Workplace spirituality has been increasingly recognized as a vital resource for supporting nurses’ well-being, retention, and quality of care, yet the concept has long been ambiguously defined in the nursing literature. A new concept analysis published in BMC Nursing sets out to resolve that ambiguity, distinguishing workplace spirituality from related constructs such as spiritual well-being, religiosity, and spiritual care with which it is frequently conflated.
The study, led by Su-Hui Tsai, Hui-Wan Chuang, Wen-Wen Chang and Wen-Yu Hu, applied Walker and Avant’s eight-step concept analysis method. The researchers conducted a systematic literature search across PubMed, CINAHL, Embase, Cochrane Library, PsycINFO, Google Scholar, Airiti Library, and the China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI), screening records in accordance with PRISMA 2020 procedures.
From that search, 31 empirical studies were included in the analysis. Data were extracted and synthesized to identify defining attributes, antecedents, consequences, model cases, and empirical referents of workplace spirituality in nursing, providing a structured map of how the concept has been used and measured across the research literature.
The analysis identified three defining attributes that characterize workplace spirituality in nursing: meaningful work, a sense of community, and alignment with organizational values. In other words, the concept describes a multidimensional professional experience through which nurses derive meaning from their work, experience connectedness with colleagues, and perceive congruence between their personal values and those of their organization.
Beyond these core attributes, the researchers also identified several secondary attributes: inner life, compassion and empathy, transcendence, mindfulness, and a sense of calling. Notably, the authors report that these secondary attributes demonstrated less conceptual consistency across the included studies, suggesting that they are applied more variably in the literature than the three defining attributes.
The antecedents of workplace spirituality identified across the included studies were clustered into three categories: personal factors, work stressors, and organizational support and culture. This clustering indicates that the concept is shaped both by characteristics nurses bring to their work and by conditions within the workplace itself, including the pressures of nursing practice and the support structures organizations provide.
Consequences reported in the included studies were grouped into three domains. Individual outcomes included well-being and reduced burnout; professional outcomes included work engagement and care quality; and organizational outcomes included retention and organizational commitment. These outcomes reflect the associations reported in the empirical studies synthesized by the analysis, spanning effects at the personal, professional, and organizational levels.
According to the authors, the analysis provides a clearer conceptual foundation for future instrument development and offers nurse managers a practical framework for fostering healthy work environments, strengthening workforce retention, and supporting sustainable nursing practice. By clarifying what workplace spirituality in nursing actually comprises, the framework is intended to guide nursing management, education, practice, and research.
The article, published open access in BMC Nursing on 20 October 2026, is being shared early as a peer-reviewed, accepted research version that is citable and carries a permanent DOI, subject to further edits before the final Version of Record. As a concept analysis, the work synthesizes existing empirical studies rather than generating new clinical trial data, and its conclusions rest on the 31 studies included in the systematic search.
Subject of Research: A concept analysis clarifying the defining attributes, antecedents and consequences of workplace spirituality in nursing.
Article Title: Workplace spirituality in nursing: a concept analysis
Article References: Tsai, S.-H., Chuang, H.-W., Chang, W.-W., & Hu, W.-Y. (2026). Workplace spirituality in nursing: a concept analysis. BMC Nursing. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12912-026-05528-5
Image Credits: AI Generated
DOI: 10.1186/s12912-026-05528-5
Keywords: workplace spirituality, nursing, concept analysis, burnout, work engagement, retention, organizational values, nurse well-being, BMC Nursing, PRISMA, sense of community, meaningful work
News Source: Ophelia Keating. (October 27, 2026). Nurses’ workplace spirituality defined by meaning, community and values alignment. Scienmag.
