Death Awareness and Spirituality in the Motivation of Employees in Iranian Organizations in the Postwar Context

Articles in Press

Document Type : Research Paper

Authors

1 Ph.D. Candidate in Management of organizational behavior, Faculty of Economics. Management and administrative sciences, Semnan University, Semnan, Iran

2 Professor, Faculty of Economics, Management and Administrative Sciences, semnan university

10.30471/rsm.2026.12043.1592

Abstract

The present study explores the role of death awareness and spirituality in the motivation of employees in Iranian organizations in the aftermath of the 12-day Iran–Israel war of 2025. Adopting a qualitative and interpretive approach, the study drew on semi-structured interviews with 19 employees, managers, and working or self-employed professionals, each with at least five years of organizational or professional experience. Participants were purposively selected from work settings in Tehran to maximize variation in occupational role, organizational level, and field of activity. Data were analyzed using codebook thematic analysis with an iterative theory- and data-informed logic in MAXQDA 2024. The existential orientation was not measured as a variable; rather, it served as an interpretive lens for interview design, coding, and theme interpretation. The findings indicated that death awareness was not uniformly associated with lower motivation; in some accounts, it was linked to reprioritization, acting with integrity, service, and concern for one’s work legacy. Spirituality, in the Iranian cultural context, was described as connected with meaning, resilience, hope, and sustained work motivation. Based on these findings, the study proposes the concept of existential-spiritual motivation as a useful lens for understanding employee motivation in post-war organizational settings.

Keywords

Journal of Studies in Religion, Spirituality & Management

Articles in Press, Accepted Manuscript
Available Online from 19 September 2026

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