Chaplains in the workplace

From a casino in Luton to supermarkets, shops, offices and the emergency services, chaplains are providing a welcome listening - and very confidential – ear to workers and customers. Report by Erika Lucas

A casino is probably the last place you’d expect to find a Methodist minister. The Rank G Casino in Luton, however, is exactly where you’ll find workplace chaplain Jenny Spouge on a regular basis, in the gaming areas and behind the scenes, chatting to staff and providing a ‘listening ear’ when needed.

Rank is one of a growing number of organisations recognising that particularly in the current climate, looking after the general well-being of their employees makes good business sense.  The organisation has been piloting a workplace ministry at its Luton casino for almost a year, with the aim of giving staff access to someone completely independent who can act as a sounding board for any personal or work-related issues that may be troubling them.

Chaplain Jenny, whose services are provided under the auspices of the Workplace Ministry (www.workplaceministry.org.uk), does four-hour stints at the casino twice a week, alternating days and times so that she is available to the maximum number of staff.  Although an ordained minister, she wears a suit and a badge rather than a dog collar, and certainly doesn’t see her role as preaching or engaging people in religious debate.

“I spend quite a lot of time sitting in the staff room and just generally wandering round, visiting the kitchen and the offices, so that people know who I am,” she explains. “It’s just about being around, building relationships and being a bridge between individuals if necessary.”

Casino general manager Martin Iles admits that when the chaplaincy was first introduced there were a few doubts around the table. When the idea was originally mooted, the business had at least 31 different nationalities and a wide range of religious beliefs among its team of 140 staff, and there were some concerns about how well the idea would go down.

“In the early stages there was a little bit of scepticism.  However, that was quickly over and all the staff soon accepted the chaplain as a member of the team and felt able to confide, safe in the knowledge that whatever they said wouldn’t get back to management,” says Iles.
Jenny acknowledges that on the surface, many of the day-to-day interactions she has with staff may seem superficial, but once trust has been built, and when the time is right, the important issues do come to the surface.

“It’s not difficult to engage with people because in general they are happy just to chat, although it does take time for them to start talking about significant stuff,” she says. “The way we promote it is that as a workplace chaplain, I am here for people of all faiths or none, and my role is simply to listen to whatever you might want to talk to me about.”
Jenny has regular catch-up sessions with the casino’s manager to keep up with what’s happening in the business, and also regularly attends team meetings. She feels this integration into the business has been particularly helpful in the run-up to a recent major change at the casino – namely the move to 24 hour opening.

Some employees were quite naturally concerned about how the extended opening hours would impact on their shift patterns and the atmosphere had become a little unsettled. Jenny was able to reinforce the message already put out by management, that one-to-one meetings would be held with all staff, and that everyone would have the chance to discuss their individual circumstances and raise any issues.

“I was able to act as a bridge and help to spread the word about the one-to-ones, and just reassure people that they would have a chance to raise any issues that might be worrying them,” she said.
An employee survey conducted six months into the pilot demonstrated that the casino staff valued having access to a workplace chaplain.

General manager Martin Iles hopes that longer-term, the service may also have a positive impact on performance. “The overall aim was to offer this to staff as an additional benefit, and give them access to someone who had a network of people outside the casino they could refer to on specific issues if necessary,” he said. “The scheme is also helping us meet our corporate social responsibility requirements – and I am hoping our next survey will provide some tangible evidence about improving rates of absenteeism.”

For Jenny herself, the experience of working in a casino has also been something of an eye-opener. “I am learning a lot about what the business entails, and I am finding that it isn’t what I had assumed from ignorance about gaming,” she says. “Yes, I do still have issues about gambling and concerns about addiction, but I have concerns about any addiction and I am gradually readjusting my impressions of the casino as an organisation. I think there are ethical questions in any business you work in and part of the chaplaincy role is to look at some of those ethical issues.”

The casino is just one of the organisations who call on the services of the Workplace Ministry. They can be lay people or ordained ministers, and come from a variety of faiths and backgrounds. Whilst Workplace Ministry is a Christian organisation, it recognises diversity in the workplace and works with and alongside representatives from the Muslim, Hindu, Bhudist and Jewish faiths, as well as those with pagan and humanist beliefs.

Workplace chaplaincy services are available to organisations across the UK, with access and the extent of services varying according to local arrangements. Chaplaincy services are provided free-of-charge to businesses, although as demand increases, this is starting to change.

“Historically, chaplaincy has not been a paid-for service, but we are beginning to look at employee support programmes and other services related to health and safety and equality and diversity legislation, and these services will be offered on a paid-for basis,” says Reverend Michael Shaw, director of the Workplace Ministry.

Equality and diversity expert Sneha Khilay of Blue Tulip Training welcomes the concept of workplace ministry, but says organisations need to think carefully about how what chaplains offer differs from the services provided by an employee assistance programme, for example, or a professional mediator.
“You could ask how is it any different to someone coming in to provide coaching or counselling to staff without the religious agenda as an underlying frame,” she says.  “So yes, it is about providing pastoral care, but does going into an organisation and introducing yourself as a Christian minister, for example, make people from other religions feel left out? Any input that helps create dialogue and understanding and leaves people feeling better about themselves is great, but there are still some ‘buts’ lurking in the background for me and I think it’s worthwhile organisations discussing that and exploring it further.”

Reverend Michael Shaw believes the workplace ministry’s greatest asset is its “independence and ability to be totally impartial”.   “Our vision is to encourage a positive connection between spiritual and economic life and to be a transforming presence in the workplace,” he says. “We are there to listen, to learn about the work being done, to build trusting relationships and to share with people the joys and stresses of working life and contribute to wellbeing in the workplace.”

(Extract from an article published in Professional Manager, March 2010)

ProManager  Home  |   Subscribe   |   Advertise   |   Book Reviews   |   Previous Content