://www.yale.edu/faith/esw/ncwc.htm
Here are some additional links:
Marketplace Chaplains USA. - Caring for America's Workforce
Link: http://www.mchapusa.com/
This is a good place to start. There is a 4-minute video on the homepage.
Corporate Chaplains of America:
Link: http://www.iamchap.org/
